P326

Connect a standard leak to the system as far from the mass

spectrometer connection as practical. The standard helium leak should

have a leakage rate equal to or less than the total allowable leakage rate

for the test boundary.

If there is no noticeable increases in signal within a short time, then

continue injecting the rest of the helium. This approach can prevent

wasting large quantities of costly helium in the event that large excessive

leakage was overlooked in earlier stages of testing.

Protective Devices Used with Mass Spectrometer Leak Detector

P323

Converting Helium Leakage to Air Leakage Rate

Based on kinetic theory, when converting helium leakage rates to rates

of leakage for other gases, it would be useful to know the type of leak

that exists. Theoretically, helium flow through small leaks, in the

range of 1 × 10–7 Pa·m3·s–1 (1 × 10–6 std cm3·s–1) or less, is 2.73 times

the air leakage rate. However, leaks large enough to be governed by

viscosity will permit air flow as much as 1.4 times greater than the

flow of helium.
P322
Gas Handling Capacity of Mass Spectrometer Vacuum System

The quantity of gas that must be pumped per unit time to maintain a

desired vacuum system pressure is known as the gas load. If the gas load

of the item under test is larger than the throughput of the leak detector,

the instrument must be throttled and/or

(1)

where QHE is helium flow rate (Pa·m3·s–1); PHE is partial pressure of helium

(pascal); and S is pumping speed of helium (m3·s–1). For quantitative

measurements, the instrument can be calibrated by admitting a known

rate of helium flow into the instrument. It is not necessary to know the

pumping speed, but it must be held constant during calibration and

test.

The Pirani gage is typically located in the test manifold. During an

automatic roughing cycle,

(1) double welded joints and lap welds, (2) double O-rings,

(3) threaded joints, (4) ferrule and flange tubing fittings, (5) castings with

internal voids, (6) flat polymer gaskets and (7) unvented O-ring grooves

P335
These enclosure assemblies should be welded with full penetration

welds or with continuous internal fillet welds and intermittent external

fillet welds. This prevents formation of trapped spaces between

continuous double fillet welds that form potential areas of virtual

leakage.