Thermography
The reduction in the price of thermal imaging cameras has [...]
The reduction in the price of thermographic cameras has allowed any maintenance department to benefit from this powerful predictive technique.
Infrared thermography has been expanding for more than 20 years from medical and military applications to other industrial maintenance applications, especially in high and low voltage electrical equipment and switchgear (lines, substations, control centers, etc.).
In most cases, thermography is only applied to the inspection of electrical cabinets, although there are many other useful applications for predictive maintenance functions such as:
- Inspection of electric motors for localized overheating due to stator failures.
- Heating of bearings due to poor lubrication or damage to the raceways, rolling elements or cage.
- Inspection of insulation in furnaces, boilers, steam circuits, etc.
- Checking steam traps.
- Inspection of pipelines with hot or cold fluids to locate obstructions.
- Location of water pipes embedded in walls.
- Inspection of mechanical seals.
- Verification of shaft couplings to identify misalignment or damage to couplings.
- Inspection of sheaves to identify higher than proper tensions and sheave misalignments.
- Checking the cooling system in electric motors.
- Inspections of high voltage transformer stations.
- Inspection of power lines to check phase balance.
Non-contact temperature measurement is a fundamental technique in electrical maintenance that has undergone major changes in the equipment and instrumentation available, and is still in continuous evolution. It is characterized by its spectacular nature, ease of use and ability to detect hot spots.
We invite you to download the guide on thermography-based predictive maintenance, developed by Flir for predictive analysts in the industry.
Links of interest:
Contact one of our specialist predictive maintenance engineers for advice on how to apply predictive maintenance based thermography: info@preditec.com
