High-Precision Helium Leak Detection Equipment for Direct Cooling Plates

Direct-cooled plates should maintain reliable sealing performance throughout their service life. Even a tiny leak path can affect the integrity of the cooling circuit and ultimately impact the stability of thermal management.

This direct-cooled plate helium leak detector uses helium as the tracer gas. Following a pre-set test procedure, the workpiece is first evacuated and then filled with helium. The helium leak detection system detects helium escaping through the leak path to determine if the workpiece meets the pre-set leak requirements.

The standard procedure includes:

Loading → Scanning → Workpiece Vacuuming → Preliminary Leak Detection → Vacuuming → Helium Filling → Helium Leak Detection → Helium Recovery → Unloading

When a leak is detected, the system can also switch to a suction gun leak location mode to help operators pinpoint the approximate location of the leak.

This combination makes the system suitable not only for final inspection but also for production line quality control, where repeatable testing and efficient helium management are crucial.

1. Integrated Vacuum Leak Testing Process

The equipment integrates workpiece evacuation, gross leak inspection, helium filling, helium detection, recovery, and unloading into one testing workflow.

1. High-Sensitivity Helium Detection

The system detects helium signals inside the vacuum chamber to determine the leakage condition of the workpiece.

The published specification gives a leakage alarm rate of <1 × 10⁻⁶ mbar·L/s.

1. Adjustable Helium Filling Pressure

The helium filling pressure is adjustable from 0 to 4 MPa and is equipped with a pressure-reducing valve. The system automatically stops filling when the preset pressure is reached.

1. Helium Recovery System

Instead of simply releasing helium after testing, the equipment incorporates a helium recovery unit consisting of a buffer tank, compressor, low-pressure vessel, valves, and connecting pipelines.

This design allows helium to be recovered from the workpiece within the configured process time.

1. Automatic Helium Replenishment

As helium is recycled, its concentration can gradually decrease. The automatic replenishment module can introduce fresh helium when the system concentration becomes insufficient.

The main purpose of the system is to evaluate the sealing integrity of the workpiece.

• Overall sealing condition
• Gross leakage
• Fine helium leakage
• Leakage alarm status
• Leakage location after a failed test

The equipment is particularly useful when traditional pressure-hold inspection does not provide sufficient sensitivity for the required leakage criterion.

The fundamental technology is tracer-gas leak detection using helium.

ISO 20485:2017 defines tracer-gas leak testing as a method using a tracer gas together with a tracer-gas-specific leak detector. The standard covers the principles of detection, tracer-gas flow, apparatus, object preparation, testing techniques, and test reporting.

For helium applications, a mass spectrometer can be used as the tracer-gas detector. ISO 20485 specifically identifies a mass spectrometer tuned to the selected tracer gas, generally helium-4, as one physical detection method.

The two methods are not necessarily competitors. In many production environments, gross leak screening and fine helium detection can work together as complementary stages.

HCTE is a professional manufacturer specializing in the research, development, design, and production of industrial testing equipment and customized testing systems.

We understand that testing equipment is not simply a machine placed beside a production line. It is an important part of quality control, process improvement, and product reliability. That is why we focus on developing practical testing solutions that work with the customer's actual products, production processes, and quality requirements.

From the initial technical discussion to equipment design, manufacturing, commissioning, and after-sales support, our team works closely with customers to turn testing requirements into reliable equipment solutions.