helium technology s.r.l. has been established in 2010 to ...the presence of a leakage could...

Helium Technology S.r.l. has been established in 2010 to answer properly to the growing requests of leak testing using helium as tracing gas in strategic industrial sectors as refrigeration, pharmaceutical, food, automotive, etc., where the quality requirements are getting more and more strict.The company belongs to Marposs group.

Helium Technology employs highly specialized personnel, with long time experience in this sector. It can consequently support the customer during all the different phases of the process, from the definition of the technical specifications and the most suitable solution at quotation stage, to the design, development and manufacturing of dedicated application, up to the after sales service. To perform this activity the company takes advantage of Marposs distribution network, present in 23 countries with own sales offices and after sales service centres.

Marposs, established in 1952 by Mario Possati, is the leader supplier of precision instruments for dimensional and geometrical measurement of mechanical parts in the shop floor environment: gauges and control systems for machine tools, manual and automatic systems for manufacturing and assembly lines, hardware and software for data collection and process analysis, non destructive testing equipment and leak test systems, with particular reference to components of car engine, transmission and injection. The Headquarters and the main plant are located in Bentivoglio (BO).

Marposs - Bentivoglio (BO)

Helium Technology - Calvignasco (MI)

Leak testing is a non destructive method to verify the presence of a leak in a component or device. The presence of a leakage could jeopardize the correct functioning of the component or device or its life span, and also be potentially dangerous for the environment and for the safety of its user.There are different methods to verify the presence of a leakage, from the traditional immersion of the component in a water tank, to the air detection in pressurized parts up to the use of tracing gas. The use of helium as tracing gas for leak detection is a consolidated system in the main industrial sectors, mostly where there is a high technological content, but it is quickly expanding to other sectors due to the increasing requirements of the market for high quality.

Helium is the second lightest element after hydrogen: it can penetrate small leaks rapidly (where heavier elements could not) up to 10−11 mbar*L/s.Is a noble gas: it is inert and does not react with other gases or with the part under test.Is ecological: it is colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic and does not create any problem in case of dispersion in the environment.Is present in the atmosphere only in small quantities (5 ppm) and so the background noise for the leak detection instrument is very low.

WHY HELIUM?

The usage of helium as tracing gas to find and quantify leaks requires an instrument able to detect its presence. The instrument is the mass spectrometer, that transforms the measurement of the mass of a gas into an electric signal. To do this, the air that enters the spectrometer is ionized and guided into a curved tube immersed in a magnetic field. For a given value of the magnetic field only helium ions go through, while the others are destroyed. The electric current produced by the helium ions flow is measured to quantify the leak.

HOW DOES IT WORK

HEAVY IONS

LIGHT IONS

HELIUM IONS

source

detector

“small” leaks “industrial” leaks “big” leaks

10-10 10-6 10+010-7 10-110-310-9 10-5 10+110-8 10-210-4 10+2 10+3

Helium leak detection

Pressure decay

Bubble test

Leak flow in mbar.l/s

“small” leaks “industrial” leaks “big” leaks

10-10 10-6 10+010-7 10-110-310-9 10-5 10+110-8 10-210-4 10+2 10+3

Helium leak detection

Bubble test

Pressure decay

Leak flow in mbar*L/s

TEST METHODS

APPLICATION FIELDS

- Refrigeration - Air conditioning - Automotive - Aerospace - Fire extinguisher - Pressurised containers - Valves - Carbonated beverage containers - Food packaging - Pharmaceutical - Petrochemical - Energy - Microelectronics

Helium charged - vacuum testThe part is put into a chamber where vacuum is created. The part is then pressurized with helium and the helium leakage is measured through a mass spectrometer. The test is objective, since does not depend on the operator.Detectable leak range goes from 5.0 x 10-3 mbar*L/s to 5.0 x 10-8 mbar*L/s.This method is used in automatic systems to test components as evaporators, condensers, tubes, hoses, pipes, airbags, canisters, fuel tanks, thermostatic valves.

Helium charged - sniffer testThe part is pressurized with helium. The mass spectrometer is fitted with a sniffer probe that is moved over the areas of possible leak to detect its presence. The test can be performed manually (by operator) or automatically. The detectable leak range is between 5.0 x 10-3 mbar*L/s and 5.0 x 10-5 mbar*L/s.This test is used for parts that cannot be put inside a vacuum chamber (refrigerators, refrigerated food displays) or to locate a leak that has been detected by other methods, in order to allow for parts repair.

Helium spray - vacuum testThe part to be tested is directly connected to a mass spectrometer and put inside a chamber. Vacuum is created inside the part and the helium concentration in the chamber is raised to 100%. If a leakage is present, the molecules of helium migrate into the part and the leakage is measured by the spectrometer. The possible leak range to be detected is from 5.0 x 10-3 mbar*L/s to 5.0 x 10-8

mbar*L/s.This test is frequently used to check porosities in cast parts or for parts that operate under vacuum, as water pumps and brake pumps.

Bombing test This method applies to parts that are supposed to be sealed, as implantable medical devices and bulbs.The component under test will be first exposed for an extended length of time (e.g. 10 minutes) to a high helium pressure (40-50 bar) in a “bombing” chamber.If the part is leaky, helium will be able to penetrate the device.Then the component will be placed in a vacuum chamber. The amount of helium that entered the device will be released in the vacuum chamber and measured by the mass spectrometer. This method is not able to detect small leaks. Usual leak range to be detected is from 5.0 x 10-2 mbar*L/s to 1.0 x 10-4 mbar*L/s.

SEMI-AUTOMATIC LEAK TEST MACHINEFOR A/C HOSES

Test type Helium charged – vacuum test

Productivity 250 parts/h

Reject limit 2.0 x 10-5 mbar*L/s corresponding to 3 g/y

Test pressure (max)

40 bar

SEMI-AUTOMATIC LEAK TEST MACHINEFOR LPG TANKS




Test pressure (max)

4 bar

SEMI-AUTOMATIC LEAK TEST MACHINEFOR COOLING SYSTEM VALVES




Test pressure (max)

60 bar

SEMI-AUTOMATIC LEAK TEST MACHINEFOR CONDENSERS




Test pressure (max)

40 bar

AUTOMATIC ASSEMBLY LINE ANDLEAK TEST MACHINE FOR FUEL TANKS



Reject limit 2.0E -4 mbar*L/s

Test pressure (max)

300 mbar abs

SEMI-AUTOMATIC LEAK TEST MACHINEFOR BLOOD FILTERS



Reject limit 3.0E -4 mbar*L/s

Test pressure (max)

300 mbar abs

SEMI-AUTOMATIC LEAK TEST MACHINEFOR FOOD PACKAGE



Reject limit 1.0 x 10-4 mbar*L/s

Test pressure (max)

300 mbar abs

SEMI-AUTOMATIC LEAK TEST MACHINEFOR GASOLINE “FUEL RAIL”




Test pressure (max)

200 bar

HELIUM RECOVER SYSTEM

Efficiency between 85% and 95%

Flow range R1 model from 100/150 nL/min



Helium pressure “out”

max 80 bar (adjustable)

Helium pressure “in” max 1.3 bar absolute

Helium refilling pressure

max 6 bar

Edition 04/2016 - Specifications are subject to modifications. © Copyright 2012-2016 MARPOSS S.p.A. (Italy) - All rights reserved.

Visit thewww.hetech.marposs.com website

Marposs in the world:www.marposs.com/addresses

helium technology s.r.l. has been established in 2010 to ...the presence of a leakage could...

Documents