It’s important to ensure performance and safety parameters of the product, which is possible through accurate leak test setup required in various industries like Automotive, Industrial, Medical, Instrumentation, Pharma, Defence, Aerospace etc. Sometimes, even the most pristine of systems can show the signs of leakages. Leak testing is important to control vacuum or pressure, assure the safety of the product, maintain environmental standards, achieve pressure efficiency, remove product defects, reduce after-sales complaints, decrease system downtime, save huge reworking costs etc.
Leak Testing involves two major aspects
- Leak detection.
- Leak measurement.
There are majorly three types of leakage systems.
- Pressure & Burst testing
- Pressure decay.
- Tracer gas leak system.
Pressure & burst testing system –
In this system, the part is checked for its design pressure for its integrity & maximum pressure it can withstand.
Pressure leak testing system
These systems can detect leaks by pressurizing the test part. After, it cuts the air source to isolate pressure that is inside the vessel. Our leak test instruments control the measure of loss of pressure over a designated period. The instruments are known to provide reliable results. The systems are sensitive enough to detect even the smallest of leaks, which is calibrated to volumetric flow.
Vacuum Decay Leak Testing System: these devices are like pressure decay testing systems. The main difference is that with vacuum decay testing, parts get evacuated rather than pressurized. Vacuum decay testing is also commonly used to test sealed ports that are suspected of having leakage from an external system.
Tracer gas leak test system
These systems offer sniff leak testing. The leak testing system can also do nitrogen purge leak testing, hard vacuum helium leak testing, and accumulation tracer gas systems. Tracer gas detection systems are highly sensitive, so they provide repeatability and high accuracy. These systems are used to test parts that have extreme leak rate requirements. Pressure plays a vital role in determining the quantity of the gas leak. The leaks from 1×10-6 mbar*l/s to 1×10-12 mbar*l/s are detected using a tracer gas molecule.
Use of Tracer gas – Mass spectrometer leak detector (MSLD) is a solution to carry out tracer gas leak testing. The gas Helium is used because it is inert, non-condensable, non-flammable, and non-toxic. Other reasons are that helium is not typically present in the atmosphere, it has a small atomic size. In addition, Helium can pass through leaks, effortlessly. Therefore, helium is the first choice for leak testing. Helium can be used at 100% concentration or mixed with another gas, such as nitrogen or dry air, to help reduce the cost of tracer gas leak test procedures. A low-cost alternative to helium is forming gas, typically a mixture of 5% hydrogen and 95% nitrogen that can be used as a safe, non-flammable, and effective tracer gas in many applications.
A mass spectrometer gas analyser can be used in tracer gas leak testing to detect helium or hydrogen escaping from a micro-leak.
Methods in Helium Leak Testing
The procedure of leak testing involves examining the pressure of the inner and outer sides of the product. Simultaneously, the amount of gas passing through the leakage is also measured. This procedure is carried out by two methods viz. Vacuum Method and Overpressure Method.
- Vacuum Method: In this method, a search gas (helium gas) is evacuated and sprayed from the outside. When the gas enters through leaks it is detected by a sensor connected to the leak tester.
- Overpressure Method: The product that is to be examined is filled with helium gas under overpressure. The gas then escapes through the leaks that are present, which is detected by a detector probe. Overpressure method can be implemented by three tests viz. Hood test, the Bombing test and the Detector Probe or Sniffer test.
Conclusion
Want to inspect your products for leak-free operations? opt for the AB process technologies leak systems now! AB process technologies have been delivering world-class pressure detection solutions. Our talented team uses a mix of standard instruments, engineered test systems, and custom products to help you meet the specific goals of your application. Our leak testing machines include advanced designs and test algorithms that offer reliability and repeatability for all our customers (regardless of their industry). so, if your company is facing frequent customer complaints related to product quality & performance & the company’s brand image is being hampered then a leak test system is the right solution for your problems.
