DYE PENETRANT TESTING OF

WELDS
ASNT LEVEL II

Engr.M.Majid

1 PT/May 03
 PENETRANT TESTING
 One of the most effective surface NDT methods
 To detect surface flaws open to surface
 In solids & non-porous metallic & non-metallic materials
 Discontinuities detected in welds
 Cracks,Lack of fusion, Incomplete penetration, Porosity
 Principle in brief
 A liquid penetrant applied to surface
 Dwell time ensures Penetrant enters into flaws
 Excess penetrant remaining on surface removed
 Developer that provides contrast-background applied
 Penetrant bleeding-out from flaws provides Indication

2 PT/May 03
 PENETRANT MATERIALS FOR INSPECTION
 Liquid Penetrant  TYPE
 Fluorescent >>> Type (I) ; Visible >>> Type (II)
 Excess Penetrant Removal  Method
 Water Washable >>> Method (A)
 Post-Emulsifiable, Liphophilic >>> Method (B)
 Solvent removable >>> Method (C)
 Post-Emulsifiable, Hydrophilic >>> Method
(D)
 Developer  Form
 Dry Developer >> Form (a)
 Water-soluble >> Form (b)
 Water-suspended >> Form (c)
 Non-aqueous >> Form (d)
 Solvents for pre-cleaning  CLASS
 halognated  Non-Flammable Class (1)
 non-halognated  Flammable Class (2)
3 PT/May 03
 EQUIPMENT
 Portable, stationary & special equipments
 Based on Economic & production requirements
 if selection is wrong, results in
 Waste of resources & production loss

 Selection of Equipment
 Type & size of parts to be inspected
 Flaws that are sought – types & sizes
 Factors that affect production rate
 Processing requirements
 Facility limitation
 Safety & health code requirements

4 PT/May 03
 PORTABLE KITS
 Portable Kit Suited for
 Low-production requirement
 Weld inspection - spot checks on shop-floor as
weld is a local area in a part
 Tests performed following production & Cooled to
room temperature
 Type I
 Penetrant, Penetrant Remover/Emulsifier, Developer, UV
Lamp ,Lint-free cloth,Brush
 Type II
 Penetrant, Solvent remover/Emulsifier , Developer, Lint-
free cloth,Brush, Daylight / Flash-light

5 PT/May 03
 CONTROL OF CONTAMINANTS
 CONTAMINANTS
 Sulphur, Chlorine and fluorine in test Chemicals
 MATERIALS AFFECTED
 Nickel base Alloys, Cobalt alloys, Austenitic Stainless
Steel,Titanium
 HOW MATERIALS AFFECTED
 When ionized & comes into contact with used materials
 May result in corrosion & Corrosiveness accelerated
 At elevated temperatures & material under sustained stress
 TYPES OF ATTACK
 Intergranular Corrosion, hydrogen embrittlement, stress
corrosion
 LIMITS
 for Sulfur & Chlorine plus fluorine
 0.1% to 1% by weight (1,000 ppm / 10,000 ppm)

6 PT/May 03
 WHEN PT PERFORMED
 When weld materials are not Ferro-magnetic
 Welds in SS, Monel, inconel,Titanium,Al,Mg,Cu
 When weld thickness < 20 mm
 To assess Root conditions inmuti-pass groove welds
 In Heat-exchangers:tube-to tube-sheet welds
 When the intention is to find out spherical flaws such as
porosity
 ASME B 31.1 Piping /Temp > 400°C & All pressures
 Butt welds   63.3 mm; Branch welds   114.3 mm
 All sizes of Fillet,Socket,Seal & Attachment welds
 Anticipated Weld imperfections
 Surface cracks;LF on surface
 Surface porosity;Slag inclusion

7 PT/May 03
 APPLICATION AREAS
 Welds in Boiler, Piping & Pressure vessels
 Butt,Corner,Fillet & socket welds
 Butt welded nozzles
 Branch welds in piping
 Weld deposits on nozzle,Branch & piping
 Weld metal cladding on pressure vessel ID
surfaces & Tube-sheets
 Tube to tube-sheet welds in Heat Exchangers
 Hard-surfacing

8 PT/May 03
 SURFACE CONTAMINANTS
 Contaminants on base metal, weld & in void
that affect test results
 Oils fluoresce under black-light false indication &
Obscure true flaw indication
 Water,Acids & Alkali impedes wetting &
penetration
 Acids & Alkali react with penetrant to degrade it
 Carbon,Varnish,Scales rust,oxides & paint coating
 impedes wetting, obstruct penetrant entering into
discontinuities, bridges discontinuities
 Except paint coating rest - Adsorb & absorb
Penetrant resulting in back-ground color or
fluorescence

9 PT/May 03
 SURFACE CONDITION
 Weld Surface irregularities
 Mask indications from discontinuities lying beneath
 Increases difficulty of hand-wiping
 Preferred actions for correction
 Grinding,Machining or surface abrasion
 Metal smearing possible in Al,Titanium ,Mg & Beryllium
alloy
 If metal is Smeared, covers flaws & prevent penetration
 Etching if permitted, performed to remove blockages
 Weld reinforcement & Base Metal surfaces
 Fine Surface : Clean & smooth without under cuts,
ripples (peaks & valleys) and spatter
 General Surface : As welded

10 PT/May 03
 SURFACE PREPARATION
 Acid solutions remaining on surface
 Thoroughly rinsed,neutralized and dried by heat
 Acids & chromates affect fluorescent brightness
 If Hydrogen embrittlement - possibility for used metal
 Part baked at a suitable temperature to remove Hydrogen
for appropriate time
 Pre-Cleaning of weld surfaces & Base Metal
 Using solvents,by hand wipe using lint free clothes
 Drying of surface prior to application of Dye
 Normal evaporation, forced hot/cold air
 Ensure surface is dry
 Minimum period of time to be established by trial & error
 Examination area to be Clean & Dry
 25 mm on each side of weld, HAZ & base metal

11 PT/May 03
 TECHNIQUE RESTRICTIONS
 Penetrant test Shall not follow Magnetic Particle test
 Iron-oxide fills-up openings
 Penetrant test shall not follow Ultrasonic Test
 Couplant fills-up openings, if not post-cleaned
 Fluorescent penetrant examination shall not follow
color contrast penetrant examination
 Visible dye absorbs UV radiation,fluorescence reduced
 Color contrast penetrant examination shall not follow
Fluorescent test
 Florescent dye affects color of visible dye penetrant and
results weak indication
 Retest requires additional surface
preparation/conditioning
 Retest with water-washable - CAUTION
 may result in loss of indications, due to contamination

12 PT/May 03
 TECHNIQUE
• For welds  Solvent Removable
Open shop-floor areas  Visible Day-light
Confined/semi dark areas  Fluorescent
 Intermixing of penetrant materials from different
families or different manufacturers
 avoid as they may not produce consistent sensitivity
 Temperature of penetrant and examination part
surface 10°C to 52°C
 For non-standard temperatures < 10°C & > 52°C
 Sensitivity of flaw-detection verified
 Employ Al comparator blocks with coarse-net work of
cracks
 ASTM B209/Type 2024/9.6 mm (T)
 If indications obtained essentially same (quantity &
brilliance) the procedure is qualified

13 PT/May 03
 APPLICATION OF PENETRANT
 Application of penetrant
 Dipping,brushing or spraying
 If compressed air utilized for spray
 Protect air-inlet for oil,water,sediments or dirt
 Dwell time/penetration time  5 min to 1 hour
 Manufacturers guide followed for weld forms
 Affected by opening of flaw width,depth or volume
& Cleanliness of flaw
 Qualified by demonstration for type & size of
discontinuities need to be positively detected for
special applications

14 PT/May 03
 EXCESS PENETRANT REMOVAL
 With solvents/removers
 Wipe on, wipe-off with lint free cloth
 Flushing & aerosol spray  prohibited
 With emulsifiers & water
 Emulsifier application
 Immersing/flooding  No brushing
 Emulsification time critical
 By experiment  blocks that contain fine cracks
 For washing/rinsing with water
 Water pressure,temperature
 Spray type, angle, distance of spray

15 PT/May 03
 DRY DEVELOPER APPLICATION
 Drying after excess penetrant removal
 Solvent removed types
 Normal evaporation, blotting,wiping,forced air
 Water washable & PE types
 Blotting with clean materials
 Hot-air blowers that do not rise metal temp > 52º C

 Dry Developer application

 Applied as soon as the part is dry
 Time interval between Excess penetrant removal, drying
& time of developer application shall be established
 Means of Application
 Soft brush, hand powder bulb or other means
 Dusted evenly over entire surface

16 PT/May 03
 WET DEVELOPER APPLICATION
 Water suspended / Soluble developer
 Thoroughly agitated & applied to either Dry or wet surface
 Applied by dipping, spraying or brushing as thin uniform
coating
 Drying improved by warm air , but not raising metal
temperature beyond 50°C
 Blotting not permitted
 Non-aqueous Wet Developer
 Thoroughly agitated & applied to dry surface
 by spraying as Thin coating
 Brushing where safety or restricted access preclude use
 Drying by normal evaporation
 Developer Coating thickness
 Insufficient coating may not draw penetrant out of flaws
 Excessive coating may mask and produce faint indications

17 PT/May 03
 LIGHTING CONDITIONS
 White light used - Visible Types for viewing indication
 Min 500 Lux /1000 lux needed for critical applications
 Black Light – for fluorescent Types
 To view indications in darkened area
 Ambient white light – 2 Lux
 Black light Warming time – Min 5’
 Dark adaptation time-Minimum 1’
 Glasses worn shall not be photo-sensitive
 Dark light intensity – 1000 w/cm² on part surface
 Intensity Verification
 Using Black light meter every 8 Hrs
 Whenever work area changed

 Dirty UV filters reduce output intensity

 Broken filters may cause eye injury

18 PT/May 03
 INTERPRETATION
 Developing Time
 Begins immediately after dry developer application
 Begins as soon as a wet developer coating is dry
 Minimum 7 to 10 minutes
 Interpretation: Observation of indications
 Excessive cleaning results in pink, not red
indication
 Insufficient cleaning results in background
 Assists Verification of indication – False or non-
relevant
 Assists characterizing the flaw & Extent of
indication

19 PT/May 03
 INTERPRETATION OF INDICATIONS
 False Indications
 Do not arise from flaws
 Penetrant passed on to examination surface after
developer application
 from
operators hands ,Accidental spray of penetrant
& Contact with penetrant stained linen
 Non-relevant indications
 Excessive weld ripples,oil,grease & scales on base
metal that retain penetrant show such indications
 Indications of surface discontinuities of smaller
physical dimensions as defined by standards
 Relevant indications arise from discontinuity
sizes as defined in standards

20 PT/May 03
 APPEARANCE OF DISCONTINUITY
INDICATIONS
 Porosity
 Appear as round indications, as spherical in shape
 Cracks in weld/Base Metal
 Longitudinal,Transverse & crater
 Fairlystraight & twisty as continuous linear
indication
 Deep cracks
 Appear as round when they trap volume of
penetrant and bleed-out
 Partly buried/partially closed surface cracks
 Appear as intermittent line indications

21 PT/May 03
 EVALUATION & POST CLEANING
 Evaluation
 Evaluation time between 10’ to 30’ or 1 hr or 1 to 4
Hrs Max
 Determine severity of discontinuity,whether
detrimental for intended use
 Pass judgment based on well defined acceptance
standards
 Provide Disposition of examined weld
 Accept/Repair/Reject
 Post-cleaning
 Residues result in formation of voids during
subsequent welding
 Brush off developer ; Rinsing or Hand wiping with
solvents for penetrant residues sufficient
22 PT/May 03