DYE PENETRANT TESTING PROCEDURE

TUNISIA
- SFAX: Road Mahdia Km 1, N84 Street Mohamed Ikbal, P.O. Box: 89A 3099 Sfax Tunisia, Tel: +216
74232032 / Fax: +216 74234717.
- TUNIS: 13 Street Michael Noaima 2080 Arian Tunisia, Tel: +216 71 820205, Fax: 71 820128.
- GABES: Street Environment Chenini Nahal 6041,Tel / Fax: +216 75229440.
LIBYA: BECA Libya For Inspection, Testing And Analysis, Street 16 off 11 June Road Nearby Ben Zahra
Mosque Souk Al Joumaa Tripoli Libya,Tel / Fax: +218 (0) 213501973.
ABU DHABI: BECA Abu Dhabi, Branch UAE, P.O. Box: 129865 Abu Dhabi UAE, Tel: +971(0) 25102400,
Fax: +971 (0) 25589961. TECHNICAL DEPARTEMENT
GABON: BECA Securale De Gabon, Boulevard Lon MBA Quartier Littoral face central SEEG B.P. N1701 BECA COMPANY
Port Gentil Gabon, Tel / Fax: +241 01569527.
CONGO : Luanda Pointe Noire Congo
Tel : +242069069213 Email:beca.congo@becacompany.com
 DYE PENETRANT TESTING PROCEDURE T.P N.D.T 004

This document is the property of BECA; no part of it shall be reproduced or transmitted without prior written BECAs authorization.
T.P N.D.T 004 Page 2 of 8 Revision 7
 DYE PENETRANT TESTING PROCEDURE T.P N.D.T 004

SOMMAIRE

1 Object : ........................................................................................................................................ 4
2 Reference documents ................................................................................................................ 4
3 Qualification of personnel ......................................................................................................... 4
4 Operating Conditions ................................................................................................................. 4
5 Visual inspection ......................................................................................................................... 4
6 Equipments ................................................................................................................................. 5
7 Procedure ................................................................................................................................... 5
8 Interpretation of indications ..................................................................................................... 6
9 Acceptance standard ................................................................................................................. 6
10 Cleaning :......................................................................................................................................7
11 Report ..........................................................................................................................................7

This document is the property of BECA; no part of it shall be reproduced or transmitted without prior written BECAs authorization.
T.P N.D.T 004 Page 3 of 8 Revision 7
 DYE PENETRANT TESTING PROCEDURE T.P N.D.T 004

1. Object :

This procedure describes the equipment, method, acceptance criteria, personnel qualifications and
all the details necessary to perform a penetrant examination of butt welds and fillet welds.

2. Reference documents

The standards listed in this paragraph are always applicable in their latest revised version.
ASME Code Section VIII.
ASME Code Section V.
API 650.

3. Qualification of personnel

3.1. Qualification procedure

COTEND or ASNT certified personnel.

3.2. Level of Certification

The examination is performed by an operator Level I, interpretation is performed by a Level

II certified Inspector.

4. Operating Conditions

4-1.Examination areas

This procedure applies to butt welded joints and fillet welds in carbon steel, alloy steel and
stainless steel. The entire weld and heat affected area within 1" shall be inspected.
4-2. Temperatures

The parts to be tested must have a temperature between 10 C and 50 C.

4-3.Preparation of surfaces

Surfaces must be free from paint, scale, grease and any other material that may interfere
with penetrant testing.
Cleaning can be done by degreasing, pickling or brushing. Mechanical methods, such as
grinding and light sandblasting must be used with care to avoid blocking surface discontinuities.
Shot blasting is not recommended. The roughness must be less than or equal to 6.3 um for the
machined surfaces and to 12um for the raw parts.

5. Visual inspection

The weld area will be visually inspected so as not to interfere with the interpretation after

This document is the property of BECA; no part of it shall be reproduced or transmitted without prior written BECAs authorization.
T.P N.D.T 004 Page 4 of 8 Revision 7
 DYE PENETRANT TESTING PROCEDURE T.P N.D.T 004

examination. The Finishing pass should be uniform and the allowance should not exceed the values
specified by the reference code.

6. Equipments

6.1. Penetrant testing Products

All products used: degreaser, penetrant, penetrant and developer remover, must be
compatible with the controlled material.
6.1.1. Cleaners

Non-exhaustive list of usable products:

Water
Acid, alkaline stripping, rinsing follow-up
Degreaser, solvent, etc.

6.1.2. Penetrating

The usable penetrant is:

Pre-emulsified colored penetrant in liquid suspension washable with water or with a
suitable solvent.
6.1.3. Developer

There are three types of developer:

Non aqueous wet developer.
Aqueous wet developer.
Dry developer.

6.2. Lighting

The use of a colored penetrant requires natural or artificial lighting of 1000 Lux value. These
values are appreciated on the surface of the part to be checked, measurements are made with the
Lux meter.

7. Procedure

7.1 Application of Penetrant Product

The application of penetrant product can be with a spray gun, an aerosol can, a brush or by
immersion.
The impregnation time must not be less than that indicated by the manufacturer (Generally

This document is the property of BECA; no part of it shall be reproduced or transmitted without prior written BECAs authorization.
T.P N.D.T 004 Page 5 of 8 Revision 7
 DYE PENETRANT TESTING PROCEDURE T.P N.D.T 004

between 10 and 30 minutes).

The layer of penetrating material must remain moist throughout the impregnation period.
7.1.1 Elimination of excess penetrant:

Excess penetration in the surface will be reduced by using a lint-free cloth, a brush, a jet of
water under pressure of less than 3 bars, by immersion, by paper towel or solvent.
7.1.2 Drying:

Once the cleaning is completed, the surface to be checked is dried either in the open air,
using a dry, lint-free cloth, absorbent paper or under compressed air with a pressure of less than 2
bars and under a temperature not exceeding 40 C.
7.2 Application of developer

After drying is completed, the developer will be applied to the area to be checked into a
thin, uniform layer.
The liquid developer should be agitated to mix the suspended particles (using aerosol cans
or a suitable spray gun without air emulsion)
If the ambient temperature is between 5 C and 10 C, the developer is applied by means of
an aerosol can. In addition, drying must be accelerated by blowing air if possible; its temperature at
the surface of the test coupon must not exceed 40 C.
The indications are evaluated at the earliest 10 minutes and at the latest 30 minutes after the
developer have dried.
However, a longer time may be required for some additional investigations.

8. Interpretation of indications

Interpretation in daylight or artificial (1000 lux minimum) must be performed between 10

minutes and 30 minutes after the developer has dried.

9. Acceptance standard

The acceptance criteria are designated according to the acceptance limits given in ASME
code VIII and the technical specifications of the customer. The indications are defined according to
ASME VIII as follows:
A linear indication is an indication that has an indication length greater than three
times its width.
A circular or elliptical indication is an indication that has the length of the indication
less than or equal to three times its width.

This document is the property of BECA; no part of it shall be reproduced or transmitted without prior written BECAs authorization.
T.P N.D.T 004 Page 6 of 8 Revision 7
 DYE PENETRANT TESTING PROCEDURE T.P N.D.T 004

Acceptance Criteria according to the ASME Code Section VIII:

All surfaces tested should be free of:
All linear indications.
All circular indications having dimensions greater than 3/16 "(5 mm).
Four or more circular indications on a line separated by a distance of 1/16 "(1.5 mm) or
less.

10. Cleaning :

Cleaning after examination is carried out after checking. This cleaning can be carried out
with cleaning solvent and rags or with brushing.

11. Report

After each penetrant inspection, the Level II inspector must prepare an inspection report
and forward it to the customer

This document is the property of BECA; no part of it shall be reproduced or transmitted without prior written BECAs authorization.
T.P N.D.T 004 Page 7 of 8 Revision 7
 DYE PENETRANT TESTING PROCEDURE T.P N.D.T 004

This document is the property of BECA; no part of it shall be reproduced or transmitted without prior written BECAs authorization.
T.P N.D.T 004 Page 8 of 8 Revision 7