IR camera monitors strategic power generation components for EDF 
(28/03/2007)
Infrared thermography has become an essential tool used to monitor and maintain key components and structures in the production, transport and distribution of electricity. For such measurements, the infrared cameras most often used are portable instruments, powered by long-life batteries and operating at low speed of analysis (50Hz).
To detect temperature changes portable IR cameras often use an uncooled microbolometer sensor that offer best exposure time of c. 5ms. However certain components within strategically important power generation facilities require instruments of higher performance.
Cedip Infrared Systems has announced that the General Technical Division (DTG) of the French Electricity company (EDF) has implemented several of its Silver 420M IR camera's to develop IR thermographic conditional maintenance methods for a number of its production sites.
Responsible for the maintenance of electricity production for the EDF group worldwide, the DTG selected the Silver 420M IR camera to monitor the 88 bridges of diodes installed on the rotor of the principal alternator at its key 900MW power generation facility. Operating at speed of rotation of 1500tr/min required the alternator diode bridges to be measured at a linear velocity of greater than 125m/s.
To make these demanding measurements engineers at the DTG were able to exploit the capability of the Silver 420M to precisely set the frequency of analysis, to within a hundredth of a Hertz, so as to stroboscopically synchronise the camera with the rotation of the fast moving alternator components. Offering outstanding sensitivity, only normally found in expensive IR cameras dedicated to R&D applications, the Silver 420M, was able to measure the very weak signals even given exposure times of just a few microseconds.
The Silver 420M is an Infrared camera based upon high performance IR array detectors that gain additional sensitivity from a proprietary cryogenic cooling system. The camera delivers up to 100 images per second in the full-image mode and several thousand images per second in partial-image mode at a constant sensitivity of < 20 mK. Top performance is achieved in the medium wavelength infrared band (3 to 5 µm) with a resolution of 320x256 pixels.
For applications requiring portability the Silver 420M has a dedicated long-life battery pack and can be easily connected to a mini portable PC with a fast USB2 or CAMLINK connection to record thermal images.
Related categories: Power Power generation and transmission Test and measurement
