Thermography
Thermal Identification of Active (or Overheating) Components
The use of thermal imagery to detect abnormal occurrences of heat, simply from a photo or video. Thermography can identify a faulty component without ever touching it. Commonly with electrical equipment, excess heat can mean a failure in progress. Where the component has a low or no heat signature, it may have already failed.
Detect Uneven Load Distribution
Uneven heat distribution may mean that one part of the asset is working less or underutilised. Perhaps more importantly, part of the asset is overloaded, potentially leading to a shorter life, therefore, an increased cost of maintenance. Individual asset owners will ultimately know their equipment the best, with thermography being an extra, no-contact, non-intrusive preventative maintenance tool to supplement or extend the time between maintenance intervals.
Solar Panel Cell Failures
Condition based maintenance is a cost efficient and effective strategy for identifying hidden failures. Drones provide access to assets at height, particularly large assets, where an overall perspective is difficult to achieve. Regular thermal mapping provides tracking of condition over time.
Thermography Sample Use Case
A unique use case allowed the use of thermography to determine where a water leak was located. Whilst not with the drone in the air, this prevented significant concrete and paver removal along 20m of possible pipe length. Significant time, cost and resources were avoided with the use of a thermal camera.