Infrared Thermography for Mechanical Applications

✒️Infrared thermography is the process of using a thermal imager to detect infrared radiation (heat)
that is emitted by an object.

A few examples of where infrared is applied in industrial situations include ⁉️

👉Electrical Systems (faulty electrical connections or overloaded circuits).

👉Mechanical Equipment (abnormally warm motors or possible bearing failures).
👉Fluid Systems (line blockages, tank levels or pipe temperatures)
👉Building Applications (detect missing insulation, air infiltration or moisture damage).
👉Low-Slope Roofs (locate wet roof insulation).

✒️Inspecting mechanical equipment with infrared thermography covers a wide variety of systems,
everything from motors, rotating equipment, steam traps, refractory, and tank levels and more. Most
of these inspections de-emphasize taking absolute temperature measurements and instead
concentrate on comparing overall thermal patterns to understand the asset’s health.

Some Cases For I.R Thermography⁉️

Figure
✒️1️⃣
👉The causes of an abnormally warm motor bearing are not always obvious but infrared is a key
means of finding those which are running hot.

Figure
✒️2️⃣
👉Couplings often exhibit strong thermal signatures when there is misalignment or related problems.

Figure
✒️3️⃣
👉Infrared thermography is often used to locate suspected problems in bearings.

Figure
✒️4️⃣
👉Thermography is a perfect tool for inspecting boiler refractory and air leakage issues. The location
of failing refractory can be trended and, when alarm temperatures are determined, repairs can be
scheduled.

Figure
✒️5️⃣
👉It is possible to locate levels in tanks and silos when they are in thermal transition, providing key
information or confirming existing data.

Figure
✒️6️⃣
👉Water tube boiler showing insulation damage.

Figure
✒️7️⃣
👉Steam reforming furnace showing refractory damage.

Figure
✒️8️⃣
👉Misalignment pumps The high coupling end pump and motor bearing temperatures and the high
temperature difference between the pump bearings are typical of a misaligned pump.

Figure
✒️9️⃣
👉Turbine Oil Coolers
The two turbine oil coolers of identical design demonstrate that one of the turbines has an oil cooler
problem.

👉Insufficient thermal evidence existed at the time of the survey to determine whether the problem
was related to oil flow, water flow, or both given that both machines were operating at identical
loads.

👉Under identical loads and oil condition, Turbine No. 2 operated with consistently higher vibration
due to the effects of reduced oil viscosity resulting from the higher operating temperatures.

✍️Infrared Thermography Predictive Maintenance‼️

What is a thermography

✒️Thermography is a non-destructive testing (NDT) method used to detect and measure small
temperature differences to help find deterioration in assets and plant sites.

What is the process of infrared thermograph

✒️How It Works. IR or infrared thermography uses a sensitive camera or thermal imager that is able
to detect the amount of infrared energy released by objects.

Why is thermography test important

✒️By identifying temperature increases, thermographic testing can help manufacturers reduce or
prevent heat damage, extending the service life of equipment and lengthening the time between
repairs and equipment purchase.
What mechanical equipment can be surveyed with a thermal Camera

✒️Motor bearings.
✒️Idler bearings on conveyors.
✒️Conveyor belts.
✒️Pulleys.
✒️Pumps and piping.
✒️Steam Traps.
✒️Oil Coolers.
✒️Tank liquid levels.
✒️Insulation integrity.
✒️Refractory integrity.
✒️Electrical Systems (faulty electrical connections or overloaded circuits).
✒️Fluid Systems (line blockages, tank levels or pipe temperatures).

What a benefits of thermal imaging

✒️Identifying problems before they become serious.

✒️Improved reliability and uptime.
✒️Reduced unscheduled outages.
✒️Reduced maintenance costs.
✒️Baseline establishment for future trending.
✒️Quality assurance of new installations or repairs.