ABOUT THERMOGRAPHY
Basic Thermography 101
Infrared Thermography is the technique that uses an infrared imaging and measurement camera to "see" and "measure" invisible infrared energy being emitted from an object.
Thermal, or infrared energy, is energy is not visible because its wavelength is too long for the sensors in our eyes to detect. It is the part of the electromagnetic spectrum that we perceive as heat. Unlike visible light, in the infrared spectrum, everything with a temperature above absolute zero emits infrared electromagnetic energy. Even cold objects such as ice cubes, emit infrared radiation. The higher the temperature of the object, the greater the infrared radiation emitted. The Infrared camera allows us to see what our eyes cannot!
In the industrial/commercial environment, almost everything gets hotter or cooler before it fails, making infrared cameras extremely valuable diagnostic tools with many diverse applications. And as industry strives to improve manufacturing efficiencies, manage energy, improve product quality, and enhance worker safety, new applications for infrared cameras continually emerge.
How Does the Camera “See” Heat?
All objects, cold or hot, radiate heat in the form of infrared energy. As an object increases in temperature, it radiates more energy, and the wavelength gets shorter. Infrared radiation, visible light and ultraviolet light are all forms of energy in the electromagnetic spectrum. The only difference is their wavelength or frequency.
The human eye can only see a narrow range of wavelength in the electromagnetic spectrum. These wavelengths range in length from 0.4 to 0.7 microns, a micron is one millionth of a metre. Most of what the eye sees is reflections from objects that high energy from the sun or an incandescent light bulb is striking. If the temperature an object gets hot enough however, above 525°C the energy from that object will radiate energy in the visible spectrum and we will see it. This is when we see an object like the burner on an electric stove “glowing” red. In fact any time an object will emit or reflect energy in the same frequency of our eyes we will see it. Mostly, however we see reflections!
The infrared camera can detect infrared energy well before we can see it with our eyes. Most cameras can image temperatures from -20 to 500°C, and can be extended down to -40°C, and up to 2000°C. The camera converts this invisible infrared energy into a two-dimensional visual image and displays this on a standard TV monitor. Most industrial cameras can also make temperature measurements, with accuracies to around ±2% at 30°C. The thermal information is stored onto a disc and is later downloaded into a computer to create report.
Infrared Inspections are Simple!
However, taking thermal images and gathering thermal information is quite easy these days, just push the auto button and there is an image! This is simple on the surface, but it is not as easy as it sounds. The real work — and value — is what the thermographer understands about the object of interest, how it operates, the heat transfer within and to the surface of the object, how to adjust the camera to enhance the thermal details necessary to evaluate the image once it is stored and downloaded onto the computer. Then prepare a report that is accurate, clearly presented and is easy to read by the maintenance personnel, who generally do not know anything about infrared Thermography. As in any method of nondestructive testing, the interpretation of the information gathered takes both education and experience. This is NOT a “point and shoot” technique, as most camera manufacturers would like you to believe!
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| This is an image of the same components. The left image indicates no problem, the one on the right showing a serious thermal anomaly! Why? There are several reasons how this can happen, a thermographer must thoroughly understand all the variables or should not be doing the inspection. |
Infrared Training and Education
The above outlines the reasons why a training course by field experienced trainers is vital to any person doing field inspections. The courses teach people how to fully utilize the infrared camera and software, to gather accurate meaningful data, and, to be able to correctly interpret the information and present the information in a clear understandable format.
Used Infrared Cameras Wanted
In these recessionary times companies have to optimize their finances as best they can. Because of this we here at the Institute have been getting many calls to recommend what we think is the best IR Camera to purchase for the money. In other words what is the best value?
Now, we do not recommend any camera or manufacturer, if we did we would lose our independence and our “unbiased” status, and become like the other training companies out there.
But, we wanted to help our students and the Infrared Community, so we have created a new service:
The IR Camera Buy and Sell
To sell or purchase an IR camera simply send an email and let us know in details what you want to sell or purchase and we will do our best to match you up with what you are looking for.
There is no fee for this; it is a courtesy of IRT.
IR Cameras Wanted:
Mikron 7800 series IR Camera with 320x 240 detector.
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