Leakage quantification of compressed air using ultrasound and infrared thermography

Abstract

With the leakage elimination in compressed air systems, it is possible to save up to 40% of energy. With appropriate inspection and maintenance of compressed air systems, leakage elimination should be a routine. This paper describes and compares two different noncontact methods for compressed air leakage quantification, ultrasound and infrared thermography. The potentials and limitations of these technologies are analyzed, as well as the reliability and accuracy of results thus obtained. From the results presented in this paper, it can be concluded that thermography offers good results for the leakage quantification from the orifices greater than 1.0 mm and ultrasound should be used for leakage detection for all the dimensions of orifices, but for the quantification purposes only for smaller leaks. As a support for leakage quantification, we proposed diagrams of a leak flow as a function of sound level and as a function of detected temperature change. © 2012 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.