Power Plant Thermography - Part II

The infrared camera is a frequently used weapon in the integrated arsenal of Predictive Maintenance technology. One of these cameras coupled with strong vibration and lubrication programs can help resolve most equipment problems. Throw in some ultrasonic detection and a good process computer, and today's PdM specialist is nearly invincible. This paper demonstrates some of the more interesting problems, and the tools used to identify them and bring them to closure. Faults include a hot spot in a cable connection for a large chiller, a hot bus bar connection in a critical panel, a complicated compressor issue, and a relatively small hot spot on a terminal board that could have had severe consequences. Finding these issues early and scheduling the repairs resulted in significant cost savings and prevented something else that executives and investors both abhor... surprise! Thermography is one of the mainstays of a strong PdM program. Not only is our program integrated with other predictive technologies such as vibration and lubrication analysis, it is included in a total effort to promote maintenance optimization.