Infrared Thermal Cameras

Active thermography is an advanced nondestructive testing procedure, which uses a

thermography measurement of a tested material thermal response after its external
excitation.

This principle can be used also for non-contact infrared non-destructive testing (IRNDT) of
materials. The IRNDT method is based on an excitation of a tested material by an external
source, which brings some energy to the material. Halogen lamps, flash-lamps, or other
sources can be used as the excitation source for the IRNDT. The excitation causes a tested
material thermal response, which is measured by an infrared camera. It is possible to obtain
information about the tested material surface and sub-surface defects or material
inhomogeneities by using a suitable combination of excitation source, excitation procedure,
infrared camera and evaluation method.

Modern thermographic systems with high-speed and high-sensitivity IR cameras extend the
possibilities of the inspection method. Modularity of the systems allows their usage for
research and development applications as well as in modern industrial production lines.

Infrared based thermal cameras work on the principle that every body having a temperature
above absolute zero emit different amount of infrared radiation (Temperature dependent)
which are not visible to our naked eyes until the temperature crosses 550o C.

Hence in infrared thermal cameras densely packed IR sensors are used to detect and capture
these radiations being emitted by these bodies which then covert these radiation inputs in
electrical signals and then image processing is done and these colour allotments is done and
sent to the screen as output us to see.

The major factors/properties which define a thermal camera is –

• NETD
• Resolution
• Built in Visible light camera
• Picture-in-Picture Image fusion
• Cost
• Weight
• Focus/ (Manual for better result)
• Right amount of sensor (More the better)
• Cooled/ Uncooled
NETD (Noise equivalent Temperature difference)
It can be considered as sensitivity. The sensitivity of a thermal camera is measured in
millikelvins(mK). The lower the value of sensitivity in mK the better the camera i.e. cameras
having 50mK are 4 times more sensitive than 200mK ones.

The 50 mK ones provide more wider temp. difference and more colours for better detections
and more accurate difference between surfaces under scanner.

Resolution
Resolution also plays a very important in determining the selection of the cameras, places
where temperature difference and detection is very less then higher resolution cameras are
needed. It helps in precise and reliable measurement for small targets for large distance.

Low Resolution High Resolution

Built in Visible light camera

Will help in correctly identifying and pin point the spots of defect to data acquisition and also
helps in easy identification of the parts when the archived file is open later on.

Picture-in-Picture Image fusion

It is similar to the above factor just the added advantage is the output being shown in the
screen to the operator is the fusion of both the images in real-time for better and easy image
processing and identification of the parts and also helps in differentiating and correctly
identifying between parts in case of complex systems.
Cooled/ Uncooled
As we increase the number the sensors for greater sensitivity, it comes with a problem of its
own i.e. the greater the no. of sensors higher will be the heat produced which needs active
cooling, hence cameras with internal cooling are available. Hence cooled cameras give better
results than uncooled ones.

Advantages-
i. A single thermal camera generates results which can be used in three different colour
pallets-
a) Iron Pallet- A general-purpose palette that quickly identifies body heat. Hot
objects are shown in lighter, warm colours while colder objects are dark,
cool colours.
 b) Black and White/ Grey pallet- Mostly used for detecting the gas leakages. As
different gases have different IR absorptivity.

c) Rainbow Palette- Used for clearly identifying and differentiation the different
temperature by allotting the rainbow colours the target’s temperature range.

Hence validation for gas leakage by comparing both grey palette and rainbow palette
since both of them use different parameters to detect gas leakage. And IR thermal
camera is laboratory tested to detect leakage of Propane and Butane which form the
major composition of LPG gas.

ii. Colour Alarms

For automatic detection and error reporting the thermal camera can be set for colour
alarms where it will only detect a certain temperature range/difference. And in our
case study it will be easier since the gas leakage temp.(Boiling temp.) of LPG is -40oC
which is very much low than the ambient temp. of the cylinder and surrounding.
 Hence if the camera detects a temp. in the range of -40 to -20 it will automatically
raise an alarm and send an error report while simultaneously identifying the cylinder
to be removed.

iii. IR sensors read moving objects. Contact-based temperature sensors do not work
well on moving objects. Infrared temperature sensors are ideally suited for
measuring the temperatures of tires, brakes and similar devices.
iv. IR sensors don’t wear. No contact means no friction. Infrared sensors experience no
wear and tear, and consequently have longer operating lives.
v. IR sensors can provide more detail. An IR sensor can provide greater detail during a
measurement than contact devices, simply by pointing it at different spots on the
object being read.
vi. IR sensors can be used to detect motion by measuring fluctuations in temperature in
the field of view.

Intrinsic safety of the IR thermal camera-

The term intrinsically safe means the electrical equipment has be manufacture with a proper
technique such that it can be used in hazardous areas by limiting the energy, electrical and
thermal, available for ignition.

Majorly these types of equipment’s are used in areas with dangerous concentration of
flammable gases such as petrochemical industries. The major considerations in designing
intrinsically safe electronic devices are-

• Reducing or eliminating internal sparking

• Controlling component temperature
• Eliminating component spacing that would allow dust to short a
circuit.
• Epoxy Potting.

IR thermal sensors are not intrinsically safe stand alone but there are ways by which they can
be made safer to be used in flammable areas by the above given methods. And there are
available IR Thermal cameras which are intrinsically safe.