Infrared Thermography News & Insights

Electrical failures in high-voltage systems rarely originate from a single cause. Some begin with excessive electric field stress. Others develop due to resistive heating associated with current flow.

Infrared thermography offers good potential for detecting energy losses from process equipment and piping as well as some symptoms of pipe deterioration.

While it is often interesting to use a thermal imager to view ordinary objects, imaging the sun, arc welders and similarly hot objects should be avoided unless your imager has been built specifically for these applications. The reason for this is that the sensitive thermal detector that comprises the heart of any thermal imaging system…

Although thermography is a non-contact test, preparing for an infrared inspection of electrical equipment often requires manual preparation of switchgear components. Unwary thermographers and their assistants can be injured by making contact with cabinets or component surfaces that have become accidentally or unintentionally energized.

Infrared Thermography (IRT) is a critical, non-intrusive diagnostic tool that allows utility engineers to visualize the thermal health of energized systems without service interruption. For a Senior Substation Maintenance Engineer, the objective is to move beyond periodic inspection into a disciplined Predictive Maintenance (PDM) strategy.