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Thermal Imaging
MB Inspection provides the equipment and qualified personnel to carry out an accurate wide ranging thermographic survey of plant and equipment. All information is presented using PC based reporting software and digital photography. The results of a survey are presented in a way that is concise and easy to understand.
Brief Description
In plant condition monitoring almost every single mechanical, electrical or chemical operation has an associated temperature change. Thermal Imaging systems can check these temperatures in an accurate, non-invasive manner to see if they fall within the expected range.
Insurance statistics have revealed that loose connections cause 25% of all failures in electrical equipment such as switchboards, switches, circuit breakers and cables. These generally cause local heating and area easily identified. Thermography is a powerful tool equally at home with one off fault finding missions and long term condition monitoring programs.
Applications for thermal imaging include:
- Electrical surveys: fuses, junction boxes, insulation switchgear etc., all increase in temperature when under excessive load or are otherwise not operating efficiently. Our thermal imaging system can scan large amounts of equipment in real-time and highlight any problems immediately.
- Product flow and blockages: many flow related problems such as blockages in steam lines and heat exchanger matrices and passing™ relief valves can be detected quickly using thermography.
- Insulation efficiency: refractory linings, pipe and vessel insulation, refrigeration units, cryogenic storage tanks, all suffer from breakdowns. Thermal imaging can test the efficiency of the insulation without shutting the equipment down. Areas that need repair can be highlighted for the next planned outage.
- Rotating and other mechanical equipment: it only requires one worn bearing to bring down an entire process stream. MBI thermographic technicians can check for overheating bearings as quickly as an operator carrying out a visual inspection. Again, the inspections are done without shutting the plant down and mesh guards do not have to be removed. If you can see it, we can test it.
- Modern composite materials: carbon fibre and GRP can suffer from laminations and air bubbles trapped within their layers. Thermographic techniques have been developed to test for these quickly and efficiently.
Capabilities
- Non-Invasive, surveys may be carried out on line. In fact this is usually a requirement.
- Safety, no physical contact required with item being tested, a safe distance can be maintained.
- Rapid, the system equipment will display images and temperatures in real time.
- Accuracy, within ± 2%.
Limitations
- Requires that the fault condition produces a thermal gradient.
Preparation
Services Required
- Adequate provision for personnel access to vicinity of equipment to be inspected.
- Battery operated, hand carried equipment.
