Government of India

Ministry of Railways

SPECIFICATION
FOR
MATERIALS USED IN
LIQUID PENETRATE EXAMINATION

Specification No.M&C/NDT/105/2001

Research Designs & Standards Organisation

Lucknow - 226011
Page No. 01 of 08 Effective from- April 2001 Spec. No. M&C/NDT/105/2001

SPECIFICATION FOR MATERIAL USED IN LIQUID

PENETRATE EXAMINATION

PREAMBLE

Liquid penetrant testing is considered one of most effective , user-friendly and simple
NDT method for detection of surface cracks in engineering components. It does not
requre elaborate surface preparation, capital -intensive equipment and can be employed
in-situ thus facilitating component examination on shop floor or in field.

Primarily, the consumables for liquid penetrant testing consist of a set of three
components i.e cleaner , penetrant and developer . Penetrate are classified as visible or
fluorescent depending upon their visibility conditions. Visible penetrant are capable of
detecting cracks of 20-50 microns depth of 10 - 20 microns under UV light.

To make the system of liquid penetrant examination effective , i.e it is essential to

ensure the quality of material used. This specification lays down the quality
requirements and tests required to be conducted on these materials.

1. SCOPE:
This specification covers the technical requirements of the materials used in the liquid
penetrant examination of metallic parts for detection of discontinuity open to surface. It
superseded earlier specification No. M&C/NDT/105/2001 issued on the subject.

2. CLASSIFICATION OF PENETRANTS:
Penetrate system (a set of cleaner , penetrant and developer) covered by this
specification shall be classified as under based on its nature of visibility, wash-ability
characteristics and sensitivity levels.

2.1 VISIBILTY:
Type I - Fluorescent dye
Type II - Visible dye
Type III - Visible and flurescent dye ( dual mode )
 Page No. 02 of 08 Effective from April 2001 Spec. No. M&C/NDT/105/2001
2.2 Washability

Method A - Water washable

Method B - Post emulsifiable (LIPOPHILIC)
Method C - Solvent removable
Method D - Post emulsifiable ( HYDROPHILIC)

(LIPOPHILIC emulsifier are oil soluble emulsifiers and HYDROPHILIC emulsifier are
water soluble liquids used to remove the oil like penetrant)

2.3 Sensitivity ( applicable usually to type I dye only)

Level 1- Low
Level 2- Medium
Level 3- High
Level 4- Ultra high

3. DEVELOPERS
3.1 Developers covered by this specification shall be of following types:

Form a - dry powder

Form b - water soluble
Form c - water suspendable
Form d - non-aqueous
Form e - specific application

3.2 Form 'a' developer shall not contain asbestos.

3.3 Solvent removers shall be of following classes:

Class 1 - Halogenated
Class 2 - Non- halogenated
Class 3 - specific application

4. All inspection materials used for dye penetrant examination shall be non- corrosive in
nature. For all penetrant and emulsifiers the flash point shall not be less than 520 C as
determined by Pensky - Martens closed cup tester. the test method shall be as per details
in ASTM D- 93.

5. Nomonal viscosity of the penetrant and emulsifier shall be indicated by the

manufacturer
and a tolerance of  10% shall only allowable on the values obtained. The test for
viscosity shall be conducted at 38  3 0C and procedure of testing shall be as indicated
in IS- 1206 (part 3 ) - 1978 . For penetrants, the viscosity should range from 5 to 10
centistokes and for emulsifiers from 10 to 100 centistokes.
 Page No. 03 of 08 Effective from April 2001 Spec. No. M&C/NDT/105/2001

6. SHELF LIFE

The products used for dye penetrant examination including the aerosol contained
products shall have a self life of at least 2 years from the date of manufacture under
normal enviromental conditions. At the time of supply , products manufactured more
than two months before date of actual supply shall be acceptable unless extended
guarantee coverage is given. The manufacturer shall print the batch no. on each product
and stamp the month and year of manufacture on all the containers of penetrant cleaner
and developer.

7. PENETRATE QUALITY

7.1 All penetrant shall readily wet the surface and the applied film shall not retract or form
beads when observed after 10 minutes of application on standard Ni-Cr test pannels
conforming to RDSO specification () M&C/NDT/5/91/APPD). The penetrant shall be
easily removable even after 4 hrs penetrant dwell time at 210 C.

7.2 Type II and III penetrants shall be supplied in red, pink or orange colour when viewed
under white light and have good contrast on a white background. They should be able to
detect cracks ( on standard Ni-Cr panes ) of 30 microns size or finer.

7.3 Type I penetrants shall fluoresce yellow-green or green when illuminated with ultra-
violet light ( wavelength 300 - 390 mm or 3000 - 3900 A 0) . The fluorescent brightness
shall be high enough under the ultraviolet light to provide good contrast with the
background for detection of cracks of 20 microns size or finer on Ni-Cr test panels. The
penetrant shall show no separation or scum formation.

7.4 Water washable ( Method A ) penetrants shall not produce gelling , separation, clouding,
coagulation or formation of water layer on the penetrant surface, water washable
penetrants penetrants shall have low volatility.

7.5 Water wash pressure shall not exceed 40 psi ( 275 Kpa ) at max. temp. of 40 0 c.
Distance from nozzle to test part should not be less than 30 cm.
 Page No. 04 of 08 Effective from April 2001 Spec. No. M&C/NDT/105/2001

8. EMULSIFIER

8.1 The colour of the emulsifier shall be distinctly different from the colour of the
penetrant.

8.2 A mixture of 4 parts of emulsifier and 1 part of penetrant shall leave no residual
fluorescene.

8.3 Addition of 5 % by volumeof water to method B emulsifiers shall produce no gelling,

separation , coagulation or formation of water layer.

8.4 Hydrophilic emulsifiers shall be diluted as per manufacturer's recommendations and

water content of the emulsifier concentrate shall not exceed 5%.

9. DEVELOPERS

9.1 Developer for type I penetrant & type II penetrant shall provide a high contrasting back
ground preferably white.

9.2 The non-aqueous developers shall be ready-mixed in pressurised or non-pressurised

containers as per users requirements. Aerosol containers shall have a pellet to facilitate
agitation and proper mixing. Non-aqueous developers shall only be applied by spray to
provide a smooth, even white coating on the test surface.

9.3 The precipitate if any formed shall be readily resuspendible with the gentle stirring or
shaking.

9.4 Water soluble or suspendible developers shall be supplied in wet or dry condition as
per user's requirement . When supplied in dry condition , the instructions for mixing
shall be indicated by the manufacturer. Precipitate, if any, shall be readily soluble or
resuspendable with gentle stirring. This shall provide a smooth even coating on the
surface of the test
specimen after drying when tested for sensitivity. These developers shall only be used
with type I penetrants.

9.5 All developers shall be easily and completely removable. Solvent removers shall leave
no residual penetrant or oily residue.

9.6 All developers shall be biodegradable.

9.7 In case of aqueous of soluble or suspendable developer, the concentration shall be as per
the recommendation of the manufacturer.
 Page No. 05 of 08 Effective from April 2001 Spec. No. M&C/NDT/105/2001

9.8 In case of dry powder developer , the particle size shall not exceed 30 microns and the
contents of sulphur and chlorine individually shall not exceed 1%. Dry powder
developers should be free flowing, white fluffy powders, supplied ready for use. The
bulk density of the powders should not exceed 250 gms/ltr. Volume. It shall only be
used with type I penetrants.

9.9 Dry powder developers & aqueous soluble / suspendible developers shall be provide a
white background.

10. PENETRATE REMOVABILITY

By using any of the penetrant removal methods, ( A,B,C or D ) as applicable to the type
of the penetrant no residual penetrant shall be existent on the test surface which may
interfere with the crack detection. .

11. AEROSOL CONTAINERS

Aerosol containers contain a mixture of liquid product ( penetrant or developer, or
cleaner ) and propellant in liquefied form. The volume occupied by these two material is
such that an empty space is available in the container which is occupied by vaporised
propellant .
The manufacturer shall indicate the net weight of the container, its total volume and
total weight of expelled contents from Aerosol containers at the time of supply ( before
inspection ). The field Aerosol containers shall be tested for valve leakage and the
leakage shall not exceed 3 ml in 43 hrs. under normal storage conditions. All containers
shall have proper packaging and no defect shall be allowed on this aspect.
CO2 or Hydrocarbon propellant shall only be used in the aerosol containers. Use of
CFC propellant shall be avoided in the Aerosol containers.

11.1Aerosol can capacity ( Internal volume of the can):

Aerosol can for application to Indian Railways shall be supplied in two sizes of capacity
330 ml and 500 ml volume .

11.2Content of the material ( Mixture of product and propellant)

Material content in the aerosol cans shall be 853% by volume for 330 ml cans and
803% by volume for 500 ml cans. The supplier shall indicate the weight of the can
with its content in his offer.
 Page No. 06 of 08 Effective from April 2001 Spec. No. M&C/NDT/105/2001

11.3Relative proportion of product and propellant

The ratio between product and propellant by weight shall be 3:1 with an allowable
variation of 3%.

12. QUALITY ASSURANCE AND ACCEPTANCE TESTS

The inspection and testing of the penetrant materials shall be as per Table 1 of this
specification. Quality assurance tests shall be conducted by the manufacturer and
acceptance tests shall be carried out by the purchaser at the time of inspection. Records
of Quality Assurance Tests shall be maintained by the manufacturer and produced to the
inspecting official on demand.

13. VIEWING

13.1Visible dye inspection: (Type II)

The lightining system shall provide at least 100 foot candles (1000 l/m 2) of white light
at the surface of the component being inspected.

13.2Fluorescent dye inspection

The ambient white light background shall not exceed 2 foot candles ( 20 l/m 2) and black
light shall provide a minimum of 800 micro watts/cm2 when measured at 38 cms (15")
from the front face of the black light (300-390 nm wave length). The black light
intensity shall be measured at least once every 8 hours during tests. Black light lamp
shall conform to RDSO spec. M&C/NDT/6/91. The operator must use UV protection
glasses during inspection to protect the eye.

14. INPECTION

14.1For all the above applications, the acceptable penetrant dwell time shall be between 5 to
10 mts, for type 1 and 5 to 20 mts. for type II .Developing time for dry/non-aqueous
developers and wet aqueous developers ( non aqueous) shall be 10 mts. and 2 mts.
maximum respectively for all penetrants ( exclusive of drying time for wet developers.)

14.2The system sensitivity for crack detection shall be as under. The sensitivity level
required by the user shall be indicated at the time of ordering depending upon the
criticality of the components under test.
 Page No. 07 of 08 Effective from April 2001 Spec. No. M&C/NDT/105/2001

14.3 (a) For fluorescent penetrants (Type I Method A,B,C,D)

Fluorescent penetrants shall be capable of detecting cracks of 20 microns or finer with

adequate brightness level. Higher brightness penetrants (level 2 & level 4) shall be
capable of showing the presence of cracks without elabrote dark room arrangement
while other penetrants (level 1 & 3) shall be viewed in the dark room.
Level- 20 microns
Level- 20 microns with higher brightness
Level- 10 microns
Level- 10 microns with higher brightness

(b)For visible dye ( type II, Method A,C,D)

High 20 microns
Low 30 microns
Crack detectability shall be assessed on a Ni-Cr test panel having specified crack depth.

15. CONTROL OF CONTAMINANTS

Liquid penetrant materials used on Ni-base alloys and austenitic stainless steels shall
not havemore than 1% of residue by weight, when tested as per ASTM D-129/ASTM
D-1522 and ASTM D-808 respectively.
Solvent cleaners/ removers shall have a residue of less than 50 ppm or 0.005g per 100g
of material. If residue exceeds this, then it shall be analysed for S & Cl content which
shall not exceed 1% by weight individually.

16. Penetrate system i.e the penetrant, the cleaner and the developer shall be procured as a
system to ensure compatibility.

17. All the chemicals viz. Cleaner, penetrant, emulsifier and developer shall be biologically
non-toxic, chemically non-active, to all metals and shall not re-act with the skin or
cause irritation to the eye.

18. INFORMATION TO BE GIVEN BY THE PURCHASER

The following information shall be provided by the purchaser while placing the order.

a. type, washability, sensitivity level (in microns) and form of developer.

b. In respect of aerosol containers, the total capacity of the containers i.e.

330ml/500ml. as the case may be.
Page No. 08 of 08 Effective from April 2001 Spec. No. M&C/NDT/105/2001

c. The quantity ordered in respect of Aerosol containers shall indicate the number
of cans required and not in terms of litres.

19. GENERAL INFORMATION

The following conditions will be adhered to during procurement of liquid penetrant

consumables.

a. While placing the purchase order, it may be ensured that penetrant, cleaner and
developer in the required quantity is procured from the same source. This is
essential to ensure compatibility.

b. Generally for procurement purposes, the ratio by volume between penetrant,

cleaner and developer shall be 1:3:2.

c. While ascertaining the sensitivity level, the tests shall be carried out on Ni-Cr
tests panels of certified quality. The supplier shall produce valid certificates and
crack profile of the Ni-Cr panel to the purchaser at the time of inspection.
 Table--1
QUALIFICATION & CONFORMANCE TESTS

S.No. Nature of test Quality Assurance Quality conformance

for acceptance
a. Toxicity *
b. Corrosion Protection *
c. Flash Point * *
d. Viscosity * *
e. Storage stability *
f. Surface wetting * *
g. Fluorescent brightness * *
h. Ultraviolet stability *
i. Thermal stability * *
j. Tank life *
k. Water tolerance * *
l. Redispersability * *
m. Developer fluorescence * *
n. Developer bio-resistance *
o. Developer removability *
p. Penetrate removability * *
q. Sensitivity * *
r. Aerosol quantity  *
s. Valve leakage * *
t. Water content ( for hydrophilic * *
emulsifier concentrate )
u. Packaging * *

 During inspection , the quantity of content will be checked by putting the container in
a freezer followed by extraction of the content ( by slitting the top of the container). This
check shall be carried out on a sample basis( one sample for each batch ).