Infrared thermography is a remarkable aid in maintenance, and has been used for a number of years in testing high-voltage lines and transformer substations. Electricite de France (EDF) has developed a special infrared thermography system for this type of application. Until recently, use of IRT in both fossil and nuclear power plants was only sporadic and depended on the interest shown in the technique by individual maintenance managers. In power stations, it was primarily used for tests on switchyards, electrical control cabinets and insulation. The General Engineering Department of the EDF Generation and Transmission Division was responsible for assessing new equipment and studying special development requirements as they arose. Routine infrared thermography tests were performed by two teams from the Division, one handling northern France and the other southern France. Today, infrared thermography has become a fully-fledged monitoring and diagnosis tool in its own right, and related activities are being reorganized accordingly. Its recent success can be attributed to a number of factors: more high-powered IRT techniques, valuable feedback from American utility companies, and technical and economic assessments conducted by EDF over the last two years on equipment such as electrical and mechanical components, valves and insulation. EDF's reorganization of infrared thermography activities will begin with an overview of the resources now existing within the company. This inventory will be carried out by the General Engineering Department. At the same time, a report will be drawn up bearing on IRT testing over the last decade in conventional and nuclear power plants in France and the United States. Lastly, EDF will draw up a list of components to be monitored in this way, essentially on the basis of RCM studies. These measures will provide power plants with a catalogue of infrared thermography applications for specific component/failure combinations.

Date Published: 15 March 1996
PDF: 8 pages
Proc. SPIE 2766, Thermosense XVIII: An International Conference on Thermal Sensing and Imaging Diagnostic Applications, (15 March 1996); doi: 10.1117/12.235370

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 2766:
Thermosense XVIII: An International Conference on Thermal Sensing and Imaging Diagnostic Applications
Douglas D. Burleigh; Jane W. Maclachlan Spicer, Editor(s)