Thermal Camera Based Inspection of Hot-water and Warm Water Pipes
7. 2. 2020
Checking Flat Roofs Inspection Using Thermal Drone
7. 2. 2020Fires caused by poorly installed electrical equipment are a common, yet underestimated, menace to industrial operations. While minor incidents may only result in a short shut-down without significant financial impact, more serious events can spark large fires with fatal injuries. Luckily, most of these problems can be avoided with the regular monitoring of electrical installations and the rapid repair of any faults or damage.
Thermography has been a key component of electrical installation inspection for several decades. In this well-established approach, a handheld thermal camera detects defects by measuring the intensity of thermal radiation produced by an object’s surface. Then, this intensity is quantified to calculate surface temperature. The severity of a defect can be determined by the temperature detected by the thermal camera.
However, even a high-quality thermal camera is of little use when it comes to the inspection of elevated, difficult-to-reach facilities. Businesses simply struggle to identify defects in high-altitude or high voltage components. The case of power lines in a transformer station that occupies a large area is a perfect example of a puzzle left unresolved by handheld thermal cameras.
Workswell s.r.o. provides an elegant solution to the safety problem posed by elevated high voltage power lines – and the many other locations that offer restricted access to control elements. The solution attaches a thermocouple system to a UAV, or drone. The Workswell WIRIS – a lightweight compact thermo-camera equipped with a visible spectrum camera, thermo-camera, and controls, allows the user to safely check otherwise inaccessible power lines at elevation. During the flight, the operator can watch live images from both the thermo and full visible spectrum cameras, record the whole flight, and then analyze and identify damaged areas. The thermocouple drone eliminates the issue of impassable terrain and facilitates the inspection of large transformer stations. The operator can then control the entire system from a safe distance, without any of the discomfort and danger of a conventional ground inspection.