EBT 405 NON DESTRUCTIVE TESTING

What is a Leak?
A leak is a flow of material, either out of an orifice, or

through a material (permeation). It is an admission or

release of a material.
A crack in a brazed joint, a cut O-ring or a thin walled

area of a molded container all result in leaks.

What is Leak Testing?

In general, leak testing is the measurement of the amount of

media leaking through material over time.

There are many methods used to measure the amount of
released material, and various media are used as the tracing
agents (depending on the measurement method used).
Each method carries with it different characteristics that make
one method more favorable than another for a specific
application.
Examples of these characteristics are economics, accuracy,
tolerance to environmental conditions, leak rate
specification, production rate, equipment component
limitations, etc.
Most leak detection methods do NOT locate the leak in a part,
they simply quantify the rate at which a part leaks. Other
methods are used to locate leaks on a part.

How do we measure leaks?

Leak measurement is available in two types:

Effect of the Leak Methods

Amount of the Leak Methods

What is the difference between

Effect of the Leak and Amount of
the
Leak?
To demonstrate the difference between Effect of the Leak and Amount
of the Leak testing methods, we will use a swimming pool example.

Imagine the water level of the swimming pool (height). the Effect of

the Leak method would attempt to measure the change in the level
(height) of the swimming pool due to the removal of the water.

Amount of the Leak method would attempt to measure the volume

of the water removed. In the case of the swimming pool example, it

would make sense to use the Amount of the Leak method because the
volume of the water removed is much easier to measure. The
measurement would be more accurate, and more repeatable.

Effect of Leak Methods

Pressure Decay Method
This method involves measuring the drop in

pressure inside the part over time as a result of

escaping material.
The test typically consists of the following steps:

Charging the part to test pressure

Allowing the pressure to stabilize

Measuring the drop in pressure during test

Idle

Filling

Stabilizing

Testing

End of Test

Effect of Leak Methods

Pressure Differential Method
This method also involves measuring the drop in

pressure inside the part over time as a result of

escaping material.

The main difference is that in case of a Pressure Differential

test, we measure the change in pressure inside the part

compared to the pressure inside a control volume
charged to the same pressure as the part.

This allows us to use differential pressure transducers that

can detect very small pressure changes more accurately.

Effect of Leak Methods

The test typically consists of the following steps:
Charging the part and the control volume to test

pressure
Isolating the control volume from the part
Allowing the system to stabilize
Measuring the change in pressure difference during
test

Idle

Filling

End of Fill

Stabilizing

Testing

End of Test

Effect of Leak Methods

Pressure Increase Method
This method involves measuring the pressure increase in

a low-pressure area surrounding the part caused by

escaping test media.
Since the pressure used outside the part is usually lower
than atmospheric pressure, the temperature dependence is
lower, therefore parts with temperatures other than ambient
can be tested this way.
This method is especially suitable for testing particular areas
of interest of parts (e.g. valve seats of assembled valves,
covers, etc.) for leaks. The rise in pressure is only measured
in the vacuum (or low pressure) area.

Pressure increase method

The test typically consists of the following steps

Establishing the desired pressure around the part

Charging the part to test pressure
Allowing the system to stabilize
Measuring the change in pressure outside the part

Idle

Filling start

Testing

Testing

End of test

Leak Test Application

Automotive Leak Testing
Medical Device Leak and Flow Testing
Pharmaceutical Closure Integrity

Package Leak Testing

Oil & Gas Leak Detection
Aerospace Leak Detection
Industrial / Appliance / Hardware Leak Detection