Condition monitoring of reciprocating air compressor using IR thermography

Abstract

The usage of IR thermography as an effective condition monitoring tool on reciprocating air compressor has been studied. The technique allows monitoring of temperatures and thermal patterns while the equipments are running. The compressor cylinder fins tip temperatures are measured using infrared gun and thermocouple and have been further analysed by finite element method. Based on experiments and finite element analysis, equation is generated for internal surface temperature rise in the compressor cylinders due to running of the compressor. The analysis involved correlating the surface temperature with that obtained by finite element analysis. It is, further, highlighted in the paper that as the compressor under study does not cater for any kind of temperature measurement to analyse the performance of compressor, thermal imaging of such equipments can be beneficial in analysing the health of the equipments by acquiring thermal images over a specified interval of time which could be time specific.