Surface contaminations closes Discontinuity openings :

Surface cleaning plays critical role for effective penetrant testing

• Any contamination such as oil, rust,

scale, corrosion & different types of
coatings and surface treatments cover
the discontinuity opening and prevent
entry of penetrant in to it.
• To detect the discontinuities, test
surface shall be free from
abovementioned contaminations,
otherwise indications will not appear.
Contaminants does not allow penetrant to enter discontinuities

• Dirt and contamination

blocks or closes the
discontinuity openings and
prevent entry of penetrant.
• If a discontinuity is filled,
there is no room for the
penetranrt to enter.
• This is a limitation of liquid
penetrant testing where as
magnetic particle testing can
be carried out even with
foreign material embedded
onto the discontinuities.
Parts shall be cleaned such that the interior of the
discontinuities are free from contaminants and dry :

Cleaning Methods :
• Detergents.
• Steam cleaning for assemblies
• Solvents for oil, grease etc
• Hot Alkaline cleaning
• Ultrasonic agitation with cleaning
materials.
• Paint strippers
• Acid or alkaline etching for rust
scales and corrosion.
Cross section of a part shows entrapped
penetrant :

• The liquid must fill the cavity as

much as possible. This depends on
the viscosity of the penetrant and the
temperature of the part.
• At higher temperature, the liquid has
low viscosity and enters and fill a
cavity easily.
• At low temperature the viscosity
increases and longer penetration time
is needed.
Capillary Action :
Principle of Liquid penetrant
testing.
Liquid enters narrow openings due to capillary action.

• Liquid rises through the

cavity of a fine bore tube
against the gravity. This is
known as capillary action.
• The finer the bore, the more
is the capillary force.
• Liquid enters narrow
discontinuities because of
capillary forces.
• A plant takes in water through
capillary action.
Contact Angle :
A good penetrant must easily spread on the test surface and enter tight
discontinuity openings.

• Low surface tension and low

contact angle allow liquids to
spread on the surface easily.
• Liquid penetrants are
formulated to have low surface
tension, low contact angle and
low viscosity.
• Higher viscosity reduces the
speed of penetration.