A robust and flexible leak test solution is essential for ensuring the integrity of enclosed devices and systems.
Understanding leak testing is essential...
That's the easy part. But how do you choose the right leak testing solution and ensure you're getting the most out of it? That's where Agilent comes in.
Leak Detection: Practical Considerations
The Real Costs of Undetected Leaks
From down time to product yield to warranty and liability expenses, leaks cost money.
Finding Leaks and Assessing Their Impact
How do I know my leak test process is working? Is helium leak detection complicated?
Making Leak Detection Work for You
How do I set up my leak detection process? What factors do I need to consider?
The Real Costs of Undetected Leaks
- Down time or a scrapped batch of product can cost tens of thousands of dollars per hour
- The slightest decrease in efficiency of a heat exchanger can increase fuel costs at a power plant by hundreds of thousands of dollars per year
- There are well-documented product liability cases where leaking products have cost manufacturers millions.
Finding Leaks and Assessing Their Impact
- Helium leak detection is widely recognized as the most thorough and sensitive technology
- Test results are clearly quantified
- Learning to use a mass spectrometer requires very little training
Making Leak Detection Work for You
- Our user interface provides six unique application guides that ensure your system is properly set up
- Agilent offers the widest variety of configurations:
- Rotary vane or dry scroll pumps - whichever your process demands
- A range of three pump sizes - from 2 to 30 m3/hour
- Three different configurations - to address small R&D applications, high volume production solutions and mobile maintenance tasks
Clearing the Air: Popular Misconceptions About Leak Detection
"Pumping Speed Means Everything"
Pumping speed is a widely cited characteristic of leak detector performance—but do a few tenths of a liter per second really matter?
"Multiple Mass Detection Means More Flexibility"
It is often suggested that the ability to detect masses other than helium allows flexibility in the trace gas used. But there's more to the story.
"Quantitative Sniffing"
Sniffing readily enables pass/fail determinations – but avoiding quantitation errors poses significant challenges to sniffer probe operators.
“Pumping Speed Means Everything”
- For many applications the answer is no, because supplemental pumps, like those on a high vacuum chamber, drive the performance.
- Even when supplemental pumps aren’t used there are other tools, like background zeroing, that can negate two decades of signal in seconds that would take a pump many times longer.
- Typically, helium pumping speed increases as pressure decreases. However, this means that some detectors won’t achieve their stated performance, since many leak detection applications are performed at pressures one or two orders of magnitude higher.
“Multiple Mass Detection Means More Flexibility”
- Hydrogen is nearly impossible to use in vacuum applications.
- Establishing new test criteria and receiving end-user acceptance to a change in trace gas can be difficult.
- Instrument sensitivity can be far different with gases other than helium.
- Availability of calibrated standards can be an issue.
“Quantitative Sniffing”
- Proper understanding of how the instrument will respond to a leak.
- Making sure that the probe is always capable of detecting a leak.
- Establishing appropriate settings that will alert an operator when near a leak and trigger an alarm when a leak is located.
Real-World Examples: Leak Detection in Selected Industries
Vacuum Chambers and Process Systems
Helium leak detection is the ideal solution for determining the vacuum tightness of a large vacuum chamber.
Sealed Devices
Loss of a hermetic seal may cause oxidation or corrosion of components that are critical to a device's operation.
Power Plants
A small amount of leakage in a power plant can cause a significant change in efficiency.
Vacuum Chambers and Process Systems
Major advantages of helium leak detection technology include:
- The ability to quickly pinpoint the location and relative magnitude of the leak ==> less time is spent making repairs.
- Outgassing issues do not affect the method ==> tests can be performed regardless of chamber condition.
- It can be performed quickly, and can be a routine operation at the start of each production run ==> saves time and reduces scrap.
Download application note
Sealed Devices
Examples of parts requiring hermetic sealing include:
- Integrated circuits and discrete electronic components
- Detector devices
- Automotive components
- Implantable medical devices
- Lasers and scientific equipment
- Refrigeration components
Power Plants
Finding these leaks can be difficult due to:
- The size and complexity of the system.
- Water vapor in the system can damage the leak detection instrument.
Learn more about power plant leak testing
Understanding the Technology
It is true that everything leaks, but what we most often need to know is what kind of leak, where leaks are, or what is the actual total
leak rate of a part or system.
While there is a lot to learn, this 40-minute webinar, Fundamentals of Leak Detection, which you can watch at your own pace, will provide a great start in understanding the requirements, technologies, and methods of precision leak testing.
See the webinar
Staying Operational
You’ll want to protect your investment so you can be assured that you are maximizing your throughput, producing reliable results with the greatest accuracy and sensitivity, and ensuring your equipment is fully compliant with industry regulations.
And you can be connected with our global network of experienced service professionals dedicated to your success and productivity.
See service and support options
Getting Started
Learn about Agilent leaktesting solutions
