Helium Detectors for Leak Testing
Helium Detectors for Leak Testing
(OP)
Hi folks,
My company does Nitrogen-Helium leak testing as part of pre-commissioning of new oil and gas facilities. Basically we pressure up the system to 95% of the lowest PSV setting with a 99% Nitrogen and 1% Helium mixture and sniff flanges and valves for leaks. The Helium detector gives us a numerical readout of the leak rate - so many cubic feet per year. We currently use Helium detectors made by Agilent/Varian:
http://www.chem.agilent.com/en-US/products-service...
these are kind of bulky and I was wondering if anyone had experience with more portable units or a different brand/model they recommend.
Thanks!
My company does Nitrogen-Helium leak testing as part of pre-commissioning of new oil and gas facilities. Basically we pressure up the system to 95% of the lowest PSV setting with a 99% Nitrogen and 1% Helium mixture and sniff flanges and valves for leaks. The Helium detector gives us a numerical readout of the leak rate - so many cubic feet per year. We currently use Helium detectors made by Agilent/Varian:
http://www.chem.agilent.com/en-US/products-service...
these are kind of bulky and I was wondering if anyone had experience with more portable units or a different brand/model they recommend.
Thanks!





RE: Helium Detectors for Leak Testing
I hate Windowz 8!!!!
RE: Helium Detectors for Leak Testing
But you're totally right, if a flange hasn't been put together properly and is pressurized to 1,000kPag and someone is standing next to it when the gasket comes flying out that may very well be fatal.
I went over the ASME code and it said for pneumatic testing of piping systems you first pressure to 150kPag or 25% of final test pressure (whichever lower), then slowly work up in increments, stop at those increments to see if the pressure is holding before moving up to the next stage (25% to 50%).
RE: Helium Detectors for Leak Testing
RE: Helium Detectors for Leak Testing
RE: Helium Detectors for Leak Testing
I got the chance to use one from Alcatel** that had an impressive performing and impressively named turbobmolecular pump. It would coast down from operating speed over the course of an hour or so. The sensitivity was such that the calibration was from a fist sized 100 psi tank with a tiny orifice and no 'off' valve. Over a few weeks the pressure needle never budged, yet the sniffer could be dialed up to max-out on a reading from that source.
It got creamed when some dofus thought it wasn't working right and jammed the detector hose up to the helium mix tank and gave it a good whiff. I guess a 10,000,000 times higher sample than it was set for was too much. It was repaired, but still.
I think this is it: http://www.heliumleakdetection.net/Helium-Leak-Det... It's a bit more sensitive, if I'm reading the specs right, but not a rough-field use item.
RE: Helium Detectors for Leak Testing
Restek http://www.restek.com/catalog/view/8175
Agilent http://www.chem.agilent.com/en-US/products-service...
Regards,
Matt
RE: Helium Detectors for Leak Testing
The current Agilent PHD-4s we use can detect leaks down to 0.00Xft3/year. I was looking for a different make/model because as portable and rugged as these are, they are still a bit bulky. But I guess this is the best currently available.
3DDave, I believe your unit is a lab only one. Those are more sensitive to Helium but are a no no when it comes to field testing. Sometimes you'll have a Helium Mass Spectrometer in a test van and an operator will take a hose/probe from it to the flanges they need to check outside and sniff them. That hose can get really long and it just isn't practical when you are leak testing flanges on the top of a vessel.
RE: Helium Detectors for Leak Testing
Just curious.
RE: Helium Detectors for Leak Testing
As far as knowing leak rate, that's not so important as knowing if something leaks or doesn't leak. In most situations that I'm interested in at least, it's a binary thing; pass, or He = fail. No kudos for slow leaks of CH4, or H2S, gasoline, etc.
I hate Windowz 8!!!!
RE: Helium Detectors for Leak Testing
RE: Helium Detectors for Leak Testing
RE: Helium Detectors for Leak Testing