Applications of Infrared Thermography

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Tahir Hussain Sr. Scientist, DNPER

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Infrared Thermography
In 1800 Sir Frederick William Haerschel while

working on thermal difference between different light colors discovered that temperature increased from red to violet but the temperature just beyond red portion was highest of all

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Infrared Thermography (contd.)

Any object that has a temperature above

absolute zero (-273.15oC) emits infrared radiations The warmer the object, the more infrared radiation it emits

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Infrared Thermography (contd.)

Our eyes can only detect electromagnetic

radiations of ranging from 400m to 700m, all other form of electromagnetic radiations such as infrared are invisible to human eye though it contain very useful information Infrared thermography is the science of acquisition and analysis of thermal information (infrared radiation) It is like infrared to visible range translation

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The Infrared Camera

The infrared energy coming from an object is

focused by the optics onto and infrared detector The detector sends the information to sensor electronics for image processing The electronics translate the data coming from the detector into an image that can be viewed in the view finder or on a standard video monitor or LCD screen

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Applications of Infrared Thermography

Condition Monitoring Research and Development Medical and veterinary Quality control and process monitoring Non-destructive testing Security Systems And many others!

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Condition Monitoring
Mechanical, friction Electrical maintenance Furnaces and boilers Fluid flow problems Tanks and vessels Building Diagnostics

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, C
. C

1 1

11 , C

. C

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Motors
Bearing problems
*>C .

. . .

Image of tail bearings from two motors under identical operating conditions clearly indicating potential problem

*<C . 7/28/12

Electric Motor Bearing

, C

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Overheated motor bearing Over 80 C on bearing housing

Pumps
*>C .

. . . . . .

*>C .

.
*<C .

. . . . .

Two Reciprocating Piston Pumps under similar loads

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*<C .

Pumps

, C

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Pump bearing

Pump bearing in need

of maintenance.
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Bearings
Shaft misalignment and lack of lubrication can cause excessive heating
*> C . . . . . 1. 11 . *< C .
*> C . . . . . . . . . *< C .

Normal operating bearing in motor/coupling set

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Shaft heating indicates internal problem, likely a bad bearing

Bearings
*> C . *> C .

. . . .

. . . 1. 11

*< C .

*< C .

Image of two identical bearings in a hoist clearly indicate a thermal anomaly

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Some more Examples of Mechanical Friction

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Electrical Motor Windings

Overheated windings
*>C . . . . . . . . *<C .

Clear temperature differences on distant motor (operating under identical conditions as second motor) imply winding issues 7/28/12

Electrical Motor Windings

Example of short circuit in the field winding

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Valves
1 11 1, C

11 1

, C

11 1 , C

Example of valves in

petrol-chemical industry

, C

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Valves
Leakage detection

Amorphous heating on left (cold) side of valve indicates leakage

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Transfer line
Stress cracks in insulation shown at elbow

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Furnace Items Pressure Vessel

Flange leakage
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Piping
Insulation breakdown
*> C . . . . . . . *<11 C .1

Support

Aluminum clad piping with breakdown in insulation

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Pipe sediment

Sediment in a pipe creates a cold spot

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Pipe sediment

Sediment along the length of this pipe section shows up cool

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Tank levels
, C

1 1

1 1 , C

Indicating the fluid level in a storage tank

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Insulation defects

Ice formation in urethane insulation on ammonia tank 7/28/12 (-33 C inside)

Overhead conduits
Scan ceiling electrical cable in trunking / piping in difficult to reach areas

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High Voltage Electricity

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Low Voltage Electricity

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Insulation & Pipework

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Summary
Infrared Thermography is one of the modern

technique used for fault detection and determining its severity It has wide number of applications at power plants and in process industry It gives information about the point under maximum thermal stress Therefore providing the information about the aging of that equipment/component Trending of thermal image data helps in determining how rapidly the fault is 7/28/12 developing and hence enabling to estimate

Thank You!!

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