BDL REDWOOD - Your Leak Detection Consulting Experts

Slide 1

“Learning never exhausts the mind”

Leonardo da Vinci

1452 - 1519

Slide 2

“Knowledge is power”

Francis Bacon

1561-1626

ABOUT US

Our Team Leader, Jean-Pierre (JP) Deluca (Electronic Engineer) has over 38 years of experience in the leak testing arena (Helium Mass Spectrometry, Hydrogen, Pressure Decay, Pressure Increase, Vacuum Decay and Mass Flow Testing). 

JP has worked in numerous roles for leak detection instrument and leak testing equipment manufacturers, specifically as a Product Manager, Applications Engineer, International Leak Detection Director, Sales Director and Vice President of Sales.

JP has extensive experience and expertise in many industries including Automotive, Medical, Pharmaceutical, Refrigeration & Air Conditioning, Semiconductor, Aerospace & Defense, and assisted thousands of customers with their leak testing applications and projects.

Additionally, JP has written many technical articles (see some of them in the “Resources section”) and participated in the writing of many others. He has also presented more than 500 training classes at customer sites and at trade shows.

Jean-Pierre Deluca

Leak Detection Expert

Our mission:

To help customers with existing leak testing systems (improving performance of their systems, assessing and addressing existing technical issues, evaluating and implementing proper calibration and validation procedures, reducing cost of operation, preparing and/or reviewing upcoming customers’ audit).

To assist customers with new leak testing applications and projects (establishing and/or reviewing of the leak testing application leak rate based on application requirements and/or industry standards; Defining and selecting the best leak testing method based on application leak rate requirements and economics; Selecting the leak testing equipment manufacturer; Performing system acceptance at the manufacturer’s site and/or at your installation site).

Educating customers is part of our suite of services as our experience has shown that an educated customer is better prepared to make the right decisions. BDL Redwood leak testing experts offer customized leak testing training (air and tracer gas), from basic to advanced levels; Online or On-site.

 

IF ANY OF THE FOLLOWING APPLIES TO YOU…

A) You own a helium leak testing system and you are experiencing:

  • High helium background resulting in down time.
  • Leaks in the system.
  • False rejects.
  • System calibration issues.
  • Test validation issues.
  • Poor repeatability and reproducibility of test results.
  • Declining cycle times (worsening towards the end of the day).
  • High cost of maintenance.
  • High helium consumption resulting in increased cost.
  • Challenges in keeping up with production due to poor performance of your Helium Leak Testing system.

B) You own an air leak testing system and you are experiencing:

  • Calibration issues.
  • Test validation problems.
  • Lack of leak testing repeatability.
  • False rejections of parts.
  • Negative values.

C) You had a customer audit:

You have been audited by one of your customers and their findings show your leak testing system is not capturing the size of leaks it is supposed to discover.

D) You need some training:

  • The person who oversees your leak testing process has left and you have not trained their replacement.
  • You inherited one (or more) leak testing systems and you need to be trained and educated in leak testing.
  • Your team has grown and needs to be trained on leak testing (fundamentals and hands-on).

E) You have new requirements:

You recently won a major contract requiring the implementation of leak testing processes and you need assistance with your application.

 

…WE CAN HELP!

See how in the next section “Services” for details.

SERVICES

Audit

Audit

1 - Audit of existing customers leak testing systems.

A. Leak testing application specifications Review/Verification/Calculation:

  1. Leak rate.
  2. Test conditions.
  3. Production throughput.
  4. Calibration and validation processes.
  5. Other required tests performed.
  6. Part tracking, test results acquisition, data storage and data analysis.

B. System design review:

  1. Tooling design (part sealing mechanism).
  2. Loading and unloading process.
  3. For tracer gas applications:
    • Vacuum pump technology and solution.
    • Vacuum design review:
      1. Components such as pumps, valves, gauges, and tooling, including conductance of vacuum lines and split flow configuration
    • Test chamber design:
      1. Design and optimization of dead space.
      2. Seal/gasket geometry, material (durometer) as well as seal groove design.
      3. Virtual leaks.

C. Performance review.

  1. Cycle time.
  2. Calibration.
  3. Test validation.
  4. Recovery from a catastrophic failure.
  5. Parts loading and unloading process.
  6. Post-test parts marking.

D. Review of system inefficiencies.

  1. Proposed improvements of system performance.
  2. Implementation of improvements

Specs

Leak testing

2 - New Leak testing Projects, from Start to Finish.

A. Leak Rate Requirements:

  1. Establishment and/or review of the customer leak testing application leak rate based on application requirements and/or industry standards.

  2. Conversion calculations from customer’s leak rate specifications to tracer gas equivalent (helium or hydrogen):

B. Test Requirements:

Definition and Selection of the best leak testing method based on application leak rate requirements and economics

  1. Air (pressure decay, vacuum decay, mass flow).
  2. Tracer gas type: Helium, Hydrogen Forming Gas (5% hydrogen and 95% N2).

Review of:

  1. Test pressure.
  2. Tracer gas concentration.
  3. Flow direction (leak testing Inside/Out or Outside/In).
  4. Leak location (if applicable).
  5. Proof testing (if applicable).

Outline:

  1. Calibration and Validation processes.
  2. Global testing method.
  3. Level of operator test dependence / automation.

Production requirements:

  1. Production throughput.
  2. Part loading and unloading description.
  3. Part ID tracking (parts serialized, bar coded etc.).
  4. Data logging, storage and transfer.
  5. Post test marking (if applicable and type of marking needed).
  6. Tooling (specific needs such as interchangeability, Poke Yoke etc.).
  7. Other testing needs.

Part Information:

  1. Part drawings review.
  2. Part description and configuration.
  3. Part specifications (physical dimensions, number of models, internal volume etc.).
  4. Part cleanliness (any possible contamination and its nature).
  5. Part temperature.

Other Requirements Definition:

  1. System Controls and Machine Communication Interface.
  2. System qualification run off.
  3. Documentation.
  4. Tracer gas:
    • Gas management (gas usage optimization).
    • Gas recovery.
  5. Remote access.
  6. Safety
  7. Technical support.
  8. Other specific requirements.

Selection of leak testing equipment manufacturers.

Some leak test equipment manufacturers specialize in specific applications and selecting the right company for your project is key to deliver the right system.
We will work with you to identify the manufacturer with the best track record for your leak testing application and with the right level of flexibility in case your project requires some last-minute changes.

Performing system acceptance at the manufacturer’s site and/or at your installation site.

BDL Redwood experts will verify that the system meets the specifications agreed upon in the Statement of Work (SOW) or the Request For Quote (RFQ) specification sheet including requirements such as leak rate, cycle time, calibration, and validation processes to guarantee a smooth buy-off process.
A systematic approach with an itemized list of specifications (leak rate, cycle time, calibration and validation process, etc.) guaranteeing a smooth buy-off process.

Training

Custom training

3 - Leak testing (air & tracer gas), from basic to advanced levels.
Online or On-Site

Customized Helium Leak Testing Training - Example Agenda.

A. Overview of Leak Testing.

  1. Leak Flow definition.
  2. Leak Flow overview: Flow regimes.
    • Viscous Regime Leak Rate.
    • Molecular Regime Leak Rate.
  3. Relationship between leak hole diameter and gas flow.
  4. Visualization of gas flow regimes.
  5. Leak Rate Reality.
  6. Objects micro scale.
  7. Leak Detection Methods and Practical Ranges.
  8. Leak Rate Units.
  9. Leak Rate Equivalents Chart.
  10. Powers of ten.

B. Introduction to helium leak detection

  1. Why helium?
  2. Where does helium come from?
  3. Where is helium produced?
  4. Helium applications.
  5. Helium mass spectrometer leak detector benefits.
  6. A few helium leak detection applications examples.
  7. Leak detection technologies.
  8. Helium leak detector main components.
  9. Typical helium leak detector vacuum diagram.
  10. Helium leak test methods.
    • Sniffing (manual and accumulation).
    • Hard vacuum (Inside/out, outside/in) and bombing methods
  11. Helium leak detection basic theory
    • Helium background calculation.
    • Helium leak detector wide range capability.
    • Helium concentration and impact on leak rate.
    • Response and recovery times.
    • Split flow configurations and alternatives to split flow

Customized Air Leak Test Training (pressure decay, vacuum decay, mass flow) - Example Agenda

A. Introduction to Air Leak Testing.

  1. Air Leak Testing Fundamentals
  2. Bubble Immersion Testing
  3. Pressure Decay Testing / Vacuum Decay / Mass Flow
  4. Part Configuration for Air Leak Testing
  5. Example of “Open” Parts
  6. Example of “Sealed” Parts
  7. Pressure Change Air Leak Testing
  8. Basic Principles of Air Pressure Air Leak Testing “open” Parts
  9. Basic Principles of Chamber of Air Leak Testing “Sealed” Part
  10. Direct Mass Flow Air Leak Testing.

B. Factors influencing test results

  1. Temperature change.
    • How to address it.
  2. Part internal volume change.
    • How to prevent it.
  3. Leaks in the system
    • How to resolve them.
  4. Part behavior.
    • How to control it.

We can customize your training agenda to meet your specific requirements focusing on what is really needed by your organization.

Each participant will receive a certificate of completion.

We are eager to hear from you!

RESOURCES

A) Some of Jean-Pierre (JP) Deluca Published technical articles:

How much can it leak

Assembly magazine
May 1999

Helium how to

Assembly magazine
November 2000

How to choose a helium leak detector - part I

Gases & Technology
April 2005

Choosing a helium leak detector for your application - part II

Gases & Technology
May/June 2005

Choosing a helium leak detector - Dry or wet - part III

Gases & Technology
May/June 2006

How to select a helium leak detector

Vacuum and Technology Coating
April 2006

Helium - High Cost, Limited Supply

Gases & Instrumentation
May/June 2008

How to implement a Leak detector

Assembly magazine
May 2014

B) Converters and calculators 

 

The following first section gives access to many useful tools allowing you to convert:

  • Pressure units.
  • Pumping speed units.
  • Leak rates units.

This section will broaden the user’s arsenal by giving him/her access to the following calculators:

  • Pressure decay leak rate (pressure change ΔP as well as corresponding flow rate ΔQ).
  • Bubble test leak rate equivalent.
  • Tracer gas accumulation.
  • Mass loss correlation to volumetric gas leak rate (example: converting a 0.1 Oz of refrigerant into the equivalent gas volumetric leak rate).
  • Gross leak rate gas conversion (example: calculating a Gross air leak into a trace gas leak).
  • Small leak rate gas conversion (example: calculating a small helium leak into another trace gas leak).
  • A gas flow through a capillary.

Please contact us at: jp@bdlredwood.com, to request the password.

Calculators

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