This document specifies a non-destructive penetrant testing for determining bond defects and discontinuities in the sliding surface of the bearing.

The penetration method is used to detect

a) bond defects in the transitional area between the bearing backing/bearing material on the end faces and joint faces of multilayer plain bearings which cannot be detected by the ultrasonic testing method specified in ISO 4386-1, and

b) discontinuities in the sliding surface of the bearing.

The penetration method is applicable, in principle, to finished multilayer plain bearings.

The bond test is usually carried out on cast multilayer plain bearings, with a backing consisting of steel, cast steel or cast bronze. It can also be used as a non-production method to aid detection of manufacturing process defects with other bearing material types. Bearing backings which cannot be tin-plated, or only with difficulty, such as perlitic cast iron, rust-resistant steel and cast aluminium, cannot be tested since no bond is possible between the bearing material and bearing backing.