Ultrasound and infrared image made safer electrical inspections

Ultrasound is more than just a leak detector. It is a versatile and important tool that should be in the toolbox of every company that has a Predictive Maintenance Program (PdM).

Ultrasound is versatile enough that if you only use it to detect steam traps failures and bearings, you are not taking full advantage of it. One should consider using ultrasound as part of its electric PdM program as well. Ultrasound can be used to hear the arc (arcing), tracking and corona discharge to scan or inspect the control panel, without opening the door panels and electrical control panel. Ultrasound is also used for inspecting transformer substations, switches, lines and switches to the corona, tracking or arcing.

Ultrasound complements Infrared Image

Since under 240 kV ring is in the infrared spectrum, the infrared image can be recognized, nor can see. Ultrasound can detect corona to 1 kV or higher.

What is a crown? Corona is the faint glow adjacent to the surface of an electrical conductor at high voltage (1 kV or higher) due to gas ionization due to high electrical stress. Stress can be caused by pollution, poor insulation values, design defects and / or a poor installation.

Why Ultrasound?

• Ultrasound can hear high frequency sounds above the human listener in the range of 20,000 Hz (20 kHz) and above.

• Ultrasound can hear ring under 240 kV.

• Ultrasound is very directional.

• Shortwave and typically 1 / 8 "to 5 / 16" of an inch long.

• Portable.

• Cost effective and a high "return-on-the-investment."

Safety First

For safety reasons, the ultrasound should be part of your program pdm infrared. If used before opening the doors or electrical panels, ultrasound may actually prevent injuries and, quite possibly, save lives. Ultrasound can hear re corona, tracking or arcing around, or panels or doors alerting technicians of potential danger before opening.

Even a novice who uses ultrasound receiver for the first time in error, will receive no arcing even if present. The ultrasound receiver amplifies the signal and heterodyne. The sound is then received in the headphones as a low frequency signal that we can hear and understand.

Starting in my career I learned to listen for ultrasound to riding in the field and scan control panels and substation engineers and technicians. This included interference scan for signals from radio / TV, listen to the internal arcing transformer oil analysis pump bearings and fan transformer, scan to detect leakage of nitrogen and for SF6 gas leaks in switches.