Electrical equipment can have a variety of defects, but the majority of them produce heat. They are often classified into exterior and interior defects when it comes to infrared diagnostics. Current-carrying conductors cause resistance losses owing to current effects in the functioning of power systems, and there are a high number of connections, joints, or contacts along the whole circuit where electrical energy is conveyed. If the contact resistance of the various connections, joints, or contacts in the transmission circuit is lower than the resistance of the connected conductor part, the heat loss of the connection part will not be greater than the heat loss of the adjacent current-carrying conductor. However, if some connections, joints, or contacts are poorly connected, resulting in an increase in contact resistance, the part will have more resistance loss and higher temperature risk. External flaws are the most common cause of this. External flaws are marked by a localized temperature rise that is easily noticed by the infrared camera, and if not addressed soon, the condition swiftly deteriorates, leading to accidents and losses. As a result, daily inspections are critical, and thermal imaging cameras can be useful.
The following are some examples of the infrared thermal imaging system used in the power business.
1. Transformers, capacitors, reactors, circuit breakers, insulator strings, generators, transformers, disconnectors, transmission wires, and crimp tubes are among the items that must be inspected.
2. Substation infrared inspection robot: replaces manual personnel in substation inspection to complete urgent, difficult, dangerous, and repetitive work; adopts high-resolution infrared detector with excellent temperature measurement performance; real-time temperature map and data transmission to back-end monitoring; automatic judgment and alarm for equipment thermal defects and other situations.
3. Transmission line infrared inspection drones: find hidden faults by detecting abnormal temperature fluctuations in contrast to the value.
The use of infrared imaging thermometer is particularly beneficial when compared to standard power outage preventative testing. It not only cuts down on equipment downtime, but also detects hidden threats connected to operating voltage and load current. More importantly, the entire temperature distribution may be seen, and problem areas can be spotted in real time. This averts possible issues, lowers repair costs, and prevents large losses caused by accidents that can't be substituted by any other method of detection.
