DOI: 10.1784/insi.2008.50.9.
512 IRT
Condition monitoring of exhaust system blowers using
infrared thermography
S Bagavathiappan, T Saravanan, N P George, John Philip, T Jayakumar and Baldev Raj
Electrical and mechanical machines are integral parts of
engineering plants. Machine failures can occur due to many
reasons. Thermal energy produced during the operation
of all machines can be in the form of friction losses within
machines, energy losses within machines, as a characteristic
of the process media, or any combination thereof. Infrared
thermography (IRT) is an ideal Non-Destructive Testing
(NDT) technique to investigate abnormal temperature
distribution on machine surfaces, because it provides
thermal images of a machine or component remotely. In
this paper, we discuss an important application of thermal
imaging for condition monitoring of blower bearings, shaft
and the motors in ventilation systems used in nuclear plant
areas. Sources of abnormal temperatures are detected at the
bearings and shaft at the impeller end of the blower of an
exhaust system. Also, abnormal temperature distribution is
detected in one of the belts of the pulley drive system due
to over-tightening. IRT was effectively utilised to pinpoint
the sources of excessive heat in the blower and to carry out
necessary corrections. We demonstrate the usefulness of IRT
to detect the sources of abnormal temperatures in various
components of the blower at an early stage of impending
malfunction failure that could prevent major breakdowns.
Keywords: IRT, passive, blower, bearings, motor, shaft, belt.
1. Introduction
Failures of electric or mechanical machines occur due to problems
associated with stator, rotor misalignment, overheated bearings,
improper lubrication and worn out components or mechanical
loading anomalies. It has been observed that approximately half
Dr Baldev Raj is the Distinguished Scientist and Director of Indira Gandhi
Centre for Atomic Research, Kalpakkam. He is an Hon Member of ICNDT,
Hon Fellow of the Indian Society for NDT, Hon Fellow of The British
Institute of NDT and Founder Member of the Board of Directors, World
Federation of NDE Centres, USA.
Dr T Jayakumar is the Head, Non-Destructive Evaluation Division, Indira
Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, Kalpakkam, India.
Corresponding author: Dr John Philip is the Head, SMART Section, Non-
Destructive Evaluation Division, Metallurgy and Materials Group, Indira
Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, Kalpakkam – 603 102, Tamil Nadu,
India. Tel: 91-044-2748 0232; Fax: 91-044-2748 0356; E-mail: philip@
igcar.gov.in
Shri N P George is an Engineer in Charge of Ventilation Systems, Post
Irradiation Examination Division, Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic
Research, Kalpakkam.
Dr T Saravanan is a Scientist in the Non-Destructive Evaluation Division,
Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, Kalpakkam.
Shri S Bagavathiappan is a Scientific Assistant in the Non-Destructive
Evaluation Division, Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research,
Kalpakkam.
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Paper submitted 05 May 2008
Accepted 15 July 2008
of all machine failures occur due to bearing failures(1). Commonly
used bearing condition monitoring techniques are vibration,
temperature, acoustic emission, sound pressure, laser and current
monitoring. Sometimes, chemical analysis is also employed by
looking at the wear debris generated from the bearing, which is
carried by the lubricating oil.
Condition monitoring(2) is the practice of obtaining the basic
operating characteristics from a working plant to assess its efficiency
and predict its reliability. Practically every chemical and process
industry employs predictive condition management to ensure the
safety, reliability and also cost effectiveness of plant operation.
A wide variety of Non-Destructive Evaluation (NDE) techniques
such as acoustic emission(3), vibration analysis, ferrography and
oil analysis are used to determine mechanical problems while
the equipment is in operation. Infrared Thermography (IRT) is
becoming another promising technology in verifying conditions
found with vibration and oil analysis. With thermography, we can
detect whether the bearings are hot, and using vibration analysis
we may determine why they are hot. Thermography allows quick
imaging of machinery to determine its thermal condition. It can
be used to identify and analyse thermal anomalies for condition
monitoring. Thermal energy is present during the operation of all
machines due to friction losses, energy losses, or any combination
thereof. The temperature is a key parameter for monitoring the
performance and the condition of machines and to diagnose machine
problems. The magnitude and distribution of the temperature are
indicators of departure from acceptable performance.
Infrared thermal imaging or infrared thermography finds
extensive applications in a variety of fields of industry(4-11). The
versatility of IRT for condition monitoring is lucidly discussed
in some of the earlier publications(15). IRT is an ideal technology
to investigate thermal anomalies in machines because it provides
complete thermal images of a machine, or a machine component,
with no physical attachments (ie non-intrusive), requires little set-up
and provides the results in a short time. In this paper, we discuss
the applications of thermal imaging for condition management of
blower bearings, shaft and the motors in ventilation systems in a
radioactive plant.
2. Thermal imaging – principle
Infrared thermography is a method of mapping the temperature
profile of the surface of an object. It makes use of the infrared
spectral band of the electromagnetic spectrum emitted by the
object. All infrared measurements are normally made in the
wavelength band of 0.75  μm-25  μm. The fundamental equations
that link the absolute temperature of the object with the intensity
and wavelength of emitted radiation are given by Planck’s, Stefan
Boltzmann and the Wein’s Displacement Law(12).
The energy emitted and the temperatures are related by Stefan-
Boltzmann Law:
W = !" T 4 . .......................................(1)
where W is the radiant flux density, ε is the emissivity, σ is the
Stefan-Boltzmann constant and T is the absolute temperature.
Insight Vol 50 No 9 September 2008
 All objects above absolute zero radiate energy in the
electromagnetic spectrum by virtue of the motion of its constituent
atoms. The spectrum and intensity of radiation emitted by the object
depend on its absolute temperature and the nature of the object
surface. At ambient temperature and above, these radiations are
predominantly in the infrared band of the electromagnetic spectrum.
The infrared radiations from the object are converted using a
suitable IR detector and displayed as a colour or black and white
image. The colours are simply a visual aid to show the temperature
differences at different regions in each image. Conventionally, dark
and light zones in positive black-white thermograms represent
low-temperature and high-temperature regions on the examined
surface, respectively. Colour pallets, which are less determinates,
are generally used to better visualise subtle surface-temperature
non-uniformities. Thermal NDE is based on the principle that flaws
or defects within or on a body exhibit a thermal radiation signature
that is different from its surroundings. These thermal signatures can
occur naturally due to heat sources present within the body itself
or it can be induced/generated artificially through external means.
Thus, two approaches or techniques are generally recognised in
thermal NDE – (a) passive and (b) active(13).
The passive technique involves applications where the material
already contains its own internal source of heat. In passive
thermography, abnormal temperature profiles indicate a potential
problem and key words are the temperature difference with respect
to the surrounding, often referred to as the deltaT or the hotspot.
Generally, passive thermography is rather qualitative because the
goal is simply to pinpoint anomalies. However, some investigations
provide quantitative measurements if thermal modelling is
available so that measured surface temperature can be related to
specific behaviours or subsurface discontinuities(14). The majority
of condition monitoring applications where the component itself
gets heated up due to a variety of reasons falls under this category.
In the passive approach, no external heating or cooling is applied.
Instead, the difference in temperature that exists within the
elevated structure or between it and its surroundings establishes
the necessary temperature patterns. Passive thermography is
commonly applied to assess or monitor the state of an industrial
process or manufacturing stage on the basis of temperature patterns.
Active techniques involve the application of an external thermal
perturbation (heating or cooling) to the object as a whole or to a
small area of interest within the object. While both heating and
cooling can be applied, it is heating which is generally preferred.
This can be attributed to the fact that it is easier to heat a body, and
a wide variety of heating sources are also available. The choice of
the heating method is quite critical as this would decide the thermal
contrast and hence the detectability of defects.
3. Experimental procedure
The specifications of the blowers examined are 68,000 m3/h
each, 250 mm of Water Gauge (WG) static pressure, fan speed is
980 r/min and 100 HP motor. Figure 1 shows a picture of the blower
of the exhaust system-1. There is 100% standby for each blower
and they operate non-stop for 15 days and remain off for the next
15 days. The blower has two numbers of double-row self-aligning
spherical roller bearings with adaptor sleeve. Spherical roller
Figure 1. Photograph of blower of exhaust system
Insight Vol 50 No 9 September 2008
bearings use rollers that are thicker in the middle and thinner at the
ends. Spherical roller bearings can thus adjust to support misaligned
loads. However, spherical rollers are difficult to manufacture and
thus expensive. The spherical bearings have higher friction than
a comparable ball bearing, since different parts of the spherical
rollers run at different speeds on the rounded race and thus produce
opposing forces along the bearing/race contact.
Spherical roller bearings support mainly a radial load and
partially thrust load. They have two rows of barrel-shaped rollers,
which conform closely to the raceways. This conformity, along with
the size and number of rollers, gives spherical roller bearings their
heavy-duty load carrying capacity. Spherical bearings can also take
considerable thrust loads, due to the shape of the outer raceway in
which the rolling elements run. The bearings can operate without
binding in a situation in which shaft to bearing alignment is not
perfect. For a ball or roller bearing to perform satisfactorily, the fit
between the inner ring and the shaft and the fit between the outer
ring and housing must be suitable for the application. Too loose a
fit can corrode or score the bearing bore and shaft, while too tight a
fit can result in unnecessarily large mounting forces and too great a
reduction in internal bearing clearance(15).
It was observed that the bearings were getting overheated and in
order to ascertain the source of heat, thermal imaging technique was
applied. The bearing temperature rise can be caused by degradation
of the grease or the bearing. Some other factors that can cause the
bearing temperature rise include: winding temperature rise, motor
operating speed, temperature distribution within the motor(16).
Therefore, the bearing temperature measurements can provide
useful information about the machine health and bearing health.
For this kind of IR application, comparative thermography is
appropriate. Comparative thermography can be either quantitative
or qualitative. The quantitative technique requires the determination
of a temperature value to distinguish the severity of a component’s
condition. This value is determined by comparing the target’s
temperature to that of similar service equipment or baseline data.
Although the temperature value is not exact, it is reasonably close
to actual, and more importantly, the temperature differentials are
accurate. However, there are many applications where quantitative
data is not required to monitor the condition of machinery, or to
diagnose a problem and recommend the appropriate corrective
action. In such cases, qualitative techniques may be adequate.
Thermal imaging of all the component of the blower was carried
out using the Thermovision-550 system, capable of measuring
object temperature from -20°C to 1200°C, with a measurement
accuracy of ±2°C. This is a compact, lightweight system with a
built-in 20° lens and focal plane array based detector having
spectral range of 3.6-5 µm with a thermal sensitivity less than
0.1°C at 27°C. A high-resolution colour image is provided in real
time, which can be viewed on the miniature screen provided with
the system or using an external monitor. The image is captured
and stored either in the removable PC-card or in a cassette using a
VCR. The camera is placed at a distance of 0.55 m from the sample
for best spatial and thermal resolutions. The surface temperature
profiles of the specimens were recorded in a PC Flash card, and
later analysed using image processing software.
4. Results and discussion
Analysis of the thermal images indicated that both the bearings of
the blower of the exhaust system were hotter than the other regions.
Figures 2 and 3 show the full mosaic thermal images of the blower
of the exhaust system under abnormal and normal conditions,
respectively. From the thermal images, it is observed that the shaft
region appears to be normal in both the blower systems.
Figures 4(a) and (b) show the thermal images of the bearing
regions of both sides of the blower. These thermal images revealed
that hot spots are present in both sides of the bearing. The maximum
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Figure 2. Mosaic thermal image of problematic exhaust blower
system. Hotter regions are marked in the white circle
Figure 3. Mosaic thermal image of normal exhaust blower
system
Figure 4. Thermal image of (a) pulley-end and (b) impeller-end
bearing after 20 min start of blower of exhaust system
temperature observed in the bearing region, after 10 min of the
start, in the pulley-end bearing side, is 78.5°C and impeller-end
bearing side is 79.3°C. Figures 5(a) and (b) show the thermal image
of the shaft and its line profile along the shaft region, respectively.
From the thermal images it can be clearly seen that the shaft region
is uniform. Figures 6(a) and (b) show the thermal image of bearing
regions of the normal blower. In the normal blower of the exhaust
system, the bearings on both sides showed uniform temperatures
without any hot spots, irrespective of the continuous running of the
system. The maximum temperature in the bearing region on both
sides is about 62.9°C. From the thermal images of the abnormal
blower, it is observed that the maximum temperature observed in the
bearing region, 20 min after the start, in the pulley-end bearing side
is 78.5°C and impeller-end bearing side is 79.3°C, respectively.
Figure 5. Thermal image of (a) shaft and (b) horizontal line profile
along the shaft after 20 min start of blower of exhaust system
Figure 6. Thermal image of (a) pulley-end and (b) impeller-end
bearing side of normal blower of exhaust system
Some of the commonly occurring faults in blower systems
are misalignment of the drive, bearing damage, imbalance of the
system, bend on the shaft and run out of the shaft and pulley, which
could lead to the abnormal temperatures (hot spots). Misalignment
can cause high stresses in the couplings, shafts, bearings and seals.
Proper shaft alignment can ensure reduced vibrations and parasitic
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loads, which eventually enhance the lifetime of the machine. In the
present case, the hot spot is found to be due to bearing damage,
based on the observation made after dismantling the assembly.
After detection of the problem, the old eight-groove pulley was
repaired and reinstalled. In place of the D-groove pulleys, C-groove
taper lock pulleys suitable for wedge belts were used. The number of
belts was also reduced to five from eight. By doing this, a reduction
in the power requirement of about 5 A without sacrificing other
parameters is achieved. However, after the modification, it was
observed that the bearings were getting overheated again. In order
to ascertain the exact source of heat, thermal imaging technique
was once again carried out.
Figures 7(a) and (b) show the thermal images of the bearing
regions of pulley side and impeller side, 30 s after the start of the
blower. From the thermal images, it is observed that the maximum
temperature observed in the bearing region, 30 s after the start, in
shaft side is 35.2°C and bearing side is 34.8°C for the pulley-end
and impeller-end, respectively. Analysis of the thermal images
showed that the bearing side (pulley-end and impeller-end) of the
blower has abnormal temperatures. The impeller-side shaft appears
hotter than other regions. The thermal image clearly reveals the
source heat begins at the impeller-end of the shaft.
Figure 7. Thermal image of (a) pulley-end and (b) impeller-end
bearing side after 30 s start of blower of exhaust system
Figures 8(a) and (b) show the thermal images of pulley and
impeller side bearing regions 20 min after start of the blower. From
the thermal images, it is observed that the maximum temperatures
observed in the bearing and shaft region, 20 min after the start are
74.0°C and 81.3°C respectively. However, the impeller-end of the
shaft shows still higher temperature compared to the pulley-end.
Analysis of the images in the second campaign shows that an
over-tight gland rope produced the hot spots near the impeller-
end. Figures 9(a) and (b) show the thermal image of shaft and line
profile along the belt. The thermal images reveal that the shaft
region is normal.
It is known that improper belt tension can lead to a number of
problems. If there is a less tension, the belt can slip and, if the tension
is too high, excess friction can develop heat, resulting in shorter
life for the belt, pulley bearings and other parts. The interaction of
the pulley wheel and the belt generates friction as the belt contacts
Figure 8. Thermal image of (a) pulley-end and (b) impeller-end
bearing side after 20 min start of blower of exhaust system
Figure 9. Thermal image of (a) shaft and (b) horizontal line profile
along the shaft after 20 min start of blower of exhaust system
Insight Vol 50 No 9 September 2008
and then leaves the pulley surface. Additionally, the continuous
tension and compression of the belt causes internal friction. Both
these processes result in heat being generated, which can be seen
in the thermal images. The temperature distribution across a pulley
sheave should be uniform under normal conditions(17, 18). Figures
10(a) and (b) show the thermal image of shaft belt and line profile
along the belt, respectively. In this blower system, the pulley is
connected with several belts, one of the belts was found to be
running hotter than others. The thermal image clearly shows the
hotter region on the belt and it is marked by a circle. This is because
of the over-tightening of the belt that leads to higher mechanical
friction in the pulley.
Figure 10. Thermal image of (a) shaft belt and (b) horizontal
line profile along belt region. The black-circled area in the belt
region (white region) shows higher temperature compared to
other regions
5. Conclusions
Abnormal temperatures were detected on the bearing regions and
impeller side of the shaft of the exhaust blower. The maximum
temperatures detected in both the bearings and impeller-side
shaft region of the blower system were 73.0°C, 71.6°C and
81.3°C, respectively. It has been concluded that the hot spots in
the impeller-side bearing is due to the heat produced in the gland
packing. These studies show that thermography evaluation is a very
useful technique to detect the sources of abnormal temperatures for
various components of the blower exhaust system at early stages
and thereby preventing a major breakdown.
Acknowledgement
The authors thank Dr P R Vasudeva Rao, Director, Metallurgy and
Materials Group for support and encouragement.
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