Thermography for Predictive Maintenance

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Table of Contents

Introduction

Examples of application of Thermography

Thermal camera advantage over Temperature Gun

Return on Investment

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Introduction

Since heat is often an early symptom of equipment damage or malfunction, it makes sense that it is a key performance parameter monitored in predictive maintenance (PdM) programs. Infrared thermography is a tool that has become more and more widely used for preventative maintenance on mechanical and electrical systems over time. It takes advantage of the infrared radiation properties to extract useful conclusions for the condition of the equipment under test. It is neither non-destructive, nor an interrupting procedure and has no solid substitute

Technicians can use the thermal camera to check the temperature of critical equipment which allow us to track the operating condition over time and quickly identify readings for future comparisons as well.

Thus by monitoring the performance we can schedule maintenance only when it’s required which will result in unplanned downtime due to equipment failure and can also contribute to extend the working life of machine assets.

“It helps to identify problems early, document them immediately, and correct them quickly. The longer system faults are ignored, the more serious and costly they are to repair.”

Examples of application of Thermography

Identify “hot spots” in electronic equipment
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
Monitor and measure bearing temperatures in large motors or other rotating equipment.
Detect loose connections and bad contacts.
Under rated cables overheating under existing demand.

Thermal camera advantage over Temperature Gun

A temperature gun just gives you a number - thermal imaging cameras generate an image.
A temperature gun reads the temperature of one single spot - a thermal imaging camera gives you temperature readings for each pixel of the entire thermal image. It’s easy to miss critical faults such as air leakage, insufficient insulation and water intrusion when surveying with a spot IR thermometer.
Because of advanced optics, thermal imaging cameras can also resolve temperatures from a longer distance. This allows you to quickly inspect large areas and never miss a potential problem area, no matter how small it is.
Temperature reading of the temperature gun also varies with change in distance between the object and sensor, moreover the current temperature gun is not calibrated making it unreliable.

Return on Investment

A proper predictive maintenance program can provide a savings of up to 30-40% over reactance maintenance according to studies by Federal Energy Management Program. Also according to some other independent surveys regarding industrial predictive maintenance the following was knows:

Return on investment 10 times

Reduction in maintenance costs: 25-30%

Elimination of breakdowns: 70-75%

Reduction in downtime: 35-45%

Increase in production: 20-25%

Instance 1