DPI (Dye Penetrant Inspection)

Main purposed.
 To detect any open surface breaking defect.
 Surface inspection method.
 Applicable to all non-porous and non-absorbing material.

6 to 7 basic steps of DPI.

1. Surface preparation.
 Mechanical Cleaning. – will remove scale, slag, corrosion products, carbon
 Grinding
 Blasting
 Hand tool (brushing)
 Smearing of the surface can close the defects- chemical etching is often specified as
follow-on procedure.
 Chemical cleaning. – will remove oils and greases and paints.
 Vapor degreasing – most effective method.
 Hot solvent degreasing – most effective method.
2. Penetrant application.
 Close visual on the test piece before apply penetrant.
 According BSEN 571-1 5 to 60 minutes. Dwell time typically a time of 15 minutes is
adequate for most purposes.
 Standard method.
 Immersion
 Dip & drain
 Brushing
 Spraying
 Flowing or pouring
 Special method.
 Electrostatic spray
 Thixotropic penetrants – gel type under stable condition their viscosity reduce when
shear stress is applied (brushed)
 Critical factors:
 Dwell time
 Component temperature
 Surface cleanliness
 Penetranting fluid drawn into defect by capillary action. – interaction of adhesive and
cohesive force sometimes called “capillarity”
 Adhesive force – wetting of the side of the surface.
 Cohesive force – surface tension of liquid.
 Good wetting ability & high surface tension 2 essential properties of a good penetrant.
  Penetrant Properties:
 Has wetting ability
 Contact angle of 90Deg. or less.
 Contact angle strongly affected by surface cleanliness.
 Has high surface tension
 Desirable property cause this is force that pulls a liquid into a capillary.
 Strongly affected by contamination.
 Viscosity
 Measure of internal friction
 High surface temp. viscosity low, capillary action reduced.
 Low surface temp. viscosity high, capillary action increased. – longer
contact time/dwell time and development time.
 Lower surface temp. limit of about 10Deg.C
 Volatility
 A volatile liquid will evaporate quickly.
 Good penetrant should have low volatility.
 To make penetrant are quite volatile when used close to the upper surface
temp. limit of about 50Deg.C
 Has high flash point as possible
 Form a combustible mixture, min. value around 93Deg.C
 Corrosive properties
 Halogen and sulphur content of penetrant material is strictly controlled.
 Term ‘Halogen’ refer to the group of reactive gasses which includes chlorine
 4 group of material can be ‘sensitised’ made susceptible to stress corrosion
cracking by small amounts of halogen or sulphur:
 High nickel alloys
 Stainless steels
 Titanium alloys
 Aluminium alloys
 Contrasting ability
 White light conditions red on white background provides the best contrast.
 In darkened conditions the human eye is very sensitive in the yellow-green
part of the visible light spectrum.
 Specific gravity
 Penetrant must have S.G less than 1.0
 Major contamination in tank line application is water.
 3 Type of pentrant:
 Type I – fluorescent – most sensitive
 Type II – Colour contrast
 Type III – Dual (available, but rarely use)
 Storage of penetrant
 Low temp. – stored at a temp. of less than 0Deg.C, de-emulsification occur.
 High temp. – stored at high temp. (65Deg.C or higher) can severely degrade the
fluorescing ability of fluorescent penetrant.
 Sunlight & other UV light – degraded due to excessive exposure to sunlight or UV light.
3. Removal of excess penetrant.
 Critical step in penetrant inspection.
 Insufficient penetrant removed will reduce test sensitivity.
 If removal to aggressive, penetrant may be removed from shallow defects and test
sensitivity will suffer as a result.
 5 type of removal of excess penetrant:
 Water washable
 Spray wash
 Pressure as low as possible or < 2bar
 Temp. less than 50°C (15-25°C)
 Nozzle distance > 300mm
Advantages Disadvantages
Usable on rough surface Susceptible to over washing
Suitable for batch testing Least sensitive method (not good for
shallow defect)
Cheaper than other method Requirement for water source

 Post emulsifiable
 Apply penetrant allow dwell time and apply emulsifier.
 Emulsifier diffuses into the penetrant making it water washable.
 Remove excess penetrant by using emulsifier with water wash.
 2 type of post emulsifiable:
 LIPOPHILIC – ‘oil loving’
 Applied undiluted
 Contact time with lipophilic is extremely critical. Depend on
experimental.
 Less user friendly than hydrophilic.
 Method of application.
I. Immersion
II. Dip & drain
III. Electrostatic spray
 HYDROPHILIC – ‘Water Loving’
 A powerful detergents, used diluted with water (typical
concentration 5% to 33%)
 Contact time a little less critical than lipophilic. Depend on
experimental.
 Hydrophilic mixture check with refractometer
 Method of application.
I. Immersion
II. Dip & drain
III. Spray (very dilute solution)
Advantages Disadvantages
Maximum penetrating ability. Not suited to rough surfaces.
Greater control over penetrant More expensive.
removal.
Most sensitive for detection very More time consuming.
fine crack.
  Solvent Removable
 Clean off the excess with a lint free cloth.
 Wipe with a solvent moistened rag.
 Thou shalt not spray the cleaner directly onto the item under test.
Advantages Disadvantages
Portability Not suited to batch testing
No water supply needed Requires hand wiping so time
consuming
More expensive than water washable
Potentially hazardous chemicals

 Water and solvent

 Excess water-washable penetrant can be removed by first washing with
water and then subsequently wiping with solvent dampened cloths.

4. Drying.
Methods of application.
 Hot air recirculating oven (max 85°C).
 Forced warm air.
 Dry clean compressed air.
 Component temperature shall not exceed 50°C.
o Drying is an essential step where dry powder or solvent suspended developer is used in
conjunction with a water washable or post emulsified technique.
o Not required if water suspended or water soluble developer is to be used.
o The solvent system tends to evaporate very quickly at normal ambient temp.

5. Developer Application.
 Penetrant drawn back out of the defect by REVERSE CAPILLARY ACTION
 Developer properties.
o Absorbent.
o Fine texture
o Able to mask out background colour.
o Evenly and easily applicable.
o Light and even coat.
o Non-fluorescing.
o Easily wetted.
o Contrasting colour.
o Easily remove.
o Non-toxic.
o Non-irritant.
 5 types of developer.
 Dry powder.
 Component must be dry before apply.
 Recommended for use with fluorescent penentrant and use on parts that
have been heated.
 Applied by: blowing-Dust storm cabinet, electrostatic or flock gun spray,
insufflator and fluidised bed.

Advantages Disadvantages
Easy to handle. Difficult to see if properly applied.
No hazardous vapors. Fine powders can be hazardous.
Easy to remove. Does not offer the best degree of
colour contrast.

 Aqueous Developer.
 Applied before drying and therefore development takes place during the
drying phase.
 2 type of Aqueous Developer.
 Water Solution/soluble.
 Water Suspendible/suspensions. - must be thoroughly agitated
before the parts are immersed.
 Applied by dip and drain – dip time not exceed 30sec.
 Due to its water base, it is not recommended for use with water-washable
penetrants.

Advantages Disadvantages
No vapors or dust Difficult to apply evenly
Cheaper than non-aqueous Requires drying after application

 Non-Aqueous Developer.
 Applied by sprayed either from aerosols or paint type sprayers.

Advantages Disadvantages
Most sensitive. Hazardous solvents
Usable with fluorescent or colour Higher cost
contrast.
Need to be correctly applied.
  Plastic film Developer (Peelable Developer)
 Plastic film developers are supplied in a spray can because of their high
volatility. The developers used with visible penetrants are pigmented to
provide a white background; those used with fluorescent penetrants are
clear. Two spray coats are usually applied for developing. If the developer is
to be stripped off for recording, at least three more coats of clear lacquer
should be applied over the area to be stripped.

 Developer sensitivity.
 Dry powder 100 – 140%
 Aqueous solution 110 – 150%
 Aqueous suspension 120 – 200%
 Non-aqueous 120 – 240%

 Development time.
o BS EN 571-1 Requirement 10 to 30 minutes.
o Typically a time 15 minutes is use.
o Acceptance criteria are generally based on the observed indication size at the end of
the development time.

6. Inspection
 Inspect as soon as practicable after developer application. Final assessment taking place
after a minimum development time has elapsed.
 Viewing condition. Lighting levels are critical
 2 type viewing condition.
 Colour Contrast (White Light)
 Illuminance for white light according BS EN 571-1 & BS EN 3059 is not less
than 500lux on surface tested.
 Sunlight is best
 Artificial light source such as tungsten filament bulbs or fluorescent strip
lighting are OK.
 Do not use MONOCHROMATIC LIGHT SOURCE such as SODIUM VAPOUR
LAMPS.
 Fluorescent (Black Light)
 Irradiance for UV-A/black Light according BS EN 571-1 & BS EN 3059 shall be
greater that 1000µW/cm2 and illuminance less that 20lux.
 Allow 10 minutes black light/ UV-A light warm-up after switch on.
 Allow 5 minutes eyes adaptation in dark area.
 Do not wear photo-chromatic spectacles.
 The black light source from MERCURY VAPOUR ARC LAMP
 This type of lamp emits visible light, UV-A,UV-B,UV-C
 With a properly fitted WOOD FILTER only UV-A and low level visible light
are emitted.
 UV-B and UV-C radiation extremely hazardous to health, causes skin canser
 UV-A radiation safe to work with it may cause temporary health problem
such as EYEBALL FLUORESCENCE .
 Never look directly at a Black Light.
7. Post Cleaning.
 DPI residues must be removed because:
 They maybe harmful to the component.
 They may impair subsequent processing.
System Process

Preparation and
pre-cleaning

Water- Post- Solvent

washable emulsifiable removable

Water Water Water Apply Apply

and wash spray lipophilic solvent
solvent rinse emulsifier remover

Apply
Water
hydrophilic
wash
emulsifier

Water
wash

Check penetrant removal

Dry Apply water Dry Apply solvent

soluble based developer
developer
Apply water
Apply dry
suspendible
powder
Dry developer
developer

Inspect

Record

Clean and
protect
Control Check.
Overall system performance check by using:
 Chromium plated cracked test panel – TAM panel.
o To check the cleanliness of penetrant remover
o To check the sensitivity of penetrant
 Cracked test piece.
 Quench cracked aluminum alloy block – ARB block. (comparator block)

Control checks frequency.

Item Frequency
Tank levels Daily
Overall system performance Daily
Rinse water temperature Daily
Oven temperature Daily
Equipment cleanliness Daily
Airline filters Weekly
UV-A filters Daily
UV-A / visible light levels Monthly
Fluorescent / colour intensity Monthly
Suppliers check Annual
Hydrophilic remover dilution When Fresh
Developer Daily
Meter / gauge calibrations Annual