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The Think Thermally and MotorTalk blogs are updated monthly, written by Snell instructors and consultants for those interested or involved with infrared thermography and electric motor testing (EMT). Electrical, mechanical, building applications, and EMT are covered in this blog along with discussions on theory, equipment, tips, news, and much more.
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¿Qué ‘vemos’ con la cámara termográfica?

Muchas personas podrían tener una idea incorrecta de que o como las cámaras infrarrojas detectan y procesan la información hacia un formato utilizable por el usuario.  ¿Cómo ‘vemos’ los seres humanos el mundo que nos rodea?  Nuestros ojos observan el reflejo visible de la radiación electromagnética, del cual nuestros cerebros interpretan las formas y objetos que estamos viendo. La radiación electromagnética que observamos visiblemente es un conjunto de longitudes de onda entre 0.4 y 0.75 micrómetros.

Motor Talk

Sounds May Lead to Problems

While conducting a mechanical IR route I was looking at a large 1000hp medium voltage motor, and something just did not sound right. There was a rhythmic hum in the motor that I had not heard before. There were no problems indicated in the thermal inspection in either the bearings, the stator area, or in the driven equipment. Noting the equipment number for later reference, I completed my route and returned to the control room to ask the operator if there were any problems with the 1000 hp that might have been indicated in the control software.

Buildings

Small Structures Canvas

Even small structures that you wouldn’t think about can be inspected for thermal performance. Such as my canvas tent in early season camping. Applying the fundamentals for buildings I can see that the double flapped windows (2 layers of canvas one on the inside and one on the outside) are retaining more heat than the 13 oz/sqft canvas that the tent is made of. The heat source is a wood burning stove. With a ∆T (delta temperature) from inside to outside of 30° F on the walls of the tent.

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Inspection infrarouge, l’inspection de suivi

En tant que thermographe consultant en imagerie thermique, je n'ai pas  souvent l'occasion d'effectuer des « inspections de suivi », c'est-à-dire de vérifier les réparations après avoir présenté le rapport d’inspection au client. À l'époque où je travaillais toujours au même endroit, j'ai réalisé l’importance de faire une « inspections de suivi » après les réparations. L’inspection thermique après réparation et l’analyse des causes, est la meilleure façon d'apprendre et de corréler les signatures thermiques aux défauts des équipements.

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¡Enfoque, Enfoque, Enfoque!

Cualquier persona que ha tenido la oportunidad de asistir a uno de nuestros cursos de Nivel 1 de Aplicaciones Termográficas conoce muy bien los ajustes en el menú de la cámara termográficas que podrían ser cambiados y los que no, luego de haber tomado una imagen.  En más de una ocasión he tenido que disculparme con mis alumnos en el pasado, pues hago mucho énfasis en la importancia del enfoque o foco para producir una buena imagen de alta calidad.

Motor Talk

Motor Current Signature - Mechanical Fault Analysis: Belt Frequencies

Motor Current Signature Analysis (MCSA), is a highly effective method for identifying many mechanical faults. Success will be directly related to the amount and accuracy of collected drive train data. Vendor software’s vary in the amount of drive train information, which can be included in the database. They also vary in capability of automated fault frequency identification.

IR Talk

What Am I “Seeing” With My Camera?

Many people have the wrong idea of what or how Infrared cameras detect and process the information into a usable format for us. How do we as humans “see” the world around us? Our eyes detect REFLECTED VISIBLE electromagnetic radiation, from which our brains interpret what shapes and colors we are observing. The electromagnetic radiation we detect VISUALLY is at a set of wavelengths between .4 to .75 microns.

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Seguridad para el usuario de la termografía

Uno de los aspectos más malinterpretados de nuestro trabajo como usuarios de la termografía es la seguridad eléctrica, pues debido a que al momento de realizar inspecciones con termografía no se entra en contacto con el equipo, por lo que realmente no se debería estar en riesgo de electrocución. Sin embargo, el usuario de la termografía está expuesto a arcos eléctricos. Muchos de los estándares de seguridad de arcos eléctricos están escritos pensando desde el punto de vista de electricistas trabajando en el equipo eléctrico, no desde el punto de vista de tecnologías sin contacto.

Motor Talk

Hey, we just got a new motor...

Just about any industrial facility, regardless of what business segment it represents, has an abundance of motors in use. When you’ve got motors, you’ve got spares. Shelf after shelf of spares, and motors are coming and going all the time. The shipping and receiving folks see a pallet with a motor strapped to it, they call maintenance/engineering and a forklift driver comes and hauls it to the designated shelf where it waits for its opportunity to get into the game. That’s the typical reality of receiving a new motor, but it shouldn’t be.

Buildings

Wood Frame or Concrete Block…

I’ve been asked that question many times. Unfortunately, that answer is driven mostly by what can be afforded, but building construction varies from what part of the country you’re from. In Florida, most residential exteriors are built using one of two methods. One method is concrete block construction or CMU construction. That’s short for Concrete Masonry Unit. The other method is an engineered wood frame construction.