General Awareness about NDE – Part 1

Exposing 10 Common Misunderstandings about Penetrant Testing: Common

penetrant inspection misperceptions that can be seen in the field

The liquid penetrant method of non-destructive testing has been used since the 1940’s. But even after
being used by generations of NDT professionals, there are still some common areas of confusion or
misunderstanding. Here we set the record straight on 10 misperceptions we’ve seen in the field in recent
years.
1. The highest sensitivity penetrant is the best penetrant for my application:
The best penetrant for an application is the one that finds the right indications with the least amount
of money and time. Sometimes this means not using the highest sensitivity penetrant.
While it is true that a higher sensitivity penetrant will produce indications for very small
discontinuities, a higher sensitivity penetrant will probably not give you the best inspection results if
you only need to find medium discontinuities since you will see far more indications than are
relevant to the inspection.
To start selecting a penetrant, review any governing specifications and work procedures for required
sensitivity levels.
Take into consideration the surface finish and configuration of the part.
A high sensitivity level fluorescent penetrant is appropriate for smooth, highly machined surfaces.
However, a high sensitivity level fluorescent penetrant may leave excessive fluorescent background
on a rough cast part, making inspection difficult.
A lower sensitivity fluorescent penetrant is a better choice for rough surfaces.
2. A penetrant indication is a discontinuity:
A penetrant indication is the visual results or response of the penetrant test which must be
interpreted to determine its relevance.
Penetrant indications must be evaluated by a qualified inspector to determine if they are non-
relevant or relevant.
Non-relevant indications may be present on parts because of inherent surface roughness or seams.
Fingerprints or fibres may also cause non-relevant indications.
Relevant indications are the result of a discontinuity, or interruption in the physical structure of an
object, and are evaluated according to acceptance criteria. After evaluation, the part is accepted as
is, reworked or discarded.
3. Water washable penetrants are water based:
Some water washable penetrants are water based. However, this is not always the case. A
penetrant can be water washable and not contain water.
Water-washable penetrants contain surfactants which allow the penetrant to be easily removed from
the part surface with water rinsing, regardless of if they are water-based or oil-based.
4. Penetrants are only used on nonferrous metals:
Penetrants can be used to inspect ferrous and nonferrous metals.
Penetrant inspection will find discontinuities open to the surface on ferrous and nonferrous metals.
Penetrant testing should not be done on porous surfaces, as the pores will act as discontinuities to
trap penetrant and prevent accurate inspection.
 General Awareness about NDE – Part 1
5. Penetrant will be able to penetrate a discontinuity that contains water:
Penetrant cannot seep into a discontinuity if it is already filled with water or other liquid.
Likewise, penetrant will not displace or penetrate through paint, particulate, oil or grease.
This is one of the reasons why an important prerequisite for a valid penetrant inspection is to start
with properly cleaned and dried parts.
6. Tanks and an inspection booth are required for penetrant inspection:
Penetrant inspection is easy to adapt to different environments and job sites.
Penetrant inspection systems with stationary tanks and booths are commonly seen in production
environments. However, both fluorescent and visible dye penetrants are available in aerosol cans
and kits for convenience and portability.
Penetrant Process Guide

5 tips for penetrant testing

7. Penetrant is all that is needed to perform a penetrant inspection:

At a minimum, penetrant and developer are required to perform a water washable penetrant
inspection.
Additional products such as cleaner/removers and emulsifiers are required for solvent removable
and post emulsifiable penetrant inspections.
8. Special lighting is required for penetrant inspection:
Fluorescent penetrants do require inspection in a darkened area with specification compliant UV
lighting. The UV lights may be mounted or hand-held for flexibility and portability.
Visible dye penetrants only require adequate white light, typically 100 foot candles minimum, for
inspection.
9. Penetrant inspection should be the final check in a manufacturing process:
Penetrant inspection is useful immediately after any manufacturing process which is known to
cause discontinuities. This allows parts to be reworked or discarded earlier in the manufacturing
process, which saves time and cost.
Penetrant inspection may sometimes be performed more than once during the manufacture of a
part.
The placement of each penetrant inspection process should be optimized to locate manufacturing-
induced discontinuities and reduce the amount of scrap or rework done later in the manufacturing
process.
10. Penetrant inspection can take place at any point in the manufacturing process:
As discussed, it is important to perform penetrant inspection after manufacturing operations likely to
cause discontinuities open to the surface in parts.
However, care must be taken to perform penetrant inspection prior to mechanical operations that
will smear the metal surface. Machining operations such as shot blasting, peening or grinding may
close surface discontinuities, which can prevent subsequent penetrant inspections from finding
these discontinuities.
Penetrant inspection should take place before machining operations like shot blasting, peening or
grinding unless chemical etching can be used between these operations and the penetrant testing
to reliably expose the discontinuities.
Penetrant Process Guide
Five Tips for
Method A: Water Wash Fluorescent Method B/D: Post Emulsifiable Fluorescent Penetrant Testing
ZL-15B, Level ½
Daraclean 282 ZL-19, Level 1
Daraclean 200
Daraclean 236
ZL-60D, Level 2
ZL-67, Level 3
Daraclean 282
Daraclean 200
ZL-2C Level 2
ZL-27A Level 3 1. Check required
ZL-56, Level 4 Daraclean 236 ZL-37 Level 4
specifications before
Preclean with
Daraclean
Apply Penetrant Dwell Time
10−30 minutes
Rinse
50−100°F / 10−38°C at Preclean with Apply Penetrant Dwell Time beginning penetrant
(in some cases longer) <40 psi / 2.75 bar Daraclean 10−30 minutes
inspection.

ZP-5B Water 2. Certifications, SDS,

Suspendible
PDS, and instructions are
Apply Aqueous Dry Dwell Time available at
Developer at 140°F / 60°C 10 min–2 hr maximum
ZR-10E Hydrophilic ZE-4E Lipophilic www.magnaflux.com
Rinse
ZP-4B Dry Powder 50−100°F / 10−38°C at
<40 psi / 2.75 bar
Apply Emulsifier Apply Emulsifier
3. Verify that parts to be
Inspect

Dwell Time
penetrant tested are
Dry Apply Dry
at 140°F / 60°C Developer 10 min–4 hr maximum
clean and dry before
applying penetrant.

4. Magnaflux offers
Method C: Solvent Removeable, Fluorescent Rinse PeneCert Testing Service
50−100°F / 10−38°C at
and Nonfluorescent <40 psi / 2.75 bar
for in-process penetrant
materials. Contact
Magnaflux Customer
Service for details
(cs@magnaflux.com)
Preclean Apply Penetrant Dwell Time Remove Excess Penetrant
Cleaner options: SKC-S Penetrant options: SKL-SP2, ZL-27A, 10–30 minutes Spray SKC-S cleaner onto a clean, ZP-5B Water Suspendible
or ZL-37 dry lint-free cloth. DO NOT apply ZP-14A Water Soluble
cleaner directly onto the part or
test area
5. Magnaflux penetrant
Apply Developer Dry products are available in
122−158°F / 50−70°C
kits for convenience and
portability.

ZP-4B Dry Powder

ZP-9F Solvent Based

Remove Penetrant Apply Developer Dwell Time

Use the cloth to remove excess Developer options: 10–60 minutes
Dry Dwell Time Apply Developer
surface penetrant with minimal SKD-S2 or ZP-9F
122−158°F / 50−70°C 10 min minimum
wiping

Inspect Inspect Inspect

in a well lit environment under a UV lamp