Drone IR Measurement
Hello, this is Shugyo.
In this blog, I would like to talk about Drone IR Measurement.
IR measurement is an inspection method in which infrared rays emitted from the target of measurement are analyzed to detect defective parts that are difficult to find by visual inspection.
As shown in the figure below, the temperature of the abnormal part is high, and this method is effective in detecting faults where nothing looks abnormal on the surface.
We use a drone to perform this measurement, which enables a speedy and comprehensive inspection.
Areas that are brighter than others are not generating power
Just the other day, we conducted a Drone IR Measurement at a solar power plant in Kyushu.
The measurement was performed at a high-voltage power plant, which with handheld thermography equipment would have taken 1 to 2 days. However, by setting up geographic information such as latitude and longitude and power plant information in advance, we were able to complete the Drone IR Measurement in about an hour!
The power plant was found to have several areas that were not generating power, as shown below. Once the drone detected the areas that were not generating power, a detailed inspection was conducted.
Areas not generating power
Detailed inspections include visual inspections, current measurements, and I-V curve measurements.
The drone found several hundred defective panels, including broken glass and melt marks on the panel surfaces and burned-out terminal boxes on the backsides of the panels. (Defects such as burn damage can usually be detected by visual inspection, but in this case it was found by drone because this was a one-off request from a customer who does not conduct regular inspections with our company).
Burnt terminal box and melted surface
We can efficiently and accurately assess the state of health of your power plant, by flying a drone to reveal defective areas and conduct detailed inspections to clarify the details of the defects!
We offer this kind of power plant diagnosis free of charge, so please feel free to contact us at JUWI Shizen Energy Operation for more details!
Thank you for reading to the end of my blog!