THERMAL IMAGING

BY:-SMRITI SHEKHAR 3 RD Y E A R ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONICS

GENERAL OVERVIEW
y The amount of energy in a light wave is related to its wavelength. y Energy is inversely proportional to wavelength. y Just next to the visible light spectrum is the infrared spectrum.

y Infrared energy is part of the electromagnetic spectrum and behaves

similarly to visible light. It travels through space at the speed of light and can be reflected, refracted, absorbed, and emitted.

Contd
y Infrared light can be split into three categories:

Near-infrared (near-IR) - Closest to visible lightwavelengths that range from 0.7 to 1.3 microns Mid-infrared (mid-IR) - wavelengths that range from 1.3 to 3 microns. Both near-IR and mid-IR are used by a variety of electronic devices, including remote controls. Thermal-infrared (thermal-IR) - Occupying the largest part of the infrared spectrum, thermal-IR has wavelengths ranging from 3 microns to over 30 microns.
y The thermal IR is emitted by an object, whereas, the other two

are reflected off it.

WHAT IS THERMAL IMAGING?

y Thermal Imaging is the means by which humans enable

themselves to see in the infrared portion of the spectrum of light. y Thermography is nothing but the temperature profiling of a surface or point. y An infrared camera is a non-contact device that detects infrared energy (heat) and converts it into an electronic signal, which is then processed to produce a thermal image on a video monitor and then indicates the temperatures.

PRINCIPLE
y According to the black body radiation law, infrared

y y y y

radiation is emitted by all objects near room temperature. Incident Energy=Emitted Energy + Reflected Energy + Transmitted Energy EMISSIVITY:-materials ability to emit thermal radiation. BLACK BODY:-object that will radiate infrared radiation at its contact temperature. The rate of emission of contact temperature is a fraction of the true contact temperature.

HOW IT WORKS??
y A special lens focuses the infrared light emitted by all of the objects in

view. y The focused light is scanned by a phased array of infrared-detector elements. The detector elements create a very detailed temperature pattern called a thermogram. y The camera is only able to see the electromagnetic radiation that is impossible to detect with the human eye, it will build a picture in the viewer and record a visible picture, usually in a JPG format. y The thermographer will refer to the emissivity table to choose the emissivity value of the object. The camera's algorithm will correct the temperature by using the emissivity to calculate a temperature that more closely matches the actual contact temperature of the object.

Contd.
y The thermograph is translated into electric impulses. y The impulses are sent to signal processing unit, a circuit

board with a dedicated chip that translates the information from the elements into data for the display. y The signal-processing unit sends the information to the display, where it appears as various colors depending on the intensity of the infrared emission. y The camera uses multiple sources of data based on the areas surrounding the object to determine the value of the temperature at which the object is operating rather than detecting the actual temperature.

PASSIVE Vs. ACTIVE THERMOGRAPHY

PASSIVE ACTIVE

y Features of interest are

y An energy source is

naturally at a higher or lower temperature than the background. y Application:Surveillance of people at a scene and medical diagnosis.

required to produce a thermal contrast between the feature of interest and the background. y Used where the object is in equilibrium with the surrounding.

THERMOGRAPHIC CAMERA
y The appearance and operation of a

modern thermographic camera is often similar to a camcorder. Often the live thermogram reveals temperature variations so clearly that a photograph is not necessary for analysis. A recording module is therefore not always built-in. y Thermal imaging cameras use specialized focal plane arrays (FPAs) that respond to longer wavelengths (mid- and long-wavelength infrared). The most common types are InSb , InGaAs, HgCdTe FPA.

ADVANTAGES
y It shows a visual picture so temperatures over a large area y y y y y y y

can be compared It is capable of catching moving targets in real time It is able to find deteriorating (i.e. at higher temperature) components prior to their failure It can be used to measure or observe in areas inaccessible or hazardous for other methods It is a non-destructive test method Better sensitivity than x-rays / crystal films. Results immediately know. No specific safety required.

DISADVANTAGE
y Unable to detect the inside temperature if the medium is y y

y y y

separated by glass/polythene material etc. Due to the low volume of thermal cameras, quality cameras often have a high price range . Images can be difficult to interpret accurately when based upon certain objects, specifically objects with erratic temperatures, although this problem is reduced in active thermal imaging. Accurate temperature measurements are hindered by differing emissivities and reflections from other surface. Most cameras have 2% accuracy or worse and are not as accurate as contact methods. Only able to directly detect surface temperatures

Examples of thermography

This is a busbar connection that is loose. The scale on the left is the temperature range. The loose connection is producing temperatures close to 175 Fahrenheit.

Courtesy: FLIR Systems

Examples of thermography

This is an example of a 120VAC breaker with a loose connection.

Courtesy: FLIR Systems

BAD INSULATION

UNDERFLOOR HEATING IN BATHROOM

THERMOGRAPHIC IMAGE OF HOT CUP OF COFFEE SHOWN ON TWO DIFFERENT TEMPERATURE SCALES

POWER CIRCUIT OF ELECTRICAL DEVICES

MEDICAL FIELD

LEVEL DETECTION

APPLICATIONS

NIGHT VISION

ELECTRICAL DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM

NIGHT VISION
y Night vision is the ability to see in a dark environment. y Thermal imaging technologies work by detecting the

temperature difference between the background and the foreground objects. y The level of heat given off by human body makes it readily detectable to thermographic instruments. y Exothermic action of engines and moving vehicles make them good targets for infrared surveillance applications.

ELECTRICAL DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM

y Most faults are encountered in the form of hot-spots at contact

y y y

terminals which may be due to loose contact, corrosive nuts & bolts, broken conductor strands etc. Higher is the current flow, more severe is the fault. On-line thermal scanning of these contact terminals will identify the hot-spots and severity of the fault. Application to a switchyard of a captive power plant of an aluminium company for 2-3 times a year can increase the reliability to around 100% as no shutdown is reported. The thermal scanning of about 400 first switching sub-stations (11KV/415 volt) of a power distributing company of a metropoly city of India could reveal very critical points.

TERMINAL JOINTS OF A CT OVERHEAD JOINT

Loose contacts lead to introduction of high resistance in the circuit. A severe voltage drop is obtained at the motor terminal end. This results in malfunctioning of the motor. Figure indicates a thermography survey of a 415 volt 75 KW induction motor having high temperature (101 0C) at MCC breaker terminal resulting in a voltage unbalance of about 4.7% at motor terminal.

POWER CIRCUIT OF ELECTRICAL DRIVES

Fluid levels of some containers at inaccessible locations can be easily seen by thermography survey by observing the thermal profile along the depth of the container/tank. Figure indicates the fluid level of two tanks (left & middle) along with the effect of solar radiation. It indicates that the fluid level is about 60% in the middle tank.

FLUID LEVEL DETECTION

SWINE FLU DETECTION

How? Principle Advantages Limitations

One of the symptoms of Influenza A(H1N1) infection is fever.

The thermal imaging scanner picks up the IR emitted by a body. Different temperatures are assigned different colours. The same part of the body of a person with fever would show up brighter.

Can be done quickly. No physical contact with the person.

Cannot tell if the fever is due to swine flu Clothing alters the temperature. It takes 48 to 72 hours for a person infected with H1N1 to show any symptoms.

Swine Flu Detection

FUTURE APPLICATIONS

y The latest trend in imaging systems is the combining of

imaging cameras to the power of the personal computer (PC). y The electronics are contained on a card which can plug directly into the computer and take advantage of the high resolution display, processing capability and mass storage. The camera connects directly to a port on the computer. y The cost overhead associated with separate displays, separate memory and enclosures is thus avoided.

Conclusion
Thermography is a predictive maintenance tool that

when properly used can save money within days of the first scan. The program has saved many companies thousands of dollars annually. One of the best programs a manufacturing facility can invest in to improve production, quality, worker environment, and save money.