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Articles: Infrared Thermal Imaging

NFPA 70E-2012 Are You Ready for the Changes?

By Tim Rohrer

The Evolution of a Standard

Standards can be thought of as an evolution. Generally speaking, any standard is a series of compromises between those who are attempting to change standard practices to reflect advancements in technology or knowledge and those attempting to maintain some version of the status quo. A friend of mine who introduced me to the standards process compared it to sausage making - “a pretty ugly process to watch, but the end product can be quite good.”

No Outage Inpsections - Which Tools Are Best for Medium Voltage Electrical Inspections

by Don Genutis

Although there are many useful electrical 'on-line' predictive maintenance technologies available to assess equipment condition, this article will outline and discuss the most effective tools for determining the condition of medium and high voltage equipment. A brief application summary is included for each technology in order to enhance your understanding or, if you are already familiar with the technologies, to serve as a review.

Safe Electrical Work Planning & Plant Reliability

By Mike Doherty

It is agreed upon by most that the electrical system in any plant is a major factor in its reliability and therefore, profitability.

The Greatest Engineering Achievements of the 20th Century website at www.greatachievements.org states that "Electrification" is the single most important of the top 20 engineering achievements. The next 19 would not have been possible without electricity. The same holds true for electrification at your plant and its reliability. Without an outstanding electrical system that is maintained at the highest standards, reliability can and will suffer.

Seeing ROI With Infrared, Even In A Down Economy

by David Doerhoff

The sluggish economy is taking its toll on many areas of industry. Manufacturers are looking for smart, cost-effective ways to help their facilities operate more efficiently and save money without sacrificing product quality and performance.

Taking Charge

Increase Safety & Reliability with Integrative Predictive Maintenance

by Dale P. Smith, CMRP

MaintenanceElectricity, and its uninterrupted distribution through our nation, facilities and lives, is an inescapable requirement and the backbone of progress in today’s society. The resurgence of US commerce is not possible without it. Safe and reliable electrical distribution systems typically start out as being well engineered, with bright futures provided they receive regular, adequate maintenance and periodic testing.

Tap Into Infrared

Successful Programs Can Be Outsourced or Run In-House

by Jeffrey L. Gadd

Infrared thermography is emphatically embraced by those who have realized the benefits. Equally, infrared is dismissed by those who aren’t quite sure what it is or whether it has value. “I’ve been here twenty years and we never needed infrared” are words on the lips of more than one old salt. Well, things change, and this is an exciting time for those of us who are involved in the IR technology.

The Case For Aerial Infrared

by Gregory R. Stockton

FORWARD

Infrared thermography has become a very popular means of testing electrical and mechanical systems over the past fifteen years. As it relates to predictive/preventive maintenance (P/PM), infrared thermographers look at the thermal energy that is emitted from an object or group of objects, explain what is normal, see abnormalities and report them. In turn, someone can act to fix whatever is wrong as long as they get the information in a usable, graphic and easy-to-understand fashion. This method works well on heat emissions from most objects, including building roofs. A well-prepared, graphic and accurate map of the infrared signatures of a roof can be of significant benefit to the roof consultant at all stages of that roof's service life. This type of testing is commonly referred to as an infrared roof moisture survey. Infrared thermography is not leak management, it is predictive maintenance. No matter how the water got into the substrate, the purpose of this type of survey is simply to find and document where the water is. Performing infrared roof moisture surveys while standing on the roof is not the best method because imagery from a walk-on survey is not as useful as aerial imagery.

The Effects of Tranmissivity on Infrared Window Data Accuracy

by Joe DeMonte

As the saying goes, "garbage in, garbage out." This truism is every bit as applicable in thermography as it is in computer data-mining. The difference is that the inaccurate data which leads a thermographer to a false-negative conclusion could result in a multi-million dollar catastrophic failure of a company's electrical distribution system.

The NFPA and Its Effect on Infrared Thermography and Your Infrared Electrical Inspection Program

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) was established in 1896 by a concerned group of individuals from various insurance agencies, in response to the extensive cost and great number of losses due to fires in that era.

One of the main causes of industrial fires and losses, as well personal injury accidents, over the last five decades is related to electricity. This has caused the NFPA to increase its number of electrically related documents. The first electrically related document published was NFPA 70, which was published in 1987. It has been updated every 3-5 years since then. This document is also known as the National Electric Code (NEC). The NEC is approved as an American national standard by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). It is formally identified as ANSI/NFPA 70. This document is the accepted standard for the installation of all electrical wiring and electrical equipment. It details the requirements for safe electrical installations into a single, standardized source. The 2011 NEC is the current edition (effective date August 25, 2010).

The Truth about Infrared

By Wayne Ruddock

There are many misunderstandings about infrared, both in the general public and amongst the practitioners of infrared in the industrial world. Hollywood portrays infrared falsely as a technology that can see through walls and windows and investigate the interior of buildings. It incorrectly depicts it as a technology that will allow you to see if there are any occupants in a building and where they are located, due to their "thermal signatures." This has been seen in a number of Hollywood movies and now has trickled down to television programs such as "CSI."

The Twelve Step IR Program

Steps To Improving Your Electrical IR

by John Snell and Dave Sirmans

If you are still having any unscheduled electrical outages for any reason, the chances are good you need to look at how to improve your infrared program. Thermography is much less about what kind of camera you use than it is about using the camera you have well.

Thermographic Evaluation of Concrete Masonry Walls: Have They Been Properly Reinforced?

by Gregory R. Stockton

ABSTRACT

Infrared thermographers literally walk by more work than they can do. The world is one big radiator, and new, non-traditional applications for infrared thermography are being found every day.

This paper discusses one of these non-traditional applications; specifically, the use of infrared thermography to find whether or not concrete reinforcing (grouting) has been properly placed in Concrete Masonry Unit (CMU) or 'block' walls. These walls are being erected everywhere. They are used to build discount stores and shopping centers, schools and buildings of every size and shape. They are almost never built exactly to specifications, and by using infrared thermography it is possible to see and report the faults in the walls, so that timely repairs can be accomplished.

This paper discusses the development of the technique that we use to image and evaluate these building walls successfully, and to make usable reports of our findings. I also discuss some market factors for infrared on buildings in general.

Up, Up and Away

Taking Off with Aerial Infrared Surveys

by Gregory R. Stockton

The imagery (IR) from aerial infrared thermal surveys of facilities, complexes, campuses, military bases and cities can be used for many purposes. Systems like supply steam and condensate return lines, hot water lines, chilled water lines, supply water mains, distribution piping, storm water drains and sewer lines can be monitored by looking at surface temperatures/patterns.

Using IR for Condition-based Monitoring: Back to the Basics

By Dave Brown, Director, Infrared Training Center, FLIR Systems

Consider the following scenario: A large refinery identifies a problem involving a vacuum leak in a steam-driven crude oil feed pump turbine. After many other test methods fail to pinpoint the problem, infrared thermography finds the issue in minutes: a few loose bolts that need to be tightened. Fixing this problem saves the company millions of dollars annually.

Viewing Corona in the Daytime

By Lee Harrison

The Corona Story in Brief

The presence of corona activity is a good indication of trouble with nonceramic insulators and other transmission line equipment. But since corona radiates in the ultraviolet region of the light spectrum, it is invisible to the naked eye, and conventional corona cameras are ineffective in daylight because sunshine drowns out the corona's image. Responding to the need for better technology, EPRI researchers and engineers from Ofil Ltd. developed the DayCor daytime corona camera, which features bispectral imaging for effective use in daylight. This breakthrough camera, which has already been successfully field-tested on utility transmission systems, will enable utilities to perform comprehensive airborne inspections safely and economically.