Introduction to NDT and Penetrant Testing (PT)

G.Jothinathan
Scientific Officer Gr.I
Department of Metallurgical and
Materials Engineering
I I T M, Chennai 600 036
Email gjndt@yahoo.com

Introduction To NDT

Non Destructive Testing (NDT) is a

noninvasive method and the testing is carried
out without impairing further usefulness of
the material, component and structure
The component can be put into use after the
Testing. The signals that are employed do not
alter the properties permanently .
Method
Signal
Remarks
UT
US waves - elastic waves Elastic deformation
RT
X-rays and gamma rays No damage during
the course of testing
Radiation damage!!!
MT
Magnetic field
Remnent fieldDemagnetisation

- interesting and highly paying field

- interdisciplinary of metallurgy, physics and
chemistry
NDT accounts for 1/3 of the cost of an aircraft
(without raw material and fabrication cost !!)

Definition of terms

NDT
NDI

NDE

Used interchangeably- detection and

reporting
The scope is broader serviceability is
ascertained
Also includes material characterisation

Material anomalies-interruption ,break,disruption

Discontinuity- can meet the service requirements

Defect/flaw - renders unsuitable for service
Anamoly whether Discontinuity or defect/flaw
1.Nature of the imperfection linear-volumetric
2.Material structural or high strength
3.Criticality of use storage vessel or boiler
boiler in thermal power plant
boiler in nuclear power plant
Linear -crack length > 3 times width
Volumetric - porosity and inclusion

Applications of NDT
The main application of NDT is
flaw detection and evaluation.
It is also used for
geometric dimension measurement.
material characterization,
bond integrity testing ,
condition monitoring etc

Material characterisation:
1. E and determination
2. Grain size evaluation
3. Proportion of microstructural phases
4. Extent of deformation
5. Nodularity of nodular cast iron etc
6. Fracture toughness determination

Purpose of NDT

Fracture mechanics approach damage

tolerance approach (propagates the idea of
live with discontinuities)
A material property, fracture toughness (KIc)
is defined and this characterizes the material
behaviour in presence of discontinuities
which the earlier strength of materials design
approach has not taken into account.
KIc can be experimentally determined.
The stress intensity factor (KI) the stress
distribution around a discontinuity
is given by KI = G a where G is
geometric constant, is the working stress
and a is flaw size.
Failure occurs when KI is equal to or greater
than KIc
To determine KI,, flaw size information
needed and is provided by NDT personnel.
Life extension and life predication methods
also require information on the flaw size.

APPLIED
STRESS

YIELD TENSILE
STRENGTH
(a) The Strength of materials approach

APPLIED
STRESS

FLAW
SIZE

FRACTURE
TOUGHNESS
(b) The Fracture Mechanics approach

Comparison of classical design philosophy with fracture mechanics approach

NDT methods
1.Visual testing (VT)
2.Liquid Penetrant Testing (PT)
Surface NDT
3.Magnetic particle Testing (MT)
4.Radiographic Testing (RT)
Surface &internal
5.Ultrasonic Testing (UT)
6.Eddy Current Testing (ET) - highly sensitive
7.Acoustic Emission Testing (AET) monitors activity
8.Thermal Infrared imaging (TIFR)
9.Leak testing (LT)

Visual Testing (VT)

This ancient and original method of

examination by human eyes is still widely
employed to find gross discontinuities,
surface irregularities, roughness and
corrosion products on the surface.
Many gadgets like lenses, cameras are used.
For surfaces inaccessible to the human eyes
as in the case of inside surfaces of pipes and
boilers, boroscopes and flexible fibroscopes
are employed. These are called endoscopes
(internal vision). They are nothing but lens
arrangement to transfer the image or the
optical fibers arrangement for transferring the
image.

VT of welds(contd)
Mainly for noncritical welds
Before, during and after
welding
Before -Surface roughness and
cleanliness (oil)
During - Electrode size and
welders performance
After -Dimensional accuracy of
weldments
Conformity of
welds to size and contour
requirements

VT of welds (contd)
Acceptability of weld appearance
with regard to:
Presence of surface discontinuities
such as:
surface roughness
weld spatter
cleanliness underfill
pores
Undercuts
overlaps
Cracks
spatter
Establishing definite procedure to
ensure uniformity and accuracy

Liquid Penetrant Testing (PT)

-is applicable to discontinuities that are
open to the surface or surface connected.
-is extension of visual testing
-an indication is obtained whose width
is very much larger than the actual
width of the crack so as to be seen by
the unaided eye.
Crack indication

Sensitivity and applications

-Sensitivity equal or better than MT
better than RT for surface
discontinuities
1 m x 10 m x 50 m
can be detected
Applications on all materials
metals(ferrous and nonferrous)
nonmetals(rubber,plastic etc)
all type of defects (open)
leak testing
Normally not applicable to porous materials
(unfired ceramics and powder metallurgical

parts)
Presently Filtered particle penetrant for porous
materials
Rough surfaces pose problem- > 125 mbackground poses problem

Principle of Penetrant Testing PT

Highly coloured (visible or fluorescent)
organic dye liquid which is also surface
active in nature (called penetrants) is applied
on to the clean surface of the component and
allowed sufficient time for penetration into
discontinuities. The excess surface penetrant
on the component is removed. This leaves a
clean surface of the component with pentrant
residing in the discontinuities. At this point
Of time, developer, which is highly absorptive
in nature, is applied. The developer brings
back or bleeds out the penetrant thereby
providing an indication in a contrasting
background of white colour of developer.
1.Preparation of part
2. Application of penetrant
3. Removal of excess surface penetrant
4. Development
5. Inspection and Evaluation
6. Post Cleaning

Clean surface of Component

Penetrant application

Removal of excess surface penetrant

Application of developer

After removal of excess surface penetrant and

before application developer

Inspection and Interpretation

Fig.1. Principle of Penetrant Testing

Principle Of PT

Properties of penetrant
The entire penetrant testing is based on the
ability of the liquid to penetrate into
discontinuities and later ability to come out.
The required properties are 1. Wettability
2. Capillarity
The ability of the liquid to wet the solid surface
or spread over the solid surface is determined by
the surface energies of the liquid-gas interface,
the solid-liquid interface and the solid-gas
interface.
Mathematically expressed
SSL = SG - (Lg
Where:

SL)

SSL is the wetting ability of liquid on a clean solid.

Lg is the surface energy of the liquid-gas interface.
SL is the surface energy of the solid-liquid interface.
SG is the surface energy of the solid-gas interface.

The liquid to spread over the solid surface, should replace the previously
existing solid gas interface. This can happen when the energy difference
SG -SL) is positive or if SG> > SL). Or in other words the surface energy
of the solid gas interface should exceed, the surface energy of the solid
liquid interface. The difference in these energies is responsible for the
liquid to spread over the solid surface.

The ability of the liquid to spread or wet the solid

surface is related to the contact angle , which
quantifies the resultant adhesive and cohesive forces,
The contact angle is defined as the angle between the
solid surface and the tangent drawn to the liquid at
the point of contact. It can be seen that spreading
ability and contact angle are inversely related. The
Figs. Show the contact angle and wetting ability.
a. low contact angle

contact angle 90 deg.

High contact angle

Normally, the penetrants need to have a very low

contact angle and the commercial penetrants
have contact angles between 0 5.. Contact angle
depends on the solid surface to be wetted. Waterglass has a contact angle of 0 deg. compared to
water-silver which is 90 deg
Once the liquid wets the surface, the ability of the
liquid to rise in the capillary or enter into the
openings is determined by surface tension (T)
Hence the main properties of penetrant are T and

However, the speed of penetration is determined by

viscosity

Other penetrant required properties

1.Visibility
2.Nontoxicity (noncorroding etc)
Visibility is next most important property of the
penetrant
Colour contrast ratio of visible dye is ~1:10
(The light reflected by the white background to bright
red of the dye)
Colour contrast ratio of the fluorescent dye is ~1:100
(light emitted by the indication to the light emitted by
the dark background)
Because of this colour contrast ratio, the indication is
better seen in the case of fluorescent indication . The
human eye brings an effect called halation effect, the
ability to magnify the indication

Classification penetrants
There are mainly three types of penetrants namely
1. Visible dye or colour contrast penetrant (Type II )
2. Fluorescent or brightness contrast penetrant (Type I )
3. Dual mode (visible and fluorescent) (Type III)
Other unclassified type is . filtered particle penetrant

(Type I, II, or III is based based on the type of dye

that is incorporated -visible or fluorescent or both )
Each of these are further classified as methods
1. Water washable WW ( Method A)
2. Post emulsifiable PE lippophilic (Method B)
3. Solvent removable SR (Method C )
4. Post emulsifiable Hydrophilic ( Method D)
-classification is based on the method by which
the excess penetrant is removed in the excess
penetrant removal step.
Simple water washing
water washable
Solvent wiping
solvent removable
Emulsifying &removing post emulsifiable
lippo & hydrophilic

Composition of penetrants
1. Oil base
2. Dye material (visible or fluorescent)
3. Solvents and stabilising agents.

The composition of solvent removable and post

emulsifiable penetrant are essentially same.
Solvent removable by solvent action
Post emulsifiable by dispersing the penetrant
into fine particles by the
applied emulsifier,
making it water removable
Water washable - Simple water washing
Simple water washing cannot remove the oil base
penetrant. Water washable penetrant has one more
constituent namely built in emulsifier The moment
water is applied, penetrant is dispersed by the inbuilt emulsifier making it amenable for water
washing

Sensitivity of penetrants
All fluorescent methods are more sensitive
than visible dye penetrant
Penetrant Type
Properties

Visisble dye

Fluorescent
dye

Indication

Bright red
colour

Yellowish
green(on
excitation)
Dark (max. 2
ft.candles)

Background

White colour
of the
developer
Colour contrast ratio ~1:10
Visibility(seeability) Medium
Halation
Normal
effect(ability of the
eye to magnify the
indication)
Sensitivity
Medium

~1:100
Very high
High

High

In weld inspection, lower sensitivity methods,

namely water Washable and solvent removable are
employed due to surface roughness of the weld.
Hence, use of high sensitivity penetrant namely
fluorescent dye penetrant may be preferred.

Preparation of parts
3.1.2 The possible contaminants on the components
are
1.Oil and grease
2. Rust or scales (Oxidation products)
3. Paints and conversion coatings
4. Carbon, Varnish etc
5. water
3.1.3 Sources
1. Fabrication processes and subsequent treatment

2. Surface protection against corrosion

3. Surface treatment for improvement of properties

3.1.4 Interference by contaminants

1.physical blocking of the discontinuity (eg

Rust or scale paint or conversion coatings)
2.disturbing the balanced composition of the
penetrant (eg. Oil, water etc)

3. Entering and occupying the discontinuities. Oil,

water etc)

Simple wiping
Vapour degreasing

1. Solvent cleaning

Oil and grease

Ultrasonic cleaning

Acid cleaning
2. Chemical cleaning

Detergent cleaning

Rust, scale
oxide etc

Alkaline cleaning

Wire brushing, sand

blasting etc

Rust, scale.

3.Mechanical cleaning

Oxide etc
Machining, grinding etc

Application of penetrant
Penetrant can be applied by
immersion, dipping ,spraying, swabbing and pouring.
The only requirement is that a thin layer of
penetrant should be present for the specified
time (dwell time) on the surface to be inspected.
Dwell time : The total time the penetrant is
contact
with
the
test
surface
including the time required for application and
for drain .
Dwell time = application time + drain time
Normally 5-30 mts. Depends on the size and
nature of discontinuity and the material and
surface condition of the material etc.

Removal of excess penetrant

The excess surface penetrant on the surface is
carefully removed without affecting the penetrant
that is residing in the discontinuity.
This is an important step as the unremoved excess
surface penetrant will affect subsequently by
affecting the contrast of the indication (excessive
background) and if any penetrant in the
discontinuity is disturbed the volume of the
penetrant indication will get reduced (The volume of
penetrant is already very small)
In any NDT method the Signal to Noise ratio is
important and this should be as high as possible
S- Volume of penetrant that has entered into the discontinuity
N- Unremoved excess surface penetrant in the discontinuity

It is obvious that in PT to achieve a high S/N ratio,

the excess penetrant on the surface should be
removed as completely as possible and the penetrant
is the discontinuity should not be lost by overwashing

Penetrant removal methods

Dissolve and remove (SR)
1. Disperse (emulsify) and remove by water PE
2. Simply water wash if penetrant contains built in
Emulsifier (WW)
In each case, care need be exercised so as to
completely remove the excess penetrant on the
surface completely and at the same time the
penetrant in the discontinuity is not affected.
Wash dont over wash .
In the case, welds, when need be inspected
without flushing the crown, the surface
roughness poses problems giving background
colouration thereby affecting the visibility of the
Indication. Hence Solvent removable and water
washable variations are normally employed.
Here overwashing tendency of these methods, is
taken to advantage, meaning, the surface is
much free from the background colouration.
Of course, the sensitivity suffers. Sensitivity
depends on the amount of retained penetrant in
the discontinuity

Developing an indication
3.5.0 DEVELOPING
After the removal of the excess surface penetrant ,
in developing step, the penetrant from the
discontinuity is brought to the surface so as to
form an visible indication.
3.6.1
Developer functions
The developer functions are
1.To assist the natural seepage of the penetrant in
the discontinuity and extract or blot out the
penetrant so as to form
an visual indication
(mechanism of visual indication)
2. To provide a contrasting base which enhances
the detection an indication. Blue-black to
yellowish green: white to red
3. To spread the penetrant so as to increase the
apparent size of the indication
4. To mask some confusing indications

Mechanism of development
3.6.3 Mechanism of developing action :
Natural seepage is assisted and the absoptive
developers blot out more penetrant from the
discontinuity. The thickness of the penetrant layer
is increased to the levels above the threshold
visibility .( Some fluorescent penetrant indications
can be seen without developing with high intensity
black light -3000 microwatt/sq.cm)
Particles
No
Developer

Developer

Absorbed
Penetrant

Width
is
more

Type of developers and the developer

used in weld inspection
Developer has two variations: Dry and Wet. In
the case of wet, aqueous and non aqueous.
As the sensitivity of wet developers are better
than, dry developers and since in weld
inspection, less sensitive methods namely water
washable and solvent removable are employed ,
it is better to use wet developers (mostly
nonaqueous) in weld inspection in spite surface
roughness. Normally for high surface roughness,
dry powder is better suited .

Inspection, interpretation and evaluation

Developing action at the end of developer time

reveals an indication. In this step the indications
are interpreted as to the origin of the indication
namely whether True or false indications and if
true indication whether relevant or nonrelevant
and if relevant as to the nature of
discontinuities linear or volumetric.
Inspection environement depends on the type of
dye - Visible or fluorescent dye
white light for visible and black light
for fluoresecent
Relevant
True indication
Non relevant
False indication

Improper processing

Standard test specimen in PT

1. Aluminum comparator blocks penetrant quality
2. Chrome plated steel specimen sensitivity

2.8.1 Inspection environment

Visible dye penetrant indications are inspected under white light
and fluorescent dye penetrant indications are viewed under
blach light (ultraviolet light?)
Electromagnetic radiation spectrum
Visible and ultraviolet spectrum
Visible light spectrum - 380 nm to 770 nm or ( V to R ) or
3800 Ao to 7000 Ao
Ultraviolet spectrum - 10 nm to 380 nm or 100 -3800 Ao
Black light spectrum - 320 nm to 380 nm or (with peak at
365 nm)

Hg arc vapour lamp produces ultraviolet light in addition to

visible light. The filters are used to remove the harmful portion
of UV (below 320 nm) and also visible light which affects the
fluorescence of the fluorescent dye. The filters that are
commonly used give black light with maximum peak intensity at
365 nm..

Colour and fluorescent colours

Colour part of the white light that is reflected by the surface that
is flooded with the white light
Fluorescent colour Emission of visible light (any colour) on the
impingement of high energy radiation on the surface.
In PT & MT, the impingement of black light (UV) leads to
emission of yellowish green light

Black light
Yellowish
green light

Fluorescent dye

Weld defects that can be detected by PT

The preponderance of weld joints are
fusion welded. The following
discontinuities can be detected.
1. Porosity
2. Lack of root penetration (on single side)
3. Lack of fusion (at toe of welds)
4. Cracks in heat affected zone
5. Crater and other cracks
Weldments at the site is inspected with
visible dye penetrant using solvent removable
method

Some hints on penetrant testing of welds

1. Due to surface roughness of unflushed
welds, it is better to use, water washable and
solvent removable methods to avoid
undesirable background.
2. In the case of Solvent removable pentrants,
usual precaution of wiping with solvent
moistened lint free cloth may not yield the
desired results because of excessive
background. Sometimes, the solvent is
directly applied to the weld to overcome this
difficulty. Of course fine cracks may be
missed
3. In the case of TIG and MIG where better
surface is obtained, it is better to go solvent
wiping method
4. Inspection with multiple pass welds with
penetrants requires that each weld bead is
inspected prior to the next pass to provide the
next the best reliability. Cleaning after each
testing

Hints for weld inspection (contd)

5.Water washable fluorescent penetrants
can be used on large pressure vessels or other
large structures by washing with a hose and air
drying.
Developent with solvent suspended developer
can provide good sensitivity
Water washable penetrants can be washed more
readily from most weld
6. It is important to remove all the of the slag from
welds before penetrant testing.
Grinding off the ripples on rough welds is
desirable. Grinding should not smear the metal
7. Brazed joints can discontinuities similar to weld
beads that can be detected by PT.
A braze that does not wet the surface is
indication of a poor joint.

Selection guide for NDT

Method
Visual

Application
Advantages
Surface
Economical test
discontinuities

Disadvantage
Limited to visual
acuity of the
inspector
Liquid
Surface cracks Relatively
Cleaning is needed
penetrant
and porosity inexpensive &
before and after
Reasonably fast inspection .surface
films hide
discontinuities
Magnetic
Surface and
Relatively
Applicable only
particlei
subsurface
economical and ferromagnetic
discontinuities expedient
materials
Radiographic Volume
Provides
Plane
discontinuities permanent record discontinuities
Surface &
must be favourably
subsurface
aligned with
radiation bean
Ultrasonic
Most
Sensitive to
Small thickness
discontinuities planar
plate may be
discontinuities. difficult to inspect.
High penetration Requires skilled
capability
operator
Eddy current Surface and
Painted or coated Many variables
testing
subsurface can surface signal
affect the test
be inspected High speed