Standing the heat

The ability to plan for maintenance work is a highly valuable tool for all plant managers, particularly for time-restrictive shutdowns such as industrial chimneys. Hot camera inspections of industrial chimneys are nothing unusual, but to meet market demand, Delta International has manufactured its own system that can accommodate all forms of industrial exposure.

The hot camera is lowered into a chimney to take detailed photographs of the internal lining, allowing Delta engineers to assess the structural and operational integrity of the lining fabric. Potentially this can save users considerable expenditure from an extended shutdown because it allows them to plan more effectively for such remedial works.

The digital camera system captures images in a global plane, with data logging capability, and will operate on just 12V. There is a total of five cameras, four capturing images on a horizontal plane and one on a vertical plane. A typical 20-minute inspection will generate 18,000 digital images that are stored on the internal hard drive.

The system is incorporated into a self-contained heat- and impact-resistant casing with an array of 10 glass windows accommodating the cameras and associated lights. It is operated from a wall-mounted crane that can position the camera unit to any part of a chimney interior from one dedicated location. Continuous time-lapse digital images are recorded at a rate of three per second.

Delta says there is currently a definitive market for on-line surveys, but believes there is also an untapped market for inspections of live flare tips and outlet pipes on hydroelectric power stations.