Considerations For Helium Leak Testing

Helium leak detection (HeLD) is routinely used and widely accepted for applications that require the utmost leak sensitivity. Helium gas in an element with the second smallest atomic mass, is inert(non-reactive), is naturally rare in the atmosphere, and is non-flammable. Due to its low atomic mass this gas penetrates through the smallest cracks and micro-holes; being rare in the atmosphere eliminates background helium "noise" resulting in an extremely high signal-to-noise ratio thereby greatly increasing test sensitivity; being inert (non-reactive) ensures that the helium gas will not negatively affect the components being tested; and being non-flammable gives confidence that it is the safest tracer gas to use in a lab or production setting.This brochure explains how Helium enables the discovery of extremely small microleaks that other leak testing methods cannot detect and what applications it can be used for.