LIQUID

PENETRANT
TESTING

Dr.Satish.
N Professor & PG Coordinator
Bangalore Institute of Technology
Liquid Penetrant Testing

 Penetrant testing is a simple non-destructive testing (NDT) method used to locate

surface-breaking discontinuities in metals and many non-metals using a
penetrating liquid.
 Penetrant Testing, or PT, is a nondestructive testing method that builds on the
principle of Visual Inspection.
 PT increases the “seeability” of small discontinuities that the human eye might
not be able to detect alone.

NDT – Dr.Satish.N, Professor, BIT

How Does PT Work?

 In penetrant testing, a liquid with high surface wetting characteristics is applied to

the surface of a component under test.

 The penetrant “penetrates” into surface breaking discontinuities via

capillary action and other mechanisms.

 Excess penetrant is removed from the surface and a developer is applied to pull
trapped penetrant back the surface.

 With good inspection technique, visual indications of any

discontinuities present become apparent.

NDT – Dr.Satish.N, Professor, BIT

 Basic
Process of
PT

NDT – Dr.Satish.N, Professor, BIT

Basic Process of PT

NDT – Dr.Satish.N, Professor, BIT

Liquid Penetrant Testing

 What Can Be Inspected Via PT?

 Almost any material that has a relatively smooth, non-porous surface on which
discontinuities or defects are suspected.
 What Can NOT be Inspected Via PT?
 Components with rough surfaces, such as sand castings, that trap and
hold
penetrant.
 Porous ceramics
 Wood and other fibrous materials.
 Plastic parts that absorb or react with the penetrant materials.
 Components with coatings that prevent penetrants from entering defects.

NDT – Dr.Satish.N, Professor, BIT

What Types of Discontinuities Can Be Detected Via PT?

All defects that are open to the surface.

– Rolled products-- cracks, seams, laminations.
– Castings--cold shuts, hot tears, porosity, blow holes, shrinkage.
– Forgings– cracks, laps, external bursts.
– Welds– cracks, porosity, undercut, overlap, lack of fusion, lack of penetration.

NDT – Dr.Satish.N, Professor, BIT

Advantages of Liquid Penetrant Testing

 Advantages of LPT are:

1. Simple and easy to use.
2. Inexpensive and versatile.
3. Highly portable.
4. Highly sensitive to fine, tight discontinuities.
5. Applicable to variety of materials.
6. Applicable to complex shapes.
7. Large surface area or large volumes of parts/materials can be inspected quickly and at low
cost.
8. All surface discontinuities are detected in one operation, regardless of orientation.

NDT – Dr.Satish.N, Professor, BIT

Disadvantages of Liquid Penetrant Testing

 Disadvantages of LPT are:

1. It can only detect flaws open to the surface.
2. It cannot be used on porous and very rough surfaces.
3. Surface preparation before testing is critical as contaminants can mask defects. So test
surface must be free of all dirt, oil, grease, paint, rust etc.
4. Deformed surfaces and surface coatings may prevent detection.
5. It is necessary to remove all penetrant after testing.
6. Chemical handling precautions are necessary.
7. There is no easy method to produce permanent record.

NDT – Dr.Satish.N, Professor, BIT

Stages of Liquid Penetrant Testing
 The LPT involves the following sequence of operation:
1. Surface preparation: The surface of components to be inspected is prepared by cleaning,
creating a clean dry surface.
2. Application of penetrant: Penetrant is applied by dipping, spraying or brushing on the
prepared surface to be inspected.
3. Dwell penetrant time: Sufficient period of time is allowed for the penetrant to enter any
discontinuity open to that surface.
4. Removal of excess penetrant: The excess penetrant is removed in such a manner that will
ensure retention of penetrant inside the discontinuity.
5. Application of developer: A developer agent is applied to draw the penetrant liquid from
the discontinuities out to the surface and thereby give an enhanced indication of such
discontinuities.
6. Examination and Interpretation: After the developing time, the discontinuities are visually
examined, interpreted and evaluated under appropriate viewing conditions.
7. Post-process cleaning: Finally, the surface of the component is cleaned.

NDT – Dr.Satish.N, Professor, BIT

Surface preparation:
 The test surface should be thoroughly cleaned and dried before the penetrant is
applied.
 The test specimen should be free of contaminants such as rust, scale, welding
flux, spatter, grease, paint, oily films, dirt etc.
 The presence of contaminants on the test surface can result in the failure
of penetrant:
a. To wet the test surface
b. To enter into discontinuities
c. To bleed out of discontinuities

NDT – Dr.Satish.N, Professor, BIT

Surface preparation: Cleaning Methods
Depending on the surface contamination, the following cleaning methods are used for surface
preparation:
1. Mechanical Cleaning Methods:
Removing light scars, burrs, welding flux – not used on soft
Abrasive tumbling materials
Removes light scale, flux, rust, casting mold and core
Dry abrasive grit blasting material, sprayed coatings

Wet abrasive grit blasting Same as dry except where deposits are light

Wire brushing grit blasting Removing light deposits of scale, flux

High-pressure water and For removing typical machine shop soils such as cutting
steam cleaning oils, grease, chips, polishing compounds
Ordinarily used with detergent and water or with solvent
Ultrasonic Cleaning for removing shop oil from large quantities of small parts

Sand blasting For cleaning castings

NDT – Dr.Satish.N, Professor, BIT

Surface preparation: Cleaning Methods
Depending on the surface contamination, the following cleaning methods are used for surface
preparation:
2. Chemical Cleaning Methods:
Removes rust, oils, greases, carbon deposits- used on
Alkaline cleaning large parts where hand methods are too laborious
Strong solution for removing heavy scale, mild solution
Acid cleaning for light scale

Molten salt bath cleaning For conditioning and removing heavy scale

Pickling

Chemical etching

NDT – Dr.Satish.N, Professor, BIT

Surface preparation: Cleaning Methods
Depending on the surface contamination, the following cleaning methods are used for surface
preparation:
3. Solvent Cleaning Methods:

Vapour degreasing Removing typical shop oil and grease

Solvent wiping Hand operation for cleaning shop oil and grease

Solvent spraying

Ultrasonic immersion
using solvents

NDT – Dr.Satish.N, Professor, BIT

Application of Penetrants:
 Penetrant is a liquid capable of wetting the entire surface and being drawn into
fine openings.
 The methods of applying penetrant are:
The test component is immersed/dipped into a tank
Dipping method containing the penetrant liquid. It is then raised and
allowed to drain.
Conventional spray guns or pressurized spray cans are
Spraying method used to spray the penetrant on the component.

Brushing method The penetrant is brushed using brushes or swabs

The penetrant is poured over the test component and

Flowing method then allowed to drain

NDT – Dr.Satish.N, Professor, BIT

Dwell or Penetrant Time:

 Dwell time, also know as penetration time, is the period of time from
when
penetrant is applied to the surface until it is removed.
 Dwell time varies according to the type of penetrant used, material on which
penetrant is applied, type of defect for which it is applied etc.
 Usually, a dwell time of 15 to 30 minutes is practiced for many applications.

NDT – Dr.Satish.N, Professor, BIT

Removal of Excess Penetrant:
 The excess penetrant must be removed from the test component surface. The removal method is
determined by the type of penetrant used.
The methods/techniques used for excess penetrant removal are:
1. Water washing:
 This method is used when self-emulsifying penetrants are employed. Here the excess
penetrant is removed by simply washing with water
 When post-emulsible penetrants are used, they are not directly water washable. They
require the use of an emulsifier (oil or water based).
2. Post-emulsification: Carried out in two steps:
 First, the excess penetrant is treated with an emulsifier for stipulated period of time.
 Then, excess penetrant is removed by usual water washing.
3. Solvent removal method: In this method, the organic solvents are used for penetrant
removal. Solvent removal is carried out in two steps:
 First, the excess penetrant is wiped from the test surface as much as possible with a
clean, lint-free cloth.
 Then a second cleaning is carried out with a clean, lint-free cloth moistened with a
solvent cleaner.
NDT – Dr.Satish.N, Professor, BIT
Removal of Excess Penetrant:
 The excess penetrant must be removed from the test component surface. The removal method is
determined by the type of penetrant used.

NDT – Dr.Satish.N, Professor, BIT

Application of Developer:
 Developer is an absorbent material capable of drawing traces of penetrant from
the discontinuities back into the surface.
 The purpose of developer is to increase the brightness intensity of fluorescent
indications and the visible contrast of visible-penetrant indications.
 The developer provides a blotting action, which serves to draw penetrant from
within the flaw to the surface, spreading the penetrant and enlarging the
appearance of the flaw.
 Developing time: Developing time is the time it takes the application of the
developer until the actual evaluation commences.
 The developer must be given sufficient time to draw the entrapped penetrant
from the discontinuity out to the test surface.

NDT – Dr.Satish.N, Professor, BIT

Application of Developer:
 The four types of developers used in liquid penetrant testing are:
I. Powder developers
II. Water solvable developers
III. Water suspendable developers
IV. Non-aqueous wet developers.
 A dry developer is used on rough surface. It is used on sharp fillets, holes and
threaded components.
 Water based developers are used on smooth surfaces, where a large number of
small irregular shaped components are involved.

NDT – Dr.Satish.N, Professor, BIT

Examination, Interpretation and Evaluation:
 Upon completion of the development time, the indications from discontinuities
that have formed on the test surface should be examined, interpreted and
evaluated.
 The penetrant indications can be examined under natural daylight or with
ultraviolet or laser incident light, and the defect recognition may be made with
human eye or with automated optical scanners.
 Visible penetrant indications can be inspected in either natural or artificial white
light.
 In case of fluorescent penetrants, examination is carried out in a dark enclosure
under black light (UV light).

NDT – Dr.Satish.N, Professor, BIT

Surface crack indications
Post-Process Cleaning :
 The last step in the process is post-cleaning after examination.
 After examination, all traces of any remaining penetrant and developer must be
thoroughly removed from the surface before it is being placed into service.
 Also, post-cleaning is carried out to avoid corrosion and to facilitate
further processing of the test component.
 Generally, the cleaning methods employed in post-cleaning are the same as those
applied for pre-cleaning.

NDT – Dr.Satish.N, Professor, BIT

Penetrant Materials
 The materials used in the penetrant process are known as penetrant materials.
 The penetrant materials are classified as:
1. Penetrant
2. Developers
3. Pre-cleaners
4. Emulsifiers and solvent removers

NDT – Dr.Satish.N, Professor, BIT

Penetrants
 Penetrant materials come in two basic types:
 Type 1 : Fluorescent Penetrants: they contain a dye or several dyes that fluoresce when
exposed to ultraviolet radiation.
 Type 2 : Visible Penetrants: they contain a red dye that provides high contrast against the
white developer background.

 Fluorescent PT is more sensitive than visible PT because the eye is more sensitive
to a bright indication on a dark background.

NDT – Dr.Satish.N, Professor, BIT

Characteristics of Good Penetrants
 It should spread easily over the surface being inspected
 It should be easily drawn into discontinuities by capillary action
 It should not be harmful to the inspector or the material being tested
 It should possess high indicating capability
 It should remain in fluid state
 It should Possess less dwell time
 It should not affect the physical and chemical properties of the testing material
 It should be cohesive, Adhesive and relatively low in cost

NDT – Dr.Satish.N, Professor, BIT

Properties of Penetrant
1. Capillarity: It is the ability of a liquid to flow in narrow spaces without the
assistance of external forces. This property helps the penetrant to fill a void.
2. Contact Angle: Angle formed by the solid-liquid interface and liquid vapour
interface measured from the side of a liquid is called contact angle. Mostly the
liquid penetrant has contact angle of less than 90deg.
3. Viscosity: Viscosity is the internal resistance of a liquid toflow. The penetrants
with less viscosity fill the cracks in time.
4. Wettability: It is the ability of the penetrant to freely wet the surface of the
object being inspected.
5. Surface Tension: Surface tension is nothing but wetting capability of a liquid.
Penetrant should have good wetting capability to spread over the surface.
6. Cohesiveness and Adhesiveness: The attractive force between like molecules
and unlike molecules called cohesiveness and Adhesive forces respectively

NDT – Dr.Satish.N, Professor, BIT

Properties of Penetrant
7. Specific Gravity: Specific gravity is the ratio of the density of a liquid to the
density of the standard liquid. Penetrant have Sp Gravity less than one.
8. Flash Point: High flash point are desirable to reduce the hazard of fire.
9. Volatility: Tendency of a substance to evaporate at normal temperature is called
volatility. It is desirable for penetrants to have low volatility.
10. Removability: For better removability, the adhesive forces of the
penetrant must be stronger than the cohesive forces.

NDT – Dr.Satish.N, Professor, BIT

Developers

 Developers is an absorbent material capable of drawing traces of penetrants from

the discontinuities back to the surface.
 The developer works to increase the thickness of the penetrant bleed-out to a
level that exceeds the threshold of visibility.
 The developer also increases the contrast between the flaw indication and
the background and helps to reduce light reflection from the test surface.

NDT – Dr.Satish.N, Professor, BIT

Characteristics of Good Developer

1. It should have good absorption characteristics

2. It should have a good contrast background
3. It should be able to uniformly cover the surface with the thin smooth Coating
4. It should be chemically inert with test material
5. It should provide a good contrast background for bright and clean indications
6. It should be non toxic
7. It should be easy to remove after inspection

NDT – Dr.Satish.N, Professor, BIT

Types of Developers
1. Dry Powder Developers: Dry powder are white, fluffy powders that can be
applied to a dry surface, where penetrant bleeds back to the surface in order to
produce very defined indications.
2. Water Suspendable developers: Water suspendable developers consist of
insoluble developer particles suspended in water. Water suspendable
developers require frequent stirring to keep the particle from setting out of
suspension
3. Water soluble developers : Water soluble developer is a crystalline powder that
forms a clear solution when mixed with water. The solution recrystallizes on the
surface when the water is drained.
4. Non-aqueous developers : Non-aqueous developer suspend the developer in a
volatile solvent. It is supplied by a spray gun or aerosol can and it is most
sensitive developer for inspecting small areas.

NDT – Dr.Satish.N, Professor, BIT

Equipment for Liquid Penetrant Testing
 The various stations/subunits in a typical penetrant line arrangement are:
i. Draw and/or dwell stations
ii. Penetrant and emulsifiers stations
iii. Pre-and-post wash stations
iv. Drying stations
v. Developer stations
vi. Inspection stations
vii. Cleaning stations

NDT – Dr.Satish.N, Professor, BIT

Penetrant Testing Methods (Penetrant Techniques)

 The methods/techniques of penetrant testing commonly used are:

1. Water-washable penetrant technique
2. Post-emulsifiable penetrant technique
a. Post-emulsifiable, lipophilic
b. Post-emulsifiable, hydrophilic
3. Solvent removable penetrant technique

Lipophilic: The emulsifier is oil-based and interacts with the oil

soluble penetrant to make removable possible
Hydrophilic: The emulsifier is water soluble detergent which
lifts excess penetrant from surface of part with a water wash

NDT – Dr.Satish.N, Professor, BIT

Penetrant Testing Methods (Penetrant Techniques)

 Water-washable penetrant technique: This technique uses a water-

washable
penetrant that can be used with either dry, aqueous, or non-aqueous developers.
 Water-washable penetrant, also known as self-emulsifying penetrants, can
be removed from the test specimen by rinsing with water alone.
 These water-washable penetrant contain an emulsifying agent (detergent) that
makes it possible to wash the penetrant from the test surface with water alone.

NDT – Dr.Satish.N, Professor, BIT

• Process Flow chart for Water-
washable Penetrant Technique

NDT – Dr.Satish.N, Professor, BIT

Water-Washable Penetrant Technique
 Application: The Water-washable penetrant technique is generally used in the
following
situations:
I. When large surface areas or a large number of test parts are to be inspected.
II. When test parts to be examined have intricate and complex configurations
III. When discontinuities that are not broad or shallow are anticipated.
 Advantages:
I. Easy removal of excess penetrant
II. Adjustable for inspection of large surfaces and large quantity of small parts
• Limitations:
I. Insensitive to shallow discontinuities
II. Requires a darkened area for evaluation
III. Water contamination can degrade the quality of penetrants.

NDT – Dr.Satish.N, Professor, BIT

Post-Emulsifiable Penetrant Technique
 This technique uses a post-emulsifiable penetrator, or lipophilic or hydrophilic
emulsifier and dry, aqueous or non-aqueous developers.
 The post-emulsifiable penetrants are not directly water-washable and
they require the use of an emulsifier (oil or water based).
 Based on the type of emulsifier employed, the post-emulsifiable method can be
classified into two types:
a. Post-emulsifiable, lipophilic method
b. Post-emulsifiable, hydrophilic method
• In Post-emulsifiable, lipophilic method, the oil-based emulsifier is used to remove
the excess penetrant from the surface.
• In Post-emulsifiable, hydrophilic method, the water-soluble detergent based
emulsifier is used to remove the excess penetrant from the test surface with a
water wash.

NDT – Dr.Satish.N, Professor, BIT

• Process Flow Chart for
Post-emulsifiable
Penetrant Technique

NDT – Dr.Satish.N, Professor, BIT

Post-Emulsifiable Penetrant Technique
 Application: The Post-emulsifiable penetrant technique is generally used in the
following
situations:
I. When a large quantity of test parts are to be inspected.
II. When discontinuities that are not broad or shallow are anticipated.
III. For detection of small discontinuities and stress cracks.
 Advantages:
I. High sensitivity for detection of smaller discontinuities.
II. Sensitive to broad and shallow discontinuities.
III. Unaffected by acids.
• Limitations:
I. This technique requires an emulsifier.
II. Requires more time, due to the emulsifiable time.
III. Ineffective for complex and rough surfaces..

NDT – Dr.Satish.N, Professor, BIT

Solvent Removable Penetrant Technique

 This technique uses a solvent-removable penetrant, a solvent cleaner/remover

and a non-aqueous developer.
 In this method, the excess penetrant is removed by wiping with clean, lint-free
material moistened with a solvent remover.

NDT – Dr.Satish.N, Professor, BIT

• Process Flow Chart for Solvent
Removable Penetrant Technique

NDT – Dr.Satish.N, Professor, BIT

Solvent Removable Penetrant Technique
 Application: The Solvent Removable Penetrant Technique is generally used in the
following
situations:
I. When removal with water is not desirable due to part size, weight, surface condition etc.
II. When a heat source is not readily available for drying.
 Advantages:
I. Can be used for spot examination or large parts.
II. This method is effective when water removal fails.
• Limitations:
I. Limited to smaller surface area.
II. Black light and dark environment are required.
III. Background indications may be generated.

NDT – Dr.Satish.N, Professor, BIT

Applications Of Liquid Penetrant Testing
Typical applications of liquid penetrant testing include:
 Inspection of tools and dies.
 Inspection of tanks, vessels, reactors, piping, dryers, and pumps in the chemical,
petrochemical, food, paper, and processing industries.
 Inspection of diesel locomotive, truck, and bus parts (such as axles, wheels, gears,
crankshafts, cylinder blocks, connecting rods, cylinders, transmissions and
frames).
 Inspection of field drilling rays, drill pipe, castings, and drilling equipments.
 Inspection of aircraft engine parts, propellers, wing fittings, castings and so on.

NDT – Dr.Satish.N, Professor, BIT

 Illustration of Some
Applications of Liquid
Penetrant
Leakage Testing using Liquid
Penetrant: The liquid penetrant
method is used not only for the
detection of surface discontinuities
but also to find leaks in a component
or product.
As could be seen in Figure, the
leakage testing involves the as
following sequence of operations:
(a) Cleaning, grease removal and
drying of the component
(b) Penetrant is applied to one
side of the component
(c) The developer is applied the to
the other side
(d) Inspection for indications on
other side the developer side

NDT – Dr.Satish.N, Professor, BIT

 Illustration of Some
Applications of Liquid
Penetrant
Weld Inspection using Liquid
Penetrant Testing :
The liquid penetrant testing
method is widely used to detect
the presence of surface flaws in
a work piece, for example in
the weld inspection
applications.
.
The weld inspection using
liquid penetrants is carried out
in rail tankers which carry
chemicals, pressured
gases, and toxic or corrosive
liquids.

Figure illustrates a typical sequence of operations for liquid penetrant inspection to detect the presence
of surface flaw in a weld workpiece
NDT – Dr.Satish.N, Professor, BIT
Advantages of Liquid Penetrant Testing
 The method has high sensitive to small surface discontinuities.
 The method has few material limitations, i.e. metallic and nonmetallic, magnetic
and nonmagnetic, and conductive and nonconductive materials may be
inspected.
 Large areas and large volumes of parts/materials can be inspected rapidly and at
low cost.
 Parts with complex geometric shapes are routinely inspected.
 Indications are produced directly on the surface of the part and constitute
a visual representation of the flaw.
 Aerosol spray cans make penetrant materials very portable.
 Penetrant materials and associated equipment are relatively inexpensive.

NDT – Dr.Satish.N, Professor, BIT

Disadvantages of Liquid Penetrant Testing
 Only surface breaking defects can be detected.
 Only materials with a relative nonporous surface can be inspected.
 Precleaning is critical as contaminants can mask defects.
 Metal smearing from machining, grinding, and grit or vapor blasting must
be removed prior to LPI.
 The inspector must have direct access to the surface being inspected.
 Surface finish and roughness can affect inspection sensitivity.
 Multiple process operations must be performed and controlled.
 Post cleaning of acceptable parts or materials is required.
 Chemical handling and proper disposal is required

NDT – Dr.Satish.N, Professor, BIT