WHY USE INFRARED Electrical Inspections

With the traditional technique of "clean and press" actions are performed to correct loose connections and poor contact, so all connections, joints and contact points are physically problematic or is in need of maintenance. Generally one will not know if which is the case of there is really a problem.

With the help of thermography or infrared electrical inspections, one can now pinpoint the electrical problems which must be corrected under the conventional techniques and can find other problems that would not normally be detected. Since infrared thermography is a means to identify, without any contact , electrical and mechanical components that are hotter than they should be, probable fault area, and also indicates excessive heat loss, insulation failure that may be defective.

The advantages of this technique, we can cite:

• The inspection is performed at a distance without physical contact with the element in normal operation. That is not necessary to decommission the facility.

• This is a technique that allows accurate identification of the defective item, unlike the pyrometer which is a temperature measurement only of a certain point on the wire.

• It is applicable to various electrical equipment: terminals of transformers, current transformers, switches, cables and connectors, etc.

• It can be used to monitor defects in "almost real time", which quantifies the severity of the defect and the impact of load variations on the same schedule to allow for maintenance needs at the right time (which can range from simply follow a load limitation or immediate action before the defect can cause the collapse of the installation).

• In relation to the traditional maintenance, the use of thermographic inspection promotes reducing risks to staff, reduced outages and lower maintenance cost.

Disadvantages and / or inconvenience, we have:

• Limited capacity to identify internal defects in the measure that the defect is not manifested externally by increasing temperature.

• Solar reflections can mask or confuse defects.

• The charge status of the item under analysis may influence the determination of the anomalies.

THERMOGRAPHIC INSPECTION PROCESS

In the thermographic inspection process can be defined, in general, the following steps:

1. Inspection planning during periods of peak demand.

2. Evaluation and classification of the warming detected.

3. Issuance of reports, identifying faults and the degree of urgency for repair

4. Repair Tracking

5. Thermographic review to evaluate the effectiveness of corrective maintenance performed.