Thermal Imaging

[bhaven]

I am wondering if thermal imaging is used at all in marine engineering nowadays? I know a few landbased companies that made TI part of their preventative maintenance program, mainly for electrical panels, transformers, generators but also pumps and diesel engines. It is certainly not used on the ships I've been on, but there was a company out there who did TI for ships (not Canadian, though). Has anyone seen/heard about it?

Thanks,
bhaven

[JK]

We've used TEG with great results.

[bhaven]

We've used TEG with great results.

TEG as in TEG services, the company? Could you elaborate further? What systems did they check? I am asking because one relief C/E on our ship briefly mentioned that, and I am not new to TI (for land based applications) or marine engineering, but need a starting point as to how to combine both.

Thanks,
Andreas

[Big Pete]

I know of 3 main uses of Thermal imaging: -

1) To ensure compliane with the rules regarding maximum permitted surface temperatures on machinery. Taking Thermal Images of the exaust manifolds and pipework of diesel Engines, steam pipework, steam engines, HFO pipework etc can reveal where the insulation is substandard and has ti be improved, or, if you are lucky, that everything on your ship is compliant.

2)It is often used as part of the survey of Electrical Installations. If there is a high electrical resistance in an electrical connection, it will generate heat. (Heat radiated = Current squared x resistance). Usually this is due to a loose connection and or corrosion on the contact faces.
The difficulties with this is that you have to open the doors on your live switchboards, and preferably power up everything running on the switchboard to full load, then take your pictures. Often a difficulty that you can not stand far enough back from the switchboard to photograph more than a very small area at a time. Also if some shore contractor comes onboard to take the pictures while you are in Port it is difficult to run all the main propulsion Motors, Thrusters, cargo pumps etc at full load while you are alongside.
I think it is usually best if an expert Thermal Imaging photographer sails with the ship, and then when you are at Sea you can load up each section of the switchboard in turn so that they can be photographed. It is a complete waste of time taking pictures of a "Dead" switchboard.

3) It can be used, from inside refrigerated containers or cargo holds, or even refrigerated store rooms onboard, to detect "Hot Spots" where heat is leaking in through poor insulation.

Hope this helps.

BP

[bhaven]

Thanks for the insight , BP, I have a rough idea but just wanted to see what the current status is of TI on ships.

I think it is usually best if an expert Thermal Imaging photographer sails with the ship, and then when you are at Sea you can load up each section of the switchboard in turn so that they can be photographed. It is a complete waste of time taking pictures of a "Dead" switchboard.

BP

And that's the reason why I took a thermography course during my time off, just for myself to see if I can use it on our ship while underway. I'll keep you posted on whether I was successful or not.

Thanks,
Andreas

[JK]

for best results the ship should be steaming at steady state so that everything is at operating temperatures. All panels, MCC s, transformer connections and propulsion board are scanned.
The advantage of using a company that is affliated with TEG is that a comprehensive report is generated that is accepted by TC. The imaging clearly shows any electrical component that is breaking down or loose connections. The fellows that did our survey also were electricians so they repaired and replaced any problem areas that they found. In our case we had a component in the propulsion board that was actually ready to burst into flame it was running so hot. It made the entire survey of the ship economically feasible.
For further info you can check out:
http://www.tegg.com

Schneiders and Siemens can provide the services as well.

To avoid opening doors on powered up boards, ports are inserted into the cabinets that allow the imaging to take place.
http://www.flir.com/thermography/americ ... /?id=52366

[The Dieselduck]

I have seen thermal surveys over the last 15 years on a "rarish" use in the engine room. I know Coast Guard used it on rarer occasion, as did another of my former employer, but the most comprehensive program that I saw was from Royal Caribbean. They had a chief engineer, who had been trained on the use of the unit and would float around the fleet on a regular basis, spending several weeks on board. He would spit out reports for the office, but mostly bring it to the attention of the Chief Electrician and Chief Engineer - bad connections - missing insulation etc. They would have it fixed, and get it reanalyzed on the spot, it was very efficient use of the technology I though, not to mention very proactive.