Infrared Thermography: Turning the heat up on downtime

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One of the most valuable assets that your production plant possesses is your electrical systems. With energy streams, powering various processes in your plant every second, the high strain that these electrical parts endure make them subject to damage over time.

Taking care of these electrical systems, especially as they make up the veins of your company success, is pertinent to your position as a production leader in your industry. The last thing you can afford is to have an electrical system break down the production flow of your plant. And so, accurate and efficient maintenance of your plant’s electrical systems could save you a mountain of trouble down the road.

The only problem with maintenance on electrical parts is that even though they are subject to much strain, the signs of strain are a lot less simple to pick up on compared to other areas in a production plant. One of the main reasons for electrical damages is the heat generated through resistance when your equipment is at work.

These areas of heat generation (hot spots) are often impossible to pick up with the naked eye. And if it can be detected with the naked eye, it probably means that the damage has already been done. To combat the wear and possible damage on your electrical equipment, preventative maintenance in the form of infrared (IR) imaging becomes essential.

While a variety of thermographic instruments can be used to assess the state of electrical systems, not all are equally effective. Simpler assessment tools such as thermocouple sensors or thermometers are good at analysing temperatures at specific points in your electrical systems, but are ineffective when assessing system health at a larger scale. Due to the time it would take to assess entire systems with these instruments, conducting a qualitative system temperature analysis using these instruments becomes time-consuming, resource intensive and largely impractical.

Luckily, this is not a problem when it comes to IR imaging, through which entire systems can be assessed with temperature readings at a variety of separate points.

IR Thermography in Action

Figure 1: IR thermographs of mechanical and electrical systems (Keysight Technologies)

Consider the images to the left (in Figure 1 above): These images are IR thermographs that measure the hot spots present in the systems photographed on the right. The IR images are able to analyse both the average temperature of the system, as well as the temperatures at unique points within the system (as is evident in the crosshairs seen in the first IR image). Based on a colour scale, it is thus possible to conduct a comparative analysis of specific temperature points within the system.

Figure 2: Hot spot in the wiring of an electrical system. (thermaspec.co.nz)

The image to the right in Figure 2 shows a prominent hot spot in one of the wires that connects to the switchboard and requires urgent attention (unlike the majority of the cables that surround it). Failing to address these kinds of issues may very well result in an electrical fire.  Consider how the electrical hot spots on the switchboard are detected by the IR technology: it gives an overall thermograph of the entire system and highlights the causes for concern.

The information can be used to compile a qualitative temperature analysis of the operating health of selected electrical systems, meaning maintenance personnel can step in and perform the maintenance as necessary.

Sounds easy enough – so what’s the catch?

Unfortunately, IR imaging is not as simple as a quick scan-and-apply procedure since the process of IR thermography does not take temperature as much as it captures data from IR waves. As such, an IR thermal imager is prone to inaccuracies because of secondary sources of infrared signals and requires a detailed assessment in order to remove inaccuracies.

Since there are also many different causes of electrical hotspots that can produce different IR signatures, a trained thermographer is needed to make sure that the correct plant components are scanned, and that the right maintenance steps are advised. A good IR thermographer will also be able to remove inaccuracies in the image dataset by accounting for erroneous readings coming from reflective heat sources and solar loading effects (among others).

Once the data is compiled, and inaccuracies have been eliminated, the images are captured by the thermographer, and then stored. Using tailored IR imaging software, the thermographer can then analyse the images, generate thermographic reports and present you with detailed findings on how to go about your maintenance procedures.

Why choose Cyntech to perform your IR thermography assessment?

As a company that prides itself in developing young talented engineers while still maintaining the highest quality of engineering solutions for our clients, Cyntech makes sure that our staff are quickly equipped with the highest standard qualifications to ensure that quality is never compromised. One of our youngest engineers, Albert de Klerk, who joined Cyntech at the start of the year, has recently undergone ITC training as a thermographer, which means he is equipped with the highest standard qualification in the thermography industry, and is eager to put his new expertise into action.

Our IR-thermography inspections are just one of the many ways in which Cyntech is ahead of other engineering service providers. As a provider of holistic engineering solutions, we are establishing ourselves as industry leaders that will help you negate the need to deal with myriads of independent contractors (as would generally be the case with services such as IR thermography assessments).

Through accurate thermography by way of IR imaging, you can be ready to secure your plant against unnecessary downtime and unaffordable production delays. Keeping your systems in excellent condition means more peace-of-mind for you. Contact us today to arrange an inspection that will make sure that your plant processes keep running smoothly, effectively, and without any surprises.

This is a general information sheet and should not be used or relied on as legal or other professional advice. No liability can be accepted for any errors or omissions nor for any loss or damage arising from reliance upon any information herein. Always contact your legal adviser for specific and detailed advice. Errors and omissions excepted. (E&OE)

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