InfraMation 2016 - The Leading IR Training Experience

InfraMation, the leading IR training experience and thermal imaging conference, returns to Las Vegas and the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino September 26-29, 2016.  Registration is now available at www.inframation.org

The main conference will run Tuesday, September 27 through Thursday, September 29, with a pre-conference training day scheduled on Monday, September 26.  Join other thermography experts from around the world to learn the latest thermal imaging techniques and applications while making valuable connections!

And don’t just take our word for it…check out this video to see what past InfraMation attendees are saying about their experiences at the world’s largest conference for professional thermographers:

The best registration deal available for a limited time is the Platinum Package that not only includes full access to all four days of the event and conference meals, but also a FLIR C2 compact thermal imager, free ITC certification renewal, and entry into a drawing for a free FLIR E8 infrared camera.

The pre-conference training day on Monday, September 26, is a must for any thermographer looking to expand their knowledge in one of four available educational tracks that include two new certificate training areas: 

• Optical Gas Imaging and Research & Science 
• FLIR Tools Software and Thermography Inspections with UAVs 
• Advanced Thermography for Condition Monitoring – Certificate Training 
• Fundamentals of Thermography & Home Inspections – Certificate Training

More details coming soon including a Call for Papers for those who are interested in sharing their knowledge and experience with other industry professionals, plus sponsorship and exhibiting opportunities too.  Until then, follow ITC on Facebook (www.facebook.com/InfraredTraining) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/ITCInfrared) with the hashtag #inframation16 for the latest updates on InfraMation 2016.  See you in Las Vegas!

New ITC Hot Spot: “Ghostly” Infrared Myths

The Infrared Training Center addresses some possible “ghostly” myths in this new ITC Hot Spot. See how some common thermal patterns could possibly be mistaken for apparitions when hunting ghosts with a thermal imager. From warm IR signatures caused by thermal reflections to cool patterns created by evaporation, it appears that sometimes the simplest explanation of what we’re seeing thermally might be the most likely when hunting ghosts with an infrared camera:

Emissivity of a Bees’ Nest?

Level III student Gabe Peer of Travis Electric Company in Nashville, TN recently sent his instructor, Ron Lucier, a set of images he took of a disconnect on a roof unit.  It turns out disconnects on 10 of the 11 units present on this particular roof contained some kind of nest!

Which begs the question…any guesses on what emissivity to use if your fuses are covered with a wasps’ nest? Does it even matter?  All joking aside, I know that a number of thermographers out there have had similar, less-than-pleasant, encounters with wildlife while in the field.  As if dealing with PPE isn’t enough to worry about, from insects, to rodents to reptiles there’s always the potential for a nice surprise to jump out at us from under an electrical cover.

So, for our readers, curious what you have encountered? Anything that you would like to share? Please feel free to comment below or send in your best story with images and/or video and we’ll post it too.

The Basics of Heat Capacitance (Video)

Matt Schwoegler, Infrared Training Center

Heat capacitance, the ability of a material to store thermal energy, often affects what we see with an infrared camera.  While this property of matter is what makes some IR applications possible, it can also hide more critical issues that a thermographer may dismiss, or simply miss, if they don't understand the science behind what is happening.

IR on Electric Motors: Great for the Plant…and at Home Too!

It’s no secret that infrared can be used to diagnose problems with electric motors in industry, but residential applications? As ITC Instructor Ron Lucier recently discovered, possibilities exist at home as well, this one involving his pool pump motor:

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Returning from a recent Level III class in Nashua I heard an awful noise in my backyard when I stepped out of my car. Pretty quickly I determined it was my pool pump motor (1 horsepower). What a racket. Sounded like just a bearing so I brought out my trusty vibration acceleration detector: a screwdriver. Measuring at each bearing of the motor and the pump I didn’t feel very much. However, I noticed a black spot on the side of the gold painted motor. It was time to get out the IR camera: my brand new FLIR T650sc.

I would find out the next day that the long wave emissivity for this paint is 0.91 so making the correction the hot spot was about 201 F! Good thing that I didn’t try to touch it!

Infrared Everywhere: Hot Chicks

After I joined the ITC team this past fall, my family and I have been caught up in the process of relocating to southern New Hampshire. Now that we’re finally settled in, and the last of the moving boxes have been emptied, I guess it was time to take on another challenge, this one involving fresh eggs. My wife has always wanted to try raising chickens, and now that we live on a small farm, what better place to take the plunge!

The little ladies arrived in the mail about five weeks ago (yes, the Post Office delivers chicks) and have been growing rapidly ever since. Here’s a quick infrared video from their first week inside the house, captured with a FLIR T650 thermal imager:

Wavelength Choice when working Outdoors

Here is a question we get from time to time at the Infrared Training Center.

"Am I correct in thinking that the solar reflections only become a problem when using shortwave IR equipment that detects the reflective IR spectrum below 3 micrometers? That is, would solar reflections be seen at all using equipment that, say, detects 5-20 micrometers?"

Unfortunately no. The sun is a powerful infrared radiator and emits energy in all IR wavebands. However, the relative amount the sun emits reduces as the wavelength increases, just as Planck's law says it should. So, as we move out to longer wavelengths the amount of energy that reflects from the sun compared to the energy emitted by our targets gets smaller. This means that IR cameras that view in the longer wavelengths would be "bothered" less by solar reflections or artifacts. So the LW (8-13 µm) IR cameras see the least amount of reflected solar energy. This makes surveys easier for the operator as the true "hot spots" are easier to find.