Liquid-Cooled Leak Testing: With the National Standard Set to Take Effect in 2026, How Should Companies Establish a Mass Production Quality Inspection System?

In 2026, China’s standard system for liquid-cooled data centers underwent a significant upgrade—GB/T 48023-2026 and GB/T 48097-2026 were successively issued, YD/T 7105-2026 will officially take effect on November 1, 2026. However, as these standards establish only a technical framework, specific test pressures and permissible leakage rates must still be determined on a case-by-case basis in accordance with product design specifications and customer requirements.

Therefore, there is no universal “National Standard Leakage Rate Values" can be applied directly.

I. Why Is a Leak Test Required for Liquid-Cooled Systems?

The most fundamental difference between liquid cooling and air cooling is:There really is liquid flowing through the system.

If leaks occur in critical components such as liquid-cooled plates, piping, quick-connect fittings, or CDUs, the consequences go beyond mere product defects—if the liquid comes into contact with any part of the PCB, connectors, or power supply system, it could cause equipment failure or even data center downtime. This is not a mere quality issue; rather, it isSystem-Level Reliability RisksThe

Therefore, the real question the liquid cooling industry needs to answer is not “Can you guarantee that the seal won't leak?", rather:

How to reliably and quickly detect micro-leaks at every stage of R&D validation, incoming material inspection, process control, and final inspection before shipment.

II. An Overview of the Liquid-Cooling Standards System in 2026

The year 2026 marks a key milestone in the standardization process for liquid cooling in China. The table below summarizes the core standards that have been published to date:

Standard Number	Name	Publication Date	Implementation Date	Nature
YD/T 6049-2024	Technical Requirements and Test Methods for Cold-Plate Liquid-Cooled Full-Rack Servers	2024	February 1, 2025	Industry Recommendations
YD/T 7105-2026	Test Methods for Cold-Plate Liquid-Cooled Data Centers	July 15, 2026	November 1, 2026	Industry Recommendations
GB/T 48023-2026	Technical Specifications for Cold Plate Liquid Cooling Systems in Data Centers	July 30, 2026	February 1, 2027	Nationally Recommended
GB/T 48097-2026	General Specifications for Cold Plate Liquid-Cooled Cabinets in Data Centers	August 28, 2026	March 1, 2027	Nationally Recommended

The emergence of this series of standards signifies that liquid cooling is moving away from “Exploration Phase of Emerging Technologies"Enter""The Scale-Up Quality Control Phase"The

Of particular note is YD/T 7105-2026—it not only specifies technical requirements but also defines a systematic framework for equipment testing, acceptance testing, and operations and maintenance testing. In the future, when customers conduct acceptance testing of liquid-cooling systems, they willTesting Methods, Data Recording, and Quality TraceabilityThe requirements will only become more specific.

III. What Exactly Are Liquid-Cooled Products Tested For?

A liquid-cooling system is not a single cold plate, but rather a complete fluid circuit. The key testing points for different components vary:

Liquid-cooled plate

On the surface, it appears to be "Metal Plate + Flow Channel + Fitting", which actually contains multiple structures, including microchannels, brazed areas, sealed areas, and fluid inlet and outlet ports. The main risk points identified during inspection are concentrated inIncomplete welds, sand holes, open flow channel defects, and leaks at seals and end facesThe

Liquid-cooling lines

The combination of bent tubes, welds, and fittings is a high-risk area. Batch inspection of copper tube assemblies demands a fast cycle time, requiring an inspection solution thatSpeed and AccuracyFind a reasonable balance between the two.

Quick-Connect Fittings and the CDU

Quick-connect fittings are the components in liquid-cooling systems that are plugged and unplugged most frequently, while the CDU serves as the core heat exchange unit. The requirements for sealing reliability for both are often more stringent than those for static components.

......

IV. How to Choose a Testing Method? A Comparison of Four Approaches

Detection Methods	Working Principle	Core Advantages	Scenario
direct pressure	Observe the rate at which the internal pressure of the product decreases after inflation	Simple, efficient, and low-cost	Batch Screening of Standard Liquid-Cooling Tubes and Copper Tube Assemblies
differential pressure	The standard chamber and the product under test are pressurized simultaneously to compare changes in the pressure difference.	High resistance to interference and high repeatability	High-Precision Inspection of Liquid-Cooled Plates and Precision Structural Components
flow rate method	Measure the gas flow rate passing through the leak point per unit time	Quantifiable leakage	Flow-based products such as breath valves, capillary tubes, and waterproof breathable membranes
Helium Mass Spectrometry Leak Detection	Helium Tracing, Detection of Helium Ion Concentration by Mass Spectrometry	Extremely high sensitivity, capable of locating leak points	High-end liquid-cooled products with extreme sealing requirements

differential pressureThis deserves a separate explanation. Its logic is similar to that of an electronic balance:A standard reference chamber is placed on one side and the product under test on the other; pressure is applied to both sides simultaneously, and a leak is detected by comparing the pressure difference between the two sides.. External disturbances, such as fluctuations in ambient temperature and air supply, have a synchronous offsetting effect on both sides; therefore,Its repeatability is far superior to that of the direct compression method., suitable for liquid-cooled plate products that require strict consistency.

A Combined Strategy of Gas and Helium Testing

For liquid-cooled products that require extremely high reliability, a more cost-effective approach is toLayered Detection::The front-end leak testing process quickly screens out major, medium, and routine micro-leaks, while the back-end uses helium mass spectrometry to perform high-sensitivity verification on products with extremely small leaks.. This combination is more efficient than relying solely on helium testing for all products, and it is also more in line with the realities of cost control in mass production.

V. Why Are Leak Test Results Unstable? The Real Challenge Isn’t the Instrument

Many engineers buyairtightness leak detectorIt was later discovered that while the instrument itself was functioning properly, the test results showed significant fluctuations. The real cause often lies not with the instrument, but with various components of the entire testing system:

Air Leak in WorkwearThis is the most common pitfall. The product itself meets the standards, butA failure in the fixture's seal led to a false positive.The

Effects of TemperatureThis should not be overlooked either. There is a temperature difference between a freshly processed product and room temperature,Inflation pressure varies as the temperature stabilizes.The

Insufficient inflation and balancing time, resulting in internal pressure within the product that is stillIf readings are taken before a uniform and stable state is reached, the data will naturally be distorted.The

Elastic Deformation of the ProductThis is particularly evident in continuous monitoring—After repeated inflation and deflation, slight changes in the product’s shape affect the chamber volume, which in turn affects the reproducibility of the results.The

Therefore, what liquid-cooled airtightness testing should truly establish isA Complete Testing System...and not just an instrument with sufficient accuracy.

VI. Jingcheng Engineering's Airtightness Testing Solution: From Instruments to Mass Production Systems

Shenzhen Jingchenggongke Technology Co., Ltd.(Abbreviation: JCGK Jingcheng Engineering) has established supply partnerships with numerous leading companies in the liquid cooling industry and has become the preferred brand in the gas analysis sector. Its core strength lies not in the specifications of individual instruments, but in its ability to focus onProduct design, test pressure, allowable leakage rate, production line cycle time, and automation requirements... providing complete solutions ranging from instruments to tooling to system integration.

JC-C10005 Differential Pressure Airtightness Tester

For products such as liquid-cooled plates and precision structural components that require high repeatability,JC-C10005 The series utilizes the principle of differential pressure detection, comparing the measured product with a standard chamber to effectively suppress environmental interference, making it suitable forHigh-Precision Micro-Leak Detectionand scenarios involving stable production line operations.

Phased Mass Production Plan

Depending on production capacity, Jingcheng Engineering offers the following configuration options:

Research and Development and Small-Volume Production Phases--Single-playerairtightness meter + Quick-Release Clamp, flexibly responding to product iteration needs.

Medium-Volume Production Phase--Dual-Channel/Multi-Channel Leak Testing + Multi-Station Fixture, The test pressure can be customized according to product specifications (e.g., typical configuration for liquid-cooled copper tube assemblies: 200 kPa, 30-second test cycle), significantly increasing the number of tests per unit of time.

Mass Production Phase--Airtightness Tester + Custom Tooling + Robotic Arms + PLC + MES—Fully Integrated...enabling integrated automatic loading and unloading, automatic inspection, OK/NG sorting, data logging, and quality traceability, and fully complying with the requirements of YD/T 7105-2026 regarding test data logging and the acceptance system.

VII. How Should Internal Testing Standards Be Established?

When implementing a testing solution, engineers should not just ask, “What is the value in Pa specified by the national standard?", but should instead establish their ownProduct Testing Specifications Matrix::

Project	Points to Clarify
Product Type	Liquid-cooled plates / Liquid-cooled tubes / CDU / Quick-connect fittings, etc.
work pressure	Product Design Specifications
Leak Test Pressure	Determined based on the design pressure and technical specifications
Permissible Leakage Rate	Pa / mL/min / sccm
Inflation and Balancing Time	Verified through actual testing, rather than based on empirical estimates
detection time	Working backward from the production line cycle time
Tooling Solution	Product-Specific Sealing Fixture
Data Integration	Local Storage / MES / Barcode Traceability
Periodic Calibration	Inspection Intervals for Instruments and Standard Components

Please note the following:Standard Pressure Test(Focus on Structural Safety Under Load)together withMass-Production Airtightness Testing(Focus on leak screening and quality control)These are two tests with different purposes; they should not be conflated, nor can they be used as direct substitutes for one another.

Conclusion

In the liquid cooling industry in 2026, the standards framework is rapidly taking shape, but standards are only the beginning.

True competitiveness lies in transforming standards into a reliable, mass-production testing capability. The reliability of the seals on every liquid-cooling plate, every pipe, and every fitting must be consistently verified at every stage—from R&D and incoming materials to manufacturing and final inspection.

JCGKFocusing on testing methods such as direct pressure, differential pressure, flow, and helium leak detection, and combining custom fixtures, multi-channel equipment, and automation integration,We have helped numerous leading liquid-cooling companies establish a comprehensive airtightness testing system covering everything from R&D validation to 100% inspection during mass production.The

In the era of large-scale liquid cooling, having a testing system that is implementable, traceable, and capable of continuous optimization is, in itself, one of the most critical competitive advantages for manufacturing companies.

Original Statement: This article was written byShenzhen Jingchenggongke Technology Co., Ltd.Written by the technical team, reproduced with attribution.Data sources: Precision Engineering internal test data and customer cases.