LIQUID PENETRANT TESTING

Introduction

Penetrant inspection utilizes the natural accumulation of a fluid around a discontinuity to create a
recognizable indication of a crack or other surface opening defect. Capillary action attracts the fluid
to the discontinuity as compared to its surroundings. In order to locate the area of excess fluid
(defect region), the background area must be of sufficient contrast thus leading to distinct detection
of the defect on the surface.

Liquid penetrant inspection is an important industrial method and it can be used to indicate the
presence of defects such as cracks, laminations, laps and zones of surface porosity in a wide variety
of components.

The method is applicable to almost any component, whether it be large or small, of simple or
complex configuration, and it is employed for the inspection of wrought and cast products in both
ferrous and non-ferrous metals and alloys, ceramics, glassware and some polymer components.
 PHYSICAL PRINCIPLES

• Penetrant inspection depends mainly on the ability of the liquid to wet the surface of a solid
workpiece or specimen and flow over that surface to form a continuous and reasonably uniform
coating, thus penetrating into cavities that are open to the surface.
• The ability of a given liquid to flow over a surface and enter surface cavities mainly depends on
the surface tension and capillary action.
• The cohesive force between the molecules of a liquid causes surface tension.
• Capillary action is the phenomenon of the rise or depression of liquid in narrow cavities.
• Viscosity, although has a negligible effect on the penetrating ability of liquid, affects the flowing
ability of penetrant.
• Visible light or ultraviolet light is required for inspection of penetrant indications.
Important Points Regarding Capillarity Action

i) Capillarity Depends on the Nature of the Liquid and Solid

i.e., T, P, R and Q
Where,
T – surface tension, ρ – density of a liquid, R – radius of the
capillary, Q – the angle of contact

ii) Angle of Contact

If θ > 90°:
The meniscus is convex, and h will be negative (h = -ve), which
means the liquid will fall (descend) in the capillary. i.e., it happens
in the case of mercury in a glass tube.
If θ = 90°:
This means the meniscus is plane, so (h = 0), and there is no capillarity.

If θ < 90°:
The meniscus is concave, and h will be positive (h = +ve). This means the liquid level rises up(ascends) in the
capillary.
PROCEDURE FOR PENETRANT TESTING

There are five essential steps in the penetrant inspection method. These are:
(a) Surface preparation.
(b) Application of penetrant.
(c) Removal of excess penetrant.
(d) Development.
(e) Observation and inspection.

Surface preparation
• All surfaces of a component must be thoroughly cleaned and completely dried.
• Surfaces to be examined for defects must be free from oil, water, grease or other contaminants.

Application of penetrant
• After surface preparation, liquid penetrant is applied to form a film of penetrant over the component
surface.
• The liquid film should remain on the surface for sufficient time to allow for full penetration into
surface defects.
Removal of excess penetrant
• Remove excess penetrant from the surface of the component.
• Some penetrants can be removed with water, while others require specific solvents.
• Uniform removal of excess penetrant is necessary for effective inspection.

Development
• The development stage is necessary to reveal the presence of any defect.
• The developer is usually a very fine chalk powder.
• This may be applied dry, but more commonly is applied by spraying the surface with chalk dust
suspended in a volatile carrier fluid.
• Penetrant liquid present within defects will be slowly drawn by capillary action into the pores of
the chalk.
• The development stage may sometimes be omitted when a fluorescent penetrant is used.

Observation and inspection

• After an optimum developing time has been allowed, the component surface is inspected for
indications of penetrant ‘bleed back' into the developer.
• Dye penetrant inspection is carried out in strong lighting conditions, while fluorescent penetrant
inspection is performed in a suitable screened area using ultra-violet light.
(a) (b) (c)

(d) (e)

Fig. Stages in penetrant testing : (a) material surface clean and grease free; (b) penetrant absorbed
into defect; (c) excess penetrant removed, but liquid remains in defect; (d) developer applied to
surface; (e) penetrant absorbed into developer giving indication of defect.
PENETRANT TESTING MATERIALS
A typical penetrant testing involves the use of a variety of materials for cleaning and developing as
well as the penetrant material itself. In general, the fluids involved in the penetrant process are either
petroleum-or-water-based, and the solvents or cleaners are selected according to the type of penetrant
used.

Penetrants
o The penetrant material consists of the indicating (tracer) dye plus the carrier (vehicle) fluid.
o The indicating dye may give a colour contrast with respect to the surroundings.
o For visible light penetrants, the dye is usually red in colour, while for fluorescent penetrants, the
dye appears bright yellow-green under ultraviolet light.
o One of the significant factors in the choice of penetrant material is the detection sensitivity.
o The highest sensitivity achievable is with the water-washable and post-emulsifiable systems.
Characteristics of a penetrant

A liquid penetrant must possess certain specific characteristics if the inspection system is to be
efficient. The various qualities required are listed below

✓ Penetration
✓ wetting ability
✓ Fluidity
✓ Solution ability
✓ Stability
✓ Washability
✓ Drying characteristics
✓ Visibility
Cleaners and Emulsifiers
❑ A cleaning fluid must act as a solvent for the material that is to be removed.
❑ For water-based penetrants, a simple water wash or rinse is suitable for the cleaning step.
❑ For petroleum-based penetrants, there are two alternate methods for cleaning the test piece.
- direct approach is to use an oil or chlorine-based solvent.
- use an emulsifier that reacts with the oil-based penetrant to form a water-soluble substance, which
then may be removed by water washing or rinsing.

Two types of emulsifiers, hydrophilic and lipophilic are available.

Hydrophilic emulsifiers are composed of materials similar to common detergents, which react with the oil-
based penetrant and remove the penetrant from the surface. Diffusion plays a minor role in the action of the
hydrophilic emulsifiers.

Lipophilic emulsifiers, on the other hand, are oil soluble and they diffuse into the penetrant, breaking down
the structure so that the penetrant may be rinsed away with water.
• There are a number of methods used in the cleaning process such as wiping with a cloth, dipping in a tank,
rinsing with a hose, or some combination of these.
• The choice of the cleaning process again depends on the many variables of the test, notably, size, shape and
material of the component as well as the test environment.
• One of the most effective cleaning methods is the use of trichloroethylene vapour.
Developers
❖ The developer material is used to enhance the conspicuity of the indication.
❖ For fluorescent penetrant, the developer background should appear black when illuminated by
ultraviolet light.
❖ The penetrant material concentrated around the defect will appear bright and appear distinct from
the black background of the developer.
❖ The developer for visible dye penetrants normally creates a white background that contrasts the
normal red appearance of the dye pulled out of the crack or pore.
❖ The developer material may be one of several types like dry powder, aqueous (wet) powder
suspension, solvent-suspendable, plastic-film, and water-soluble.
❖ Application of the developer may be accomplished by several techniques such as spray, immersion,
passing the part through a developer dust cloud chamber, fluidized bed, and electrostatic means.
❖ The highest sensitivity is obtained with solvent spray, plastic film spray, and water-soluble spray.
PENETRANT TESTING METHODS
The type of penetrant inspection method that is used depends on a number of factors. The three
principal methods of penetrant inspection are discussed below:

Water Washable Method

In this method, all of the materials used are water-soluble.

Fig. Water washable penetrant method

Post-Emulsifiable Method

This method is a combination of solvent and water-based

inspections.

The difference between the post-emulsifiable penetrant

process and the water-washable method are
(a) the penetrant used and
(b) the need for an emulsifier

Both hydrophilic and lipophilic emulsifiers may be used in

this method.

The advantage of the post-emulsifiable system is that solvent

penetrants that may be required for some parts may be
removed by water.

Fig. Post-emulsifiable penetrant method

Solvent Removable Method

• This process is an oil-based inspection process.

• Penetrant removal must be accomplished by hand wiping
the part with a rag dampened with solvent.
• Solvent technique is most often applied for the
inspection of either a few small parts or for localized
inspection such as in-situ inspection of pipe welds and
pressure vessel welds and is most amenable to
portability.

Fig. Solvent removable penetrant method

SENSITIVITY
❑ Sensitivity can be defined as the ability of penetrant to reveal a particular type of discontinuity in a
material. This is related to fine or wide discontinuities which are deep or shallow in nature.

❑ Factors affecting sensitivity are the ability of the penetrant to enter the discontinuity and the removal of the
penetrant from the surface of the component.

❑ The penetrant must have the ability to come out of the discontinuity, with the aid of a developer, and to
form an indication that is readily visible with good contrast with respect to the background.

Following is the list of various systems of penetrant, in the order of decreasing sensitivity (and
decreasing cost):
(a) Post-emulsifiable fluorescent
(b) Solvent-removable fluorescent
(c) Water- washable fluorescent
(d) Post-emulsifiable visible dye
(e) Solvent-removable visible dye
(f) Water washable visible dye
APPLICATIONS

➢ The method is capable of detecting discontinuities open to the surface of the material under test.
These are usually cracks, laps, seams, porosity, etc. in products like pressure vessels, pipes, weld
joints etc.
➢ Penetrant method is very reliable in the detection of fatigue cracks that occur during the service
life of a material.
➢ Penetrant method has a significant advantage over other NDT methods, because of the fact that a
part can be tested over its complete surface in a relatively short time, irrespective of shape, size,
and orientation of the defect.

LIMITATIONS
❖ In the case of magnetic materials, MPT is preferred because it will also detect subsurface
discontinuities, defects filled with oxide, and defects covered by paint films.
❖ The liquid penetrant method has another limitation that it cannot be applied to porous materials.
TYPICAL EXAMPLES

Cracks in a heat-treated male part of a die, revealed by LPT A collar crack extending into a part of a raiser, revealed by LPT

Gross cracks including a branched one revealed by Fluorescent liquid penetrant indication from a tight crack in a
visible dye penetrant in a cut section of a boiler tube wheel axle of an undercarriage of an aircraft