liquid penetrant test
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liquid penetrant test
[′lik·wəd ′pen·ə·trənt ‚test] (engineering)
A penetrant method of nondestructive testing used to locate defects open to the surface of nonporous materials; penetrating liquid is applied to the surface, and after 1-30 minutes excess liquid is removed, and a developer is applied to draw the penetrant out of defects, thus showing their location, shape, and size.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.