Bubble testing using FC43. Final report
In product acceptance leak testing, bubbles form at the source of the leakage when a leaking part is covered by a liquid such as Fluorinert FC43, manufactured by the 3M Company. The bubbles evolve when the internal bubble pressure exceeds the combined effects of pressure above the liquid, the external liquid head, and the surface tension restraint. The main disadvantage of the bubble method is that multiple holes in a test object, each of which contribute to a total leak rate, separately may be too small to detect. Therefore, a leak that exceeds the allowable limit may be undetected with the bubble method. An enhanced bubble emission technique that uses the principle of pulling a vacuum above the liquid surface was employed to increase the sensitivity of the test and allow more bubbles per second to be observed for a given leak. Testing has shown FC43 to be useful in determining the leak rate over the range of 1 x 10/sup -6/ to 1 x 10/sup -4/ standard cm/sup 3//s. Larger leaks emit bubbles so quickly that a quantitative value cannot be determined. A determination of measurement uncertainty was made under ideal conditions; the result was +- 30 percent.
- Research Organization:
- Bendix Corp., Kansas City, MO (USA)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC04-76DP00613
- OSTI ID:
- 6875886
- Report Number(s):
- BDX-613-2799; ON: DE83004097
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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