Thermographic Inspec­tion of Elec­trical Install­a­tions

Thermal imaging provides a fast overview of the conditions of electrical installations

• Hot-spots are a good indicator for faults when doing comparative thermography
• Reliable detection of hot-spots requires a sufficiently high number of pixels
• During thermographic measurements load conditions have to be kept in mind
• Important flexibility of infrared camera systems is reached by interchangeable lenses

Qual­it­ative Ther­mo­graphy Allows Easy Inspec­tions

Inspections of electrical installations mostly focus on the detection of hot-spots – areas with excessive temperatures. Those can often be found by comparison of the same kind of components just having different temperatures. For example one phase can have a higher temperature in comparison with other phases due to a poor insulation which results in a creeping current. Already such a comparative analysis called qualitative thermography is absolutely sufficient in many inspection situations.

Faults Can Only Be Iden­ti­fied by Having a Suffi­cient Number of Pixels

To provide a secure conclusion the infrared camera being used needs to come with an adequate resolution. Inspecting electrical installations especially the geometrical resolution should be focused on which is the number of pixels being available for the measurement. The more available pixels, the smaller are the hot-spots which can be detected from a certain distance and the earlier a developing fault can be discovered, resulting in a more secure inspection result. An infrared camera with a correspondingly large detector format therefore does not determine average values from hotspot temperatures and lower ambient temperatures. This would rather prevent the reliable detection of a hotspot.

Temper­ature Meas­ure­ments are Influ­enced by Load Situ­ation of Elec­trical Install­a­tions

Very important for thermographic analyses of electrical installations is their load behaviour. When thermographic measurements are done in low load situations hot-spots will not be detectable securely as those areas will appear a lot colder than running at full load. Therefore either the measurements will be done at full load or the measured lower temperatures will be converted to those which would be measured when running at full load.

Inter­change­able Lenses Allow the Flex­ible Usage of Infrared Camera Systems

Very often thermography is used for controlling high voltage installations outdoors. To do those measurements correctly measuring smallest details full signal telephoto lenses should be used. In contrast limited space indoors could well result in the need to use wide-angle lenses for coverage of complete switchboards.

Advant­ages of InfraTec Ther­mo­graphy Solu­tions in this Applic­a­tion

Motor Focus For ImageIR Full Lenses – More Comfort

All interchangeable standard lens systems of the ImageIR series can be combined with a motor focus unit, which is controlled by the camera operating software. It enables precise, remote and fast focusing, In addition, an autofocus function is available which operates reliably even with low image contrasts.

High-quality Light Metal Housing

The very robust light metal housing is available with the protection degree IP67 and protects the camera against mechanical and thermal stress. In conjunction with protection degree preserving LEMO connectors, it is excellently suited for use in harsh industrial environments, suitable protective housings are also available, e.g. made from stainless steel, which can optionally be equipped with a cooling and heating system.

Geometrical Resolution – Efficient Analysis of Complex Assemblies

InfaTec’s infrared cameras with cooled and uncooled detectors have native resolutions up to (1,920 x 1,536) IR pixels. Spatially high-resolution thermograms ensure that components and assemblies are imaged down to the smallest detail and thus defects can be reliably detected and precisely localised.

Summary

Infrared camera systems help you to secure a high product quality in production and at your suppliers. Comply with the highest security demands by applying state-of-the-art infrared camera systems.

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