Liquid or Dye

Penetrant Inspection
 Liquid (or dye) penetrant inspection is an extension of
visual inspection and is used for detecting surface- breaking
flaws, such as cracks, laps and folds, on any non- absorbent
material's surface.

 A brightly coloured or fluorescent dye is applied on the

cleaned surface of components and allowed to penetrate in to any
surface-breaking cracks or cavities by capillary action.

 After some time of soaking, the excess liquid penetrant is

wiped from the surface and a developer applied or UV light is
focused.

 The developer draws penetrant out of any cracks by reverse

capillary action to produce indications on the surface.

 These (coloured) indications are broader than the actual flaw

and are therefore more easily visible.
Inspection of the indications

Normal Light
OR
Dark (UV) Light
Penetrant (Dye)
A penetrant must possess some important characteristics.

A penetrant must:

 spread easily over the surface of the material being inspected to

provide complete and even coverage.

 be drawn into surface breaking defects by capillary action.

 remain in the defect but remove easily from the surface of the
part.

 remain fluid so it can be drawn back to the surface of the part

through the drying and developing steps.

 be highly visible or fluoresce brightly to produce easy to see

indications.

 not be harmful to the material being tested or the inspector.

Penetrant materials come in two basic types.

Type 1 - Fluorescent Penetrants

Type 2 - Visible Penetrants

Penetrants are classified based on the strength or

detectability of the indication :

Level ½ - Ultra Low Sensitivity

Level 1 - Low Sensitivity
Level 2 - Medium Sensitivity
Level 3 - High Sensitivity
Level 4 - Ultra-High Sensitivity
Penetrants classified by the method used to remove the
excess penetrant from the part. 

Method A - Water Washable

Method B - Post-Emulsifiable, Lipophilic
Method C - Solvent Removable
Method D - Post-Emulsifiable, Hydrophilic

All the dyes are mostly synthetic and are having oil base.

How to wash them from the surface?

METHOD C - SOLVENT WASHABLE

Solvent removable penetrants require the use of a solvent to

remove the penetrant from the part.

The same cleaner is used as penetrant remover

Difficult and incomplete removal of excess dye is possible

Incomplete removal of excess dye may lead to wrong

indications which may confuse the inspector

TOUGH WASHING BUT GOOD SENSITIVITY

METHOD A - WATER WASHABLE

Water washable penetrants can be removed from the part by rinsing with
water alone

These penetrants contain an inbuilt emulsifying agent (detergent)

It makes possible to wash the penetrant from the part surface with water
alone

Water washable penetrants are sometimes referred to as self-emulsifying

systems  

Easy and complete removal of excess dye is possible in a cheap manner

However, there is a possibility of removing the dye from the flaws also,
leading to missing of minute data

EASY WASHING BUT POOR SENSITIVITY

 POST EMULSIFICATION

It is having the advantages of both water washable and solvent washable

systems

There is no over washing as well as under washing

Better sensitivity and easy washing

A separate emulsifier is added externally over the excess dye and the
emulsifier converts the solvent washable excess dye into water washable
excess dye
Emulsifier

Dye
METHOD B – POST EMULSIFIABLE (LIPOPHILIC)

Lipophilic systems make use of oil-based emulsifiers that interacts with

the excess penetrant and remove them.

They work with both a chemical and mechanical action.

After the emulsifier has coated the surface of the object, mechanical
action starts to remove some of the excess penetrant as the mixture
drains from the part.

During the emulsification time, the emulsifier diffuses into the remaining
penetrant and the resulting mixture is easily removed with a water spray.
METHOD D – POST EMULSIFIABLE (HYDROPHILIC)

They use an emulsifier that is a water soluble detergent which lifts the
excess penetrant from the surface of the part with a water wash.

They also remove the excess penetrant with mechanical and chemical
action

But the action is different because no diffusion takes place.

They are basically detergents that contain solvents and surfactants.

They break up the penetrant into small quantities and prevents these
pieces from recombining or reattaching to the surface of the part.

The mechanical action of the rinse water removes the displaced penetrant
from the part and causes fresh remover to contact and lift newly exposed
penetrant from the surface. 
Steps in LPT with post emulsifiable penetrants

1.Pre-clean part
2.Apply penetrant and allow to dwell
3.Pre-rinse to remove first layer of penetrant
4.Apply hydrophilic emulsifier and allow contact for specified
time
5.Rinse to remove excess penetrant
6.Dry part
7.Apply developer and allow part to develop
8.Inspect.
 DEVELOPER
The role of the developer is to pull the trapped penetrant material out of
defects and spread it out on the surface of the part so it can be seen by
an inspector

Simply chalk powder either in dry from or dissolved in a volatile solvent

The six forms

Form A - Dry Powder

Form B - Water Soluble
Form C - Water Suspendable
Form D - Nonaqueous Type 1 Fluorescent (Solvent Based)
Form E - Nonaqueous Type 2 Visible Dye (Solvent Based)
Form F - Special Applications
Developer

 Highly absorptive

 Fine grain size & particle shape for easy dispersion

 Provision of contrast background

 Easy application

 Formation of thin uniform coating over surface

 Easily wettable

 Low toxicity
 Steps
1. Cleaning:

 Is done to make the surface opening flaws to act like excellent

capillars.

 The surface must be free of oil, grease, water, or other contaminants

that may prevent penetrant from entering flaws.

 Chemical mode of cleaning is more preferred than mechanical mode.

2. Application of Penetrant

 Select a dye - sensitivity required, materials cost, number of parts, size

of area requiring inspection, and portability.

 The dye is applied uniformly to the surface of the part and allowed
time to seep into surface breaking defects by capillary action.

 The dye can be applied in a number of different ways, including

spraying, brushing, or immersing the parts in a penetrant bath.
Dye

Component
Dwell time = is the total time that the dye is in contact with the surface.

The dwell time is important because it allows the penetrant the time
necessary to seep or be drawn into a defect

It is decided by

The surface tension of the penetrant.

The contact angle of the penetrant.
The dynamic shear viscosity of the penetrant
The atmospheric pressure at the flaw opening.
The capillary pressure at the flaw opening.
The pressure of the gas trapped in the flaw by the penetrant.
The radius of the flaw or the distance between the flaw walls.
The density or specific gravity of the penetrant.
Microstructural properties of the penetrant.

Usual dwell time is = 5 – 60 mins

3. Removal of Excess Penetrant :

 Excess Dye = Dye that present on the flaw free regions of the surface

Excess Dye

Required Dye
Component
The penetrant removal procedure must effectively remove the penetrant
from the surface of the part without removing an appreciable amount of
entrapped penetrant from the defect.

If the removal process extracts penetrant from the flaw, the flaw
indication will be reduced by a proportional amount.

If the penetrant is not effectively removed from the part surface, the
contrast between the indication and the background will be reduced.

Depending on the dye system used, the excess dye may be removed by

(i) Cleaning with solvents

(ii) Direct rinsing with water
(iii) First treating the part with an emulsifier and then rinsing
with water.
 Excess Dye

Component
4. Developing:

A developer (chalk powder) is applied to pull the trapped penetrant

out the defect and spread it on the surface

They are applied by dusting (dry powdered), dipping, or spraying

(wet developers).

The dye coming to the surface by reverse capillary action and

forming an indication

Parts should be allowed to develop for a minimum of 10 minutes

and no more than 2 hours before inspecting.

Red indication on a white background

Incase of fluorescent dyes, Dark light is used to view the

indications
INDICATION DEVELOPER

Side view

PART

Top view
5. Interpretation

Visual inspection is the final step in the process.

Visible Penetrants = Normal light

Fluorescent Penetrants = UV light

Approximate data about the type, size and depth of defect

obtained
 Applicability w.r.t. flaws
LPT is best for detecting

 Small round defects than small linear defects

 Deeper flaws than shallow flaws

 Flaws with a narrow opening at the surface than wide open flaws

 Flaws on smooth surfaces than on rough surfaces

 Flaws with rough fracture surfaces than smooth fracture

surfaces

 Flaws under tensile or no loading than flaws under

compression loading
 Quality & Process Control
The temperature of the penetrant materials and the part being inspected
can have an effect on the results.

Temperatures from 27 to 49oC (80 to 120oF) are reported in the literature to

produce optimal results.

Many specifications allow testing in the range of 4 to 52oC (40 to 125oF).

Only penetrant products meeting the requirements of an industry

specification, such as AMS 2644, should be used

The light intensity is required to be 1000 lux at the surface being

inspected

UV light  Black light = 320 – 380 nm wave length

System Performance Check
 Advantages
• Can detect surface defects better than VT.

• Can inspect parts with irregular shapes easily.

• Fast method of inspection and indications are visible directly on the

specimen surface.

• Considered low cost compared to many other NDT methods.

• Is a very portable inspection method.

 Limitations
• Can not detect subsurface and internal flaws

• Cannot inspect ceramics and powder metallurgy components

• Precleaning of components is a critical step for better flaw

detectability.

• Results are qualitative