OREGON INFRARED

INNOVATION IN
UTILITY POWER LINE INFRARED IMAGING

By Harley Denio, President
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Part 2 - METHODS FOR INFRARED IMAGING

The setup time for assembling the equipment, plugging in all the cords, turning everything on, and doing a system check takes about 15 minutes. Usually after everything checks out OK and there is driving time involved before the start of the route, the equipment is all turned off and the IR camera is removed from the box and stored in its case. If there are any problems, it is best to solve them at the start of the Infrared imaging day at home base rather than discovering them out in the field.

When arriving at the beginning of the route, install the IR camera in the box securing it with the bolt through the box, hook up the video out cable to the camcorder and settle in for a long day of sitting and infrared imaging. Remember the coffee. Remember your social skills.

Another idea that emerged out of necessity was overcoming the small space inside the box that was available for reaching in and focusing the lens. A simple solution was a hose clamp purchased from a hardware store. A hole was drilled into the clamp, and a small steel pin ¼ inch by 2 inches was put through the hole. The clamp was then lightly attached around the focus grip of the IR camera and a focus lever was created for fingertip control.
The utility company provided the transportation (a utility van) and a driver. The driver was a substation inspector with a great depth of knowledge. This setup was very efficient since the inspector knew right where to go and even had some input as to where some problem areas were. His instructions were "If it is a pressed-on, bolted-on or moveable connection on the115kv line we want to look at it". Also, we were to examine all 12.5kv along with the 115kv connections at the substations. Voltage regulator racks were included in the contract also.

The speed of the utility van was kept to no more than 25mph at maximum. Usually the Infrared imaging was done at about 20 mph. The trick for looking at the connections while moving was to set the IR camera at 2X zoom and point at the pole to be looked at about a ¼ mile away. As the pole gets closer move the box up as the pole approaches and continue to observe that pole until it goes by. Then immediately point the IR camera to the next pole, and repeat the process. This allows you about 5 seconds to get a really good look at any connections through the view screen of the camcorder. If any exceptional temperatures were found the driver would stop and an image would be captured. Also with this procedure, videotape could be recorded for future reference on the camcorder. By using the 2X-zoom feature on this IR camera in many cases not only the 115kv line could be scanned, but the 12.5 kV lines and poles were in the image also. That's called more bang for your buck!

When inspecting substations, the use of the box becomes very handy. All that has to happen to inspect the connections is to drive onto the site and scan from the cab using the swivel mount to scan in all directions, even at awkward angles. Using the screen on the 8mm camcorder to view images allows data to be interpreted easily and quickly without having to have your eye stuck to an eyepiece. The ability of the swivel mount to lock in position affords the IR camera to be focused and parameters set to achieve best and most accurate information.

Some substations were situated near a road that was at a higher elevation than the station. This allows the connections to be seen and scanned without entering the site (no alarms to reset). When this situation occurred, the substation was looked at from at least 3 different sides.

Data was collected on a Palm Pilot that has a scan log downloaded onto it in Excel. This is very convenient and efficient as data only has to be input once, then downloaded into a desktop report document back at the office.

Here are some examples of some images found:

Pivot Points 69 kV line	Hot Line Clamp 12.5kv line
T Tap Connections 115kv line	Pivot Points 115kv line in substation

In the course of 6 days Infrared imaging with using this new box, a total of 170 miles of power-lines were scanned. Also 42 substations and 21 voltage regulator racks were examined. A total of 52 exceptional temperature issues were discovered and recorded. As compared to the Infrared imaging that was completed during the previous year, there was a 30% increase in speed in the data collection, and 20% increase of equipment looked at, as reported by the Public Utility District.

The intention of this presentation is not to step forward with a new latest and greatest, be all do all invention that will solve all of your utility Infrared imaging needs. There have been many applications to address this situation. They range from wrapping the IR Camera in plastic and hanging out of a truck window to a full-blown, high dollar dedicated infrared utility van. Each idea and everything in between has its own merits and fallbacks.

This has been an exercise in creative thinking that hopefully stimulates your mind into finding ways to solve problems in "out of the box" ways. Because Oregon Infrared is an innovative leader in the infrared industry, creating an efficient, sturdy, re-usable, reliable, marketable, and most of all CHEAP tool to compete in the utility power-line Infrared imaging market prompted this line of creativity. This tool is an evolving idea with new improvements to be continually discovered along with its use. If I have caused you to stretch your mind in some way, then this endeavor will be considered a success.