Infrared Thermal Imaging Scheme for Intelligent Pipeline Detection

Pipelines transport various substances, including water (hot water pipes, water pipes), steam (steam pipes), petroleum products (oil or natural gas), as well as food production, agriculture, and power plants. In many cases, pipelines are not only used to transport problematic substances but also used to transport heat energy combined with the transmitted fluid. This is why the insulation of the pipeline and any potential pressure loss in the pipeline is so important. The entire transportation system must be completely sealed, especially the leakage will not only lead to the loss of energy and money but also cause major environmental problems.

The pipeline is an important piece of equipment for production. The infrared thermal imager is used to detect pipeline blockage, thinning, corrosion, leakage, and other faults, so as to avoid damage to the environment and personnel; The thermal imager can also be used to detect and evaluate the thermal insulation of the pipeline, so as to reduce energy consumption and achieve the energy-saving effect.

The aerial thermal imaging inspection of a pipeline mainly includes a long-distance pipeline system, which is used to transmit fluid with a temperature different from ambient air temperature. Thermal imaging systems use this fact to identify and locate leaks and defects in pipe insulation. In some cases, it is even possible to identify and locate leaks in underground pipelines through aerial inspection.

Classical cameras cannot detect pipeline insulation defects or identify underground fluid leakage. We can prevent major accidents that may cause economic losses and endanger the health and lives of people and animals by finding places where the insulation layer is thinner or the pipe casing is damaged as early as possible. These defects can be detected by a thermal imager, which scans the thermal radiation generated by the object. According to the temperature difference between the pipe and the surface and the experience of professional operators, hidden defects can be quickly identified. In underground pipelines, hot water leakage will heat the ground, so the thermal imaging camera does not need to dig several kilometers of pipelines to detect potential leakage.

Carbon deposition, thinning, and cracking of pipelines; The faults such as leakage and blockage in the furnace tubes of heat exchangers, reactors, and other equipment are often undetectable to the naked eye. The thermal imager can detect subtle temperature changes. On this basis, we can quickly determine the faults.

Taking infrared images is helpful to identify and locate faults so that faults can be correctly repaired the first time.

The system helps display dynamic imaging technology to take infrared thermal imaging images, and also captures a digital photo, which is integrated to help identify and locate faults, so that faults can be correctly repaired at the first time.

Hot spots or cold spots may indicate failures or potential failures of key pipeline systems. Early detection of these problems can enable technicians to arrange maintenance or replacement without the high cost of downtime.

When the pipeline is blocked, the temperature difference is caused by the difference in heat capacity between the blocked part and other parts. These temperature differences are transmitted to the pipeline shell, and the infrared thermal imager can be used to shoot the fault outside the pipeline.

The inner wall of the pipe is thinner due to wear or corrosion, and its temperature will be higher than that of the normal part so that faults can be detected.

Due to the large local temperature fluctuation of the pipeline, material thermal fatigue causes cracks and leaks, and the fault location will leak the medium in the pipeline. If the medium in the pipeline is a low-temperature medium (such as ammonia) or a high-temperature medium, the temperature difference between the pipeline leakage medium and the outer wall of the pipeline is different, the infrared thermal imager can be used to shoot the fault.

The pipe insulation falls off, and the temperature at the falling place is too high, which can be clearly displayed in the thermal image. The infrared thermal imager can also be used to detect the pipe temperature as the judgment basis for whether the insulation reaches the specified effect.

The furnace tube of the heat exchanger is blocked or leaked, which leads to the reduction of heat exchange efficiency, affects normal production, and causes energy waste. The thermal imager can be used to check the failure.