Leak detection systems are used to identify, locate and quantify unwanted gas entries into a vacuum system. In other words: it will tell you if air or other gases are sneaking in while the vacuum pump is trying to maintain low pressure. This is important, as even a tiny leak can cause contamination and prevent the pump from working properly.
This highly sensitive technology is central to many things we take for granted in our daily lives. It is for example used in the production of the batteries that are in laptops, phones and other objects we charge every day. There is also a limit to how much gas our household refrigerators are allowed to leak, for example.
Leak detection is vital to ensure these products meet regulations and production standards. And that’s not at all, says Marleen Mennemann, Global Applications Manager for Leak Detection in Atlas Copco Group’s Scientific Vacuum division.
“I know that CERN, The European Centre for Nuclear Research which is looking into the structure of particles that make up the world’s existence, uses our leak detectors and vacuum pumps in their groundbreaking research.”
Ensuring optimal performance
Based in the German city of Cologne, Marleen has been working with leak detection technology for the past seven years, supporting sales colleagues and customers with her expert knowledge.
“Everything that requires vacuum needs leak detection, and because different vacuum applications require different pressure levels, they have different acceptable leak rates,” she explains.
While zero leakage is impossible due to gases being sneaky and materials being permeable, modern-day safety, environmental and performance standards rigidly limit tolerable leaks. For example, the emission of greenhouse gas harms the atmosphere, some gases are dangerous to health, and some are so expensive they must be used as effectively as possible.
Therefore, the objective is achieving leak rates low enough to meet the specific requirements of each application. Otherwise, the processes or products may be damaged and need to be repaired, reworked or rejected.
Leak detection systems are used in vacuum system across industries, such as semiconductor, space simulation, and motor vehicle manufacturing.
How leaks are detected
A typical leak detection system has a roughing pump to remove most of the gas, a turbo molecular pump to create high vacuum conditions, and a mass spectrometer, which can detect trace amounts of helium.
“Helium is commonly used as a tracer gas because it is inert, small, environmentally friendly and easily detectable as there is only a small amount already present in the atmosphere,” Marleen explains.
Atlas Copco Group’s leak detectors, particularly the counterflow helium leak detector systems, are designed to detect extremely small leak rates, especially in high-vacuum environments.
In counterflow leak detection systems, lighter gases such as helium behave differently inside the turbo molecular pump due to low compression ratio. This allows the gas to reach the mass spectrometer even while most other gases are pumped away.
“The mass spectrometer is the thing that detects the gas leaks – in most cases helium – and from that we can calculate back how much really entered into the system,” Marleen says.
Solving the leak detection puzzle
Atlas Copco Group’s integrated offering of vacuum pumps and leak detection systems means it supplies both vacuum generation and validation technologies, for a growing marketplace. Marleen’s curiosity for her job also keeps growing.
“In my free time I like exit games and escape rooms,” she says. “You need to solve puzzles and then find more information and then use that information to solve the next puzzle. My work is sometimes like that, too. There’s not one day where I don’t learn something.”
“I would like to continue working with this and have a deeper understanding of how everything works together,” she says. “I’m still looking forward to get to know more applications.”
