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Infrared Thermography
Failure Diagnostics

Author Mohamed Saad Aly

Index
1. Abstract.....1 2. Introduction.......2 3. Thermal Energy............3
3.1 Theory ...........3 3.2 Physics...3

4. Electromagnetic Spectrum ..3

4.1 Energy Distribution...........3 4.2 Emissivity .....3

5. Active and passive thermography ......4

5.1 Types Of IR Thermography Techniques.......5

6. Thermal Imagers .....5

6.1 Optical: .. ......5 6.2 Image Display.. .5 6.3 Digital Memory.. .5 6.4 Report Writer .. ...6 7. Advantages And Limitation.6 7.1 Advantages...6
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7.2 Limitations And Disadvantages.....7

8. Infrared Thermography In Predictive Maintenance.7

8.1 Applications...8

8.2 Inspection process....8 9. Thermal Measurement Safety ...10 10. Summary.................................................................12 11. Conclusion........13 12. References ....14 13. Appendix I....15

1.Abstract
Infrared thermography is one of the fault diagnostics technique which based on the fact that components has increase in temperature when malfunctioning ,by using thermal imager which measure the emission of infrared radiation from target and produce thermal pattern picture for it. This technique called nondestructive evaluation which reduce downtime and simplify inspection process.

2. Introduction
Infrared thermography has long history, its use with industrial applications increased dramatically in last fifty years. It has wide usage range like airport government use it in investigations, firefighters use in to see through smoke to find people or to localize the base of fire and engineers use it for inspect loss insulation in buildings, malfunctioning bearing, over heated joints .

3. Thermal Energy
Thermal images are visual displays of the infrared energy emitted, transmitted, and reflected by an object.

3.1 Theory
IRT is a non contact method make measurement of radiated electromagnetic energy. An IR camera is in fact a spectral radiometer measuring this energy and make calibration to use the temperature on the surface of system. An important problem of IR measurement is the emissivity.

3.2 Physics
An object when heated radiates electromagnetic energy. The Thermal Imager can determine the temperature of the object without physical contact by measuring the emitted energy.

4. Electromagnetic Spectrum
The energy from a heated object is radiated at different levels across the electromagnetic spectrum. In most industrial applications it is the energy radiated at infrared wavelengths which is related to its frequency ,it is traveling in the speed of light.

4.1 Energy Distribution

The energy come from target at high temperatures have shorter wavelength than come from target at low temperature.

4.2 Emissivity
The amount of energy radiated from an object is dependant on its temperature and its emissivity. An object has the ability to radiate the maximum energy for
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its temperature is known as a Black Body. The emissivity of object is the ratio of the energy radiated to the energy radiated if it were a Black Body.
Emissivity Radiation emitted by an object / Radiation emitted by a Black Body

So Emissivity is an expression of an objects ability to radiate Infrared energy.

4.2.1 Emissivity Values

The value of emissivity different from one material to another. Rough surface has a higher emissivity than a polished surface, we can see the relationship between emissivity and reflectivity. Highly reflective material is a poor emitter of infrared energy.

5. Active And Passive Thermography

IRT for NDE[1] is the discovery of subsurface conditions, thanks to temperature differences measured on the surface with an infrared (IR) camera.

5.1 Types Of IR Thermography Techniques

There are two types of IRT passive and active techniques. The passive technique which are at different (often higher) temperature than ambient. the active technique which need external device for induce thermal contrasts.

5.1.1 Passive Thermography

The first law of thermodynamics [2] concerns the principle of energy conservation and states that an quantity of heat is released by any process consuming energy because of the law of entropy[3]. Applications of the passive technique in NDE are for buildings, components and processes,
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maintenance and medicine. In these applications, abnormal temperature profiles indicate a potential problem related to a defect.

5.1.2 Active Thermography

an energy source is required to produce a thermal contrast between the target and the background. The active scheme is necessary in many cases where the inspected parts are in equilibrium with the surroundings.

6. Thermal Imagers
Thermal Imagers are sophisticated devices which measure the emissions of infrared radiation from a heated object and produce a thermal picture.

6.1 Optical:
A motorized focus is using to make a clear image at different distances from the thermal imager. An electronic zoom function enables 2X and 4X magnification of the image.

6.2 Image Display:

The real time thermal image is displayed in color on LCD screen. The image may be colorized by any one of the eight different palettes available. The thermal image is also displayed on the built-in high resolution color viewfinder.

6.3 Digital Memory

A built in non volatile memory system enables the simple capture of a large number of thermal images. Thermal images are stored on a removable compact flash memory card. This card enables recall stored images. Several seconds of digital voice clip may be stored with each image. The sound file can be replayed in by the imager or with image processing software. A 256MB card is capable

of storing up to 1000 thermal images and up to an eight second digital voice clip with each image. Images may be subjected to a range of processing functions as follows:

File handling: save, delete and directory facility.

Image coloring: the image may be colorized using any one of five color palettes.

Temperature measurement: a collection of different modes are available Measuring :

to enable temperature measurement at any point in the scene.

The average temperature within polygons in the scene. The temperature of several profiles in the scene. The temperature distribution within an area in the scene. emissivity, and background

Parameter changes: parameters saved with the stored image may be

changed within the software, these include temperature.

6.4 Report Writer

The image processing system have a report writing facility. This is use to provide a hard copy record of the thermal image with any other information for reference purposes.

7. Advantages And Limitation

7.1 Advantages

shows a visual picture so temperatures over a large area can be compared. catching moving targets in real time. It is a non-destructive test method.

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It can be used to find defects in shafts, pipes, and other metal or plastic parts. It can be used to detect objects in dark areas.

7.2 Limitations And Disadvantages

Quality cameras have a high price range (often US$6,000 or more). Accurate temperature measurements can not be reached due to differing emissivity and reflections from other surfaces. Most cameras have 2% accuracy or worse in measurement of temperature and are not as accurate as contact methods. Only able to directly detect surface temperatures.

8. Infrared Thermography In Predictive Maintenance

Predictive maintenance is the key of success in any industry. Cost savings Studies by the FEMP[4], estimate that a properly functioning predictive maintenance program can provide a savings of 30 % to 40 % over reactive maintenance. On average, starting an industrial predictive maintenance program results in the following savings: Return on investment: 10 times. Reduction in maintenance costs: 25 % to 30 %. Elimination of breakdowns: 70 % to 75 %. Reduction in downtime: 35 % to 45 %. Increase in production: 20 % to 25 %. Heat is often an early sign of equipment damage or malfunction. Technicians who educated infrared predictive maintenance should check the temperature of critical equipment. By monitoring equipment performance we can reduce the possibility of unplanned downtime due to equipment failure, spend less on reactive maintenance

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costs and extend the life time of machines. This method actually saves money and efforts. A thermal imager takes no contact (NDT) during the investigation, infrared temperature measurements take objects temperature profile as a two-dimensional picture.

8.1 Applications

Monitor and measure bearing temperatures in large motors or other rotating equipment.

Identify hot spots in electronic equipments. Identify leaks in sealed vessels.

Find faulty insulation in process pipes or other insulated processes. Find faulty terminations in high power electrical circuits. Locate overloaded circuit breakers in a power panel. Identify fuses at or near their current rated capacity. Identify problems in electrical switch gear.

8.2 Inspection process

Begin by using existing lists of equipment from a computer managed maintenance system (CMMS) or other inventory tool. Eliminate items not related to infrared measurement. Review maintenance records. Prioritize equipment that Expected to fail or causes production bottlenecks[5]. Use a database or spreadsheet to group the critical equipment together, by area or function. Use your thermal imager to capture baseline images of each piece of critical equipment.
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Download the baseline images into software and document it with location, descriptions, inspection notes and emissivity.

Be sure of the target system is operating at a minimum 40% of load (lighter loads dont produce much heat, making it hard to detect problems). Get close to your target and dont shoot through doors, especially not through glass. When safety procedures allow, electrical enclosures must be opened.

Account for wind and air currents.

Account for ambient air temperatures, especially outdoors. In hot weather the sun can heat up equipment while cold weather can hide overheating components. Not all problems are hot! failed fuses and restricted flow in cooling systems are just two examples of situations where a problem is indicated by a cooler than normal signature.

Consider sources for reflective infrared radiation. Items that have shiny reflective surfaces and will reflect infrared energy from other objects, including the sun. This can interfere with target temperature measurement and image capture.

Unpainted metals are difficult to measure. To improve measurement accuracy use paper stickers, electrical tape or painted spots. Once we have a database of baseline images, with an alarm temperature. Upload the most recent version onto your camera before each inspection. If the alarm goes off when you take the new measurement, that indicates change in temperature that needs to be investigated.

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9. Thermal Measurement Safety

To keep your thermography inspections accurate, effective and safe, make inspection procedures for measurement. Be sure to have thermal images in your database for comparison. When creating inspection procedures it should include. NFPA[6] 70E requirements, All personnel learn about the risks they may face when working near/with electrical

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equipment. Personal protective equipment (PPE) must also be available to minimize the risk of accidents. PPE generally includes flash-resistant clothing and a face shield.

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10. Summary
Infrared Thermography is an NonDistructive Evaluation technique that allows the non-contact inspection of systems and materials through a mapping of thermal patterns on the surface of the objects. Defect detection principle in thermography is based on the fact that a difference in thermal properties exists between the nondefective area and a defective region, which can be use for defect detection.

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11. Conclusion
Thermography is an invaluable method for fault diagnostics combined with, or in place of, other methods of predictive maintenance. Thermal Camera systems determine the location of failure after combine the realtime pictures with the pattern pictures, resulting immediate payback on investment and avoiding plant shutdowns. But there are several barriers to this technique like emissivity of the target which is different from material to another, thermal surrounded conditions and it can not detect subsurface faults.

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12. References
9.1 http://www.electricity-today.com/et/issue0803/ir_thermography.pdf 9.2 http://support.fluke.com/find-sales/download/asset/2435910_a_w.pdf 9.3 http://www.gliffy.com

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Appendix I
[1] Canadian Institute For NDE (CINDE) 2004, "What is NDT?," [online]: <http://www.cinde.ca/ ndt.shtml>, accessed on July 5, 2004. NDE can also be referred as NonDestructive Evaluation or Examination (NDE), NonDestructive Testing (NDT), or NonDestructive Inspection (NDI). [2] 1st Low Of Thermodynamics: The amount of energy in the universe is constant energy can be changed, moved, controlled, stored, or dissipated. However, this energy cannot be created from nothing or reduced to nothing. Every natural process transforms energy and moves energy, but cannot create or eliminate it. [3] Entropy: Function of thermodynamic variables, as temperature, pressure, or composition, that is a measure of the energy that is not available for work during a thermodynamic process. [4] USA Federal Energy Management Program promotes energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy resources at federal sites, helping agencies save energy, save taxpayer dollars, and demonstrate leadership with responsible, cleaner energy choices. [online]: <http://www1.eere.energy.gov/femp/>. [5] Bottleneck: A point of congestion in a system that occurs when workloads arrive at a given point more quickly than that point can handle

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them. The inefficiencies brought about by the bottleneck often create a queue and a longer overall cycle time. [6] NFPA: National Fire Protection Association mission is to reduce the worldwide burden of fire and other hazards on the quality of life by providing and advocating consensus codes and standards, research, training, and education. [online]: <www.nfpa.org>.

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