Bubble / submersion test

A bubble leak test is possibly one of the most well-known ways of testing a product on leaks. It is the same principle as finding leaks in a bicycle tire, by submerging it under water and looking for bubbles. Verborg Engineering B.V. has realised several different submersion tests over the years.

How it works

A product is submerged into a water tank. Normally there is air pressure inside the product, this can be done with compressed air. When the product is submerged into water, it needs to be analysed for escaping bubbles.

A leak in the product will produce a bubble stream. The intensity and size of the bubble stream depends on the size of the leak itself.

The process of automating the bubble analysis can be done with a vision system or ultrasonic equipment.

Working principal sketch:

Pros:

• Cheapest method.
• Good precision (10^-4 mbar*l/s theoretical, 10^-3 mbar*l/s in reality).
• Ability to pinpoint leak location.

Cons:

• Leak size can not easily be quantified.
• Product will get wet, requires drying after test.
• Semi automatic, capacity depends on operator, generally low throughput.
• Possibility to miss a leak by bubbles getting trapped In component structure.
• Not suitable for corrosive products.
• Unpleasant work conditions (wet floors, slipping danger, etc).
• Operational and maintenance costs (cleaning, lighting, etc).

Verborg Engineering B.V. Project examples

Verborg Engineering B.V. has realised several different bubble-test project over the years for several different products. Generally, we strive to make our bubble test solution applicable for as many of the customers’ products as possible. A few examples: