Thermography, or thermal imaging as it is sometimes called, is a condition monitoring technique that measures the radiant heat pattern which is emitted from a body, such as machinery, electrical boxes or plant equipment, to determine regions or points of increased, or reduced, heat emission, which can indicate the presence of a fault in the mechanism's body.
Infra-red, as it is commonly called, is an extremely versatile and powerful condition non- contact thermal monitoring tool. Heat levels can be recorded, quantified, and diagnosed as either normal or abnormal, based on specific parameters established by equipment manufacturers and industry standards. This process requires no contact with, or the shutdown of, equipment thus allowing detection of any problems at the earliest stages. Infra-red scanning has consistently proven itself by reliably identifying trouble areas, avoiding costly, or even catastrophic, equipment failures.
Infra-Red scanning works by revealing invisible thermal patterns that correspond directly to reliability problems. Normal current flow through a loose or corroded connection, or by an otherwise failing electrical component results in abnormal, elevated temperatures. Before it is hot enough to cause an outage or other problems, the abnormal heating patterns are quickly and easily detected by infra-red scanning.
A FLIR Systems
Thermacam PM595 infrared camera is used to capture a real time
image, which is stored on a removable PCMCIA card. A 24 degree
integral lens is used on the Infra Red Camera to provide resolution
from 12” to infinity. A single point temperature measurement
is used on peak hold, recording the maximum and minimum temperatures
(usually phase to phase). The image stored on the Camcorder
is later processed via computer and various graphics programs
to produce individual thermograms for each reported HOT-SPOT.
IRWIN 5.3 is used to generate the report, which includes a SUMMARY
of INSPECTION as the last page. The report also contains the field
notes, which further detail the hot spot location of each
thermogram. A spreadsheet of items inspected, location, component,
temperature, and repairs can also be provided for trending.
Box 487
Prince George, BC
V2L 4S6
Tel: 250.963.7080
Fax: 250.963.7842
Cell: 250.960.8017
mike@mikanservicesltd.com
