Other Infrared Services
- Veterinary Applications
- Tank Level Detection
- Medical Applications
- Automotive Applications
- Marine Applications
- Aircraft Applications
- Pipeline Inspection
- Electronic Equipment
- Pulp and Paper
- Steam Turbine & Hydroelectric Generators
- Miscellaneous Applications
Veterinary Applications
Veterinary applications are becoming more popular, the most popular is equine thermography and that is the detection of problems that arise with horses. Infrared Cameras can be used for injury examination, find stress fractures and lameness that can be invisible to the human eye. This horse was later found to have a stone imbedded in his foot that had previously been undetectable until shown by the Infrared Image as a hot spot.
Thermal Imaging May Have Saved Cats Life
Infrared LH photo above showing a cat with a sore foot. The RH photos above taken with the Infrared camera enabled us to locate a missing cat that was trapped in a flat roof area of a garage. The cat had been missing for three days and could be heard meowing, but the exact location could not be pinpointed until viewed in Infrared. The heat from the cat was clearly visible in infrared on the garage ceiling. As time was of importance I unscrewed the roof directly above and was able to extract the cat unharmed and replace the roof without causing any damage.
Elephant
This Elephant was restless, the thermal image revealed a sore right foot. That was also causing his left shoulder to become inflamed as a result of him putting extra weight onto his left leg.
Tank Level Detection
Liquid and sludge levels in storage tanks can be seen in infrared. Leaks can be detected early and sludge levels monitored, avoiding costly failures and downtime during peak periods.
Medical Thermal Imaging Applications
We don't do Medical injury examinations but these pictures show how thermal imaging can be a useful tool to aid diagnosis.
Automotive Applications
Infrared has a wide range of uses in the motor racing world such as suspension and tyre contact diagnostics, brake and engine systems evaluation for performance and cooling efficiencies.
Marine Applications with Thermal Imaging
Infrared can be used to locate moisture issues and delamination problems in boats, launches and ships with a thermal imaging inspection. The RH two photos enabled the tracking of a leak back to a fitting on the upper level deck of a launch.
Aircraft Applications Utilising Infrared Technology
Composite aircraft materials are extremely sturdy and lightweight. However, the honeycomb structure of these materials presents a potentially dangerous problem, water ingress. It has been discovered that certain control surfaces absorb water into the honeycomb structure. The problem is aggravated by the effects of lightning and hail, which cause barely visible impact damage. The water enters the honeycomb and freezes when the aircraft is at high altitude. Thermography can be an indispensable tool for inspecting planes for this problem. After the plane has landed, the ice remains at 0°C while it is melting. This provides an ideal opportunity to search for the ice pockets with our Infrared Camera while the plane is being serviced.
Pipeline and Hydraulic Pipe Infrared Inspections
Leak detection, stress cracks, insulation problems, sludge build up. The LH infrared photo below revealed a blocked hydraulic pipe on a large generator.
There are many more instances when thermography can be utilised. Here are a few:
Electronic
- Printed circuit board evaluation and troubleshooting
- Thermal mapping of semiconductor device services
- Circuit board component evaluation
- Production-type inspection of bonded structures
- Inspection of hybrid microcircuits
- Inspection of solder joints
Pulp and Paper
Thermal image above revealed an oveheating roller
- Detect uneven heat distribution in steam boxes
- Identify wet streaks, non-uniformity, that can have adverse effects on paper quality
- Monitor size press performance
- Analyse dryer temperatures to look for non-uniformity in dryers
- Monitor coating to see that it is being applied uniformly to surface of the paper
- Analyse reel to find anomalies that may be induced by pieces of process equipment connected to the paper machine
- Inspect chip piles for hot spots
Steam Turbine and Hydroelectric Generators
- Locate inter-laminar faults
- Monitor the effectiveness of repairs to the damaged areas
- Help maintain quality control during repairs
- Obtain a thermal images that serve as a permanent record of the condition of the repairs
Miscellaneous Applications
- Detect RF heating in antennas, wave guides, guy wires and frame structures
- Locate low-intensity sleeper fires on forest lands
- Locate lost people
- Remote sensing applications
- Fire fighting - Locate people in burning buildings and navigate through smoke
- Locate non uniform densities in hot mix asphalt paving
- Environmental inspections, pollution dumping, thermal dumping of waste water
- Fire Mapping, hold over fires, fire line and mop-up inspections
- Search and rescue
- Covert surveillance