Analyzing Building Images Acquired at Different Times

A camera user writes:

"I find that images taken of the same structure, not much separated in time, sometimes look very different.  This poses a problem for me as I’m trying to compare the heat images of different houses (to detect homes that need weatherization).  Presently I’m not confident that images of two homes reflect actual differences in the structures, or are caused by minor environmental changes or even by artifacts in the photography.  Here is an example.

Attached are two nighttime images of the front of my house, which faces east.  IR0310 was taken at 10:40 PM, IR0408 at 11:11 PM. (The clock on the camera is two hours fast.)  It was a cold night with little temperature change over the half hour between pictures.  The house thermostat was constant. 

I've set the palette and temperature range to give me good differentiation of houses along the street.  I took the first image of my house as I began imaging houses on my street, and I took the second image when I finished the street scan. 

I am surprised, first, that my house looks so different in the two images. And second, that the outside looks warmer in the later image.  If anything, I'd have expected the outside to have cooled.

Glad for any interpretation of this.  Needless to say, with this kind of variation on a single house, it is hard to get good images for comparing houses. "

Industry Outlook: Re-Envisioning The MRO Model

Written by Andy Teich, President, Commercial Systems Division, FLIR

Despite high unemployment numbers, our industrial base is dealing with a substantial shortage of skilled technicians. In particular, the skills gap has made it difficult to fill an increasing number of MRO roles, including non-destructive testing.

Many factors are at play, not the least of which is a rolling exodus of well-trained baby boomers heading for retirement. Expect skilled technician shortages in the millions, just in the U.S. Several strategies can address this dilemma.

First: training, training, training. It needs to be a key strategy for companies—one that’s protected and defended, even in adverse times. Training improves productivity, quality and job satisfaction. Continuing education keeps skill levels matched to advancing technology and cuts turnover and downtime. Job training and apprenticeship tax credits for companies offering training will go a long way in sustaining this priority.

Fresh thinking about MRO training will drive real progress on this front. Companies can increase access to training by de-emphasizing four-year degree requirements and increasing the role of tiered training certifications and two-year programs...

Read the entire article

Stainless steel reflecting sky temp

This is extracted from a recent message board post:

"I'm curious as to how to adjust for stainless steel reflecting sky temp. The apparent reflected temp of the ground and surroundings is approx 50F. The bottom half of the drum is reflecting this (SP4). The top half is reflecting the sky (SP5). 

In my software, if I set the emissivity to 1, the sky temp in the picture shows -34F.
SP4 and SP5 *should* be the same temp, within a few degrees, based on the operation of the equipment. If I enter 50F as RAT for SP4, I have to enter -95F as RAT for SP5 to get the two temperatures to match.

Why is it -95F and not -34F for SP5? I want to make sure I'm understanding and looking at the image correctly. "

Click image to enlarge

 

Using Cavities to Solve Emissivity Problems, Here's the Drill

by Bernie Lyon

Here are two illustrations that I have created to demonstrate how the cavity effect works.

Referring to Figure 1, the “ideal” block has an emissivity of 0.2 and a reflectivity of 0.8  We are assuming that these values are constant and do not change with angle. This is not the case. If thermal radiation strikes a single surface, 20% of the radiation is absorbed and 80% is reflected. (Keep in mind 20% of the radiation – Not the temperature!) If it strikes another surface before exiting, 20% of what remains is absorbed and 80% of that is reflected, and so on.

Therefore, with multiple reflections caused  by cavities, the effective emissivity, or emittance, increases, while the effective reflectivity decreases. This is the reason why holes and cavities appear dark.  They reflect less visible light.

Call for Papers - 7th International Infrared Conference InfraR&D

Thermography in R&D, Industry and Automation

April 25^th and 26^th, 2012, at the Hannover Fair.

After the great success of the Infrared Conference InfraR&D the last few years, ITC is pleased to announce its popular international event for thermographers working in Research & Development, Industry and Automation in April 2012.

With presenters from six countries, the recent 2011 conference was attended by delegates from more than 12 countries.

InfraR&D is a true user conference built upon the commitment of the presenters and the interest of the delegates. The conference is a professional meeting place for scientists, engineers and users of advanced infrared measurement equipment. InfraR&D covers IR physics and applications in a wide variety of fields, from veterinary surveys, optical gas imaging to advanced NDT solutions and all in between.

You are welcome to submit a contribution of a:

• long paper – duration of the presentation about 40 minutes
• short paper - duration of the presentation about 20 minutes
• poster
• demonstration or
• reflection and background paper – highlight trends and technologies with future importance for the field of thermography and IR measurements.

The conference language is English. Please submit title and abstract to one of the E-mail addresses below before November 1st 2011.

Online Thermography Training Courses

ITC has made the following courses available to IR camera users.
WEB-TH10 Thermography Basics This course is a primer or first course in thermography and serves as an excellent, and recommended, addition to the infrared camera basics operation courses. Thermography involves more than just learning how to use an infrared camera. IR science, heat transfer, thermal tuning, and application knowledge are all essential subjects. 2 ITC Certification Renewal, 2 RCI Continuing Educational Hours (CEHs). This course is FREE.
WEB-TH20 Introduction to Indoor Electrical Surveys using IR Thermography This introductory course is designed to give you a straight forward explanation of how Infrared technology fits in the indoor electrical inspection industry. This course is a replay of a webinar session hosted by an Infrared Training Center instructor and webinar director. This course earns 1 ITC Certification Renewal Credit.
WEB-TH25 Introduction to Outdoor Electrical Surveys using IR Thermography
This introductory course is designed to give you a straight forward explanation of how Infrared technology fits in the outdoor electrical inspection industry. This course is a replay of a webinar session hosted by an Infrared Training Center instructor and webinar director. This course earns 1 ITC Certification Renewal Credit.
WEB-TH30 Introduction to Residential Energy Audits using IR Thermography This introductory course is designed to give you a straight forward explanation of how Infrared technology fits into the residential energy auditing industry. This course earns 1 ITC Certification Renewal Credit. UPDATED February 18, 2011.

Outstanding STS-134 Ascent Imagery Highlights video link

This video makes me proud I was able to contribute to the shuttle thermal imaging program; and makes me sad that it is ending.

It has an outstanding collection of visible and infrared imagery; superbly edited with a great score - just about the best combination of the Science of Imagery Analysis and the Art of “Film” Editing.

 

WEB-IR40 E Series Basics Course

Description This course covers basic operation for all new (2011) FLIR E Series cameras. This includes the E30, E40, E50, E60, and E30 bx, E40 bx, E50 bx, and E60 bx models. There is NO CHARGE for this FREE course.
We will discuss the controls of the camera as well as the user interface, and show you how to operate your camera.
Who should take this course: This course is intended for users of FLIR E Series infrared cameras.
Prerequisites: No prior knowledge of thermography is required.
Availability: This course is an on-demand self paced web based training course available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You can begin as soon as you enroll.
Click here to go the course registration page.
This course teaches you how to use the features of the E Series cameras, but doesn't teach you thermography; when to use the features, how to make measurements, and how to interpret the thermal patterns on the screen.
We highly recommend you take a thermography course after finishing this basics course. We offer the On-Demand Thermography Basics class here, or Level I, or Residential Energy Auditing available at http://www.infraredtraining.com/ .

New book on IR imaging: the ultimate resource for all users

The new up to date book “Infrared thermal imaging – fundamentals, research and applications” by Michael Vollmer and Klaus-Peter Möllmann from the University of Applied Sciences in Brandenburg / Germany gives a straightforward introduction to thermography.

The hard cover book is in full color with about 600 pages and more than 600 images. It may either serve as textbook for beginners or as handbook for expert practitioners such that it may become an ultimate resource for every user of thermography.

Due to the modular structure, readers can start studying whatever they like, be it the theoretical background of cameras, detectors, thermal radiation and heat transfer or be it for example applications for building science, detection of gases and the study of micro systems. A multitude of other applications is also included such as electrical and miscellaneous industrial applications (metal, car, aircraft), medical and veterinary studies, the use in sports and arts as well as surveillance and fascinating investigations in nature.

published in the US : October 2010, available from Wiley for 170.- US $ (or 204.- CD $)

See http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-3527407170.html

or to be ordered from any bookstore like Amazon etc

InfraMation 2010: A Stand-Out Success Story!

What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, right? Wrong!

InfraMation 2010 may have ended a few weeks ago, but people are still talking about it. From tweets to message boards, (http://www.infraredtraining.com/community/boards/thread/9924/), the feedback is clear: InfraMation 2010 broke all the records in its 11-year history!

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“The numbers speak for themselves …” states David Francoeur, FLIR’s Director of Marketing. “InfraMation attendance jumped 60% compared to last year and 30% over the all-time-record achieved in 2008.”

No doubt this reflects several factors. Chief among them is the strong return-on-investment most companies, both large and small, receive on their infrared cameras and thermal imaging inspection programs.

“At a time when companies hope to reduce energy loss in their building envelope or want to extend the life of capital equipment, there’s really no better tool than an infrared camera,” adds David. “And most people see the value in getting some formal training or attending a conference such as InfraMation.”

This year’s InfraMation boasted an exceptionally wide offering of educational opportunities. Attendees had the advantage of participating in 55 technical presentations and 17 different expert-led workshops – or “IR Clinics.”

One of the exciting events was also hearing the motivational speech from Mike Holmes, host of Holmes on Homes™. His keynote talk was inspirational, and he articulated some age-old maxims:

• Get the best tools for any job,
• Be sure your work is always high quality, and
• Think broadly about how you can add value in your company – and your community.

What does all this have to do with thermal imaging? Everything.

To all of you who attended InfraMation 2010, we thank you. We especially want to thank all the authors, clinic presenters, and the FLIR Marketing staff for their endless hours putting the conference together. We hope to see all of you along with some new faces next year at InfraMation 2011!

Sincerely,

The InfraMation Team