LEAK TESTING

concerns the escape or entry of liquids or

gases from pressurized or into evacuated
components or systems intended to hold
these liquids.
Leaking fluids (liquid or gas) can penetrate
from inside a component or assembly to
the outside, or vice versa, as a result of a
pressure differential between the two
regions or as a result of permeation
through a somewhat extended barrier.

Leak testing encompasses procedures

for one or a combination of the
following:
Locating (detecting and pinpointing)
leaks
Determining the rate of leakage from
one leak or from a system
Monitoring for leakage

Leak Testing Objectives

The most common reasons for
performing a leak test are:
To prevent the loss of costly
materials or energy
To prevent contamination of the
environment
To ensure component or system
reliability

Terminology
Leak: An actual through-wall discontinuity or passage through
which a fluid flows or permeates; a leak is simply a special
type of flaw
Leakage: The fluid that has flowed through a leak
Leak rate: The amount of fluid passing through the leak per
unit of time under a given set of conditions; properly
expressed in units of quantity or mass per unit of time
Minimum detectable leak: The smallest hole or discrete
passage that can be detected
Minimum detectable leak rate: The smallest detectable
fluid-flow rate
The amount of leakage required for a leak testing instrument to produce a
minimum detectable signal can be determined. This amount is generally
used to indicate the sensitivity of the instrument. Instrument sensitivity is
independent of test conditions, but when an instrument is used in a test,
the sensitivity of the test depends on existing conditions of pressure,
temperature, and fluid flow.

Types of Leaks
There are two basic types of leaks: real leaks
and virtual leaks.
A real leak is an essentially localized leak, that is,
a discrete passage through which fluid may flow
(crudely, a hole). A system may also leak because
of permeation of a somewhat extended barrier; this
type of real leak is called a distributed leak.
Virtual leaks involve the gradual desorption of
gases from surfaces or escape of gases from nearly
sealed components within a vacuum system.
It is not uncommon for a vacuum system to have
both real leaks and virtual leaks at the same time.

Types of Flow in Leaks

Permeation
Molecular Flow
Transitional flow
Viscous flow
Laminar and Turbulent Flow
Choked flow, or sonic flow

Method of leak testing systems

at pressure or at vacuum
Direct sensing

Acoustic methods
Bubble testing
Flow detection

Gas detection

Smell
Chemical reaction
Halogen gas
Sulfur hexafluoride
Combustible gas
Thermal-conductivity
gages
Infrared gas analyzers
Mass spectrometry
Radioisotope count

Quantity-loss determination
Weighing
Gaging differential pressure
Liquid systems at pressure
Unaided visual methods
Aided visual methods
Surface wetting
Weight loss
Water-soluble paper with
aluminum foil
Vacuum systems
Manometers
Halogen gas
Mass spectrometry
Ionization gages
Thermal-conductivity gages

Choosing the Optimum Leak

Testing Method
The three major factors that determine
the choice of leak testing method are:
The physical characteristics of the
system and the tracer fluid
The size of the anticipated leak
The reason for conducting the test
(that is, locating or detecting a leak or
measuring a leak rate)
System Response

Common Errors in Leak Testing

The most common errors encountered
in leak testing are:
Use of a method that is too sensitive
Use of only one leak-testing method
Failure to control the environment in
the vicinity of the leak