Working principle and application of infrared thermal imager

　　The development of infrared measurement technology has made the sensitivity, working temperature and detection rate of materials continuously develop to a higher level, and new materials are constantly being discovered. In terms of scale, infrared thermal imagers will continue to develop towards large-scale focal planes (i.e. thermal imagers); in terms of detection wavelength, it will develop from monochrome to dual-color and multi-color; with the development of technology, infrared thermal imagers as an advanced temperature measurement equipment are increasingly being used in various fields.

 

　　Working principle of infrared thermal imager

 

　　Infrared thermal imagers (thermal imagers or infrared thermal imagers) are detection devices that detect infrared energy (heat) through non-contact detection and convert it into electrical signals, thereby generating thermal images and temperature values ​​on the display, and can calculate the temperature values. Infrared thermal imagers (thermal imagers or infrared thermal imagers) can accurately quantify or measure the detected heat, allowing you to not only observe thermal images, but also accurately identify and strictly analyze the faulty areas that are heating.

　　At present, only forward-looking infrared thermal imagers can produce high-quality images. It does not need the help of starlight or moonlight, but uses the difference in thermal radiation of objects to form images. Bright areas on the screen indicate high temperatures, while dark areas indicate low temperatures. A thermal imager with good performance can reflect temperature differences of one thousandth of a degree, so it can see through smoke, rain, snow and camouflage, and find vehicles and personnel hidden in the woods and grass, and even objects buried underground. The visible distance of a modern rifle thermal imager is about 1,000 meters. Some tank thermal sights have a visible distance of up to 3,000 meters.

 

　　Application of infrared thermal imager

 

　　Here are some of the facilities that need to be inspected with an infrared camera (thermal imager or infrared thermography camera):

　　1. Electrical devices: Loose joints or poor contact, unbalanced load, overload, overheating and other hidden dangers may be found. The potential impacts of these hidden dangers are arcing, short circuit, burning and fire.

　　2. Transformer: Potential hidden dangers include loose joints, overheated bushings, poor contact (tap changer), overload, unbalanced three-phase load, and blocked cooling pipes. The consequences include arcing, short circuits, burning, and fire.

　　3. Motors and generators: The hidden dangers that can be found are excessive bearing temperature, unbalanced load, winding short circuit or open circuit, heating of carbon brushes, slip rings and collector rings, overload and overheating, and blockage of cooling pipes. The impact is that problematic bearings can cause damage to the iron core or winding coils; faulty carbon brushes can damage slip rings and collector rings, and then damage winding coils. It may also cause damage to the drive target.

　　4. Electrical equipment maintenance inspection, roof leak detection, energy-saving testing, environmental protection inspection, security and anti-theft, forest fire prevention, non-destructive testing, quality control, medical examination, etc. are also very effective.

　　5: Diagnosis of human diseases, application of meridians in the study of human brain and in the study of disease treatment methods; especially in the diagnosis of asthma, arthritis, lumbar disc herniation, motion sickness, malignant tumors and other diseases, it has the advantages of non-radioactivity and non-contact measurement of multiple organs in one whole body scan. It is a useful means to comprehensively diagnose a certain disease in the human body.

　　6: Monitoring of building exterior walls. Surface temperature can provide us with a lot of information about building structures, piping systems, HVAC systems, and electrical systems. When looking through an infrared lens, problems that are usually invisible to the naked eye will suddenly appear. Using an infrared thermal imager, air leaks, moisture accumulation, pipe blockages, structural features behind walls, and overheated electrical lines can be detected and the data can be visually recorded and archived. By scanning the surface with this tool, you can quickly discover temperature changes that usually represent potential problems and record the data in the form of detailed graphical reports.

　　7: Application of infrared thermal imagers in natural environment. Monitoring natural environment, such as landslides and volcanic eruptions.

　　The application scope of infrared thermal imagers (thermal imagers or infrared thermal imagers) is becoming more and more extensive. The main applications in the field of scientific research include: automotive research and development - injection molding, mold temperature control, brake discs, engine pistons, electronic circuit design, and paint; motor and electronics industry - printed circuit board thermal distribution design, product reliability testing, electronic component temperature testing, notebook computer heat dissipation testing, and micro component testing; engine combustion test wind tunnel experiments; target feature analysis; composite material testing; building insulation and moisture detection; heat conduction research; animal and plant ecology research; mold casting temperature measurement; metal welding research; surface/ocean heat distribution research, etc.

　　Thermal imagers are roughly divided into two categories: cooled and uncooled. At present, the world's most advanced infrared thermal imagers (thermal imagers or infrared thermal imagers) have a temperature sensitivity of up to 0.03°C. The quality parameters of thermal imagers are the standard for measuring the quality of a thermal imager. These parameters objectively reflect the thermal imager's ability to resolve, detect, work band, accuracy, range and other important characteristics of various targets. The importance of correctly and accurately measuring these parameters is also reflected.