Infrared Physics & Technology 55 (2012) 236–245

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Infrared Physics & Technology

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/infrared

Review

Recent progress in diagnosing the reliability of electrical equipment

by using infrared thermography
Mohd Shawal Jadin a,⇑, Soib Taib b
a
Faculty of Electrical & Electronic Engineering, Universiti Malaysia Pahang, 26600 Pekan, Pahang, Malaysia
b
School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 14300 Nibong Tebal, P. Pinang, Malaysia

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Infrared thermography (IRT) has gained more attention and become an interesting method in electrical
Received 16 September 2011 preventive maintenance due to its high precision and sensitivity imaging characteristics. This paper pro-
Available online 24 March 2012 vides a review of the application of IRT for diagnosing electrical equipment, including their thermal
anomalies and methods of measurement. Improvement of the inspection techniques is highlighted in
Keywords: order to investigate the reliability of electrical equipments due to the effect of the environmental factors
Infrared thermography and equipment condition. Factors related to the target equipment and the inspection tool together with
Thermal anomaly
their characteristics is also presented. Due to the complex analysis, various automatic diagnostic systems
Image processing
Artificial intelligence
are proposed for faster and more accurate analysis. Typical engineering solutions using recent technolo-
Qualitative gies are reviewed which could be used to improve the quality of IRT inspection.
Quantitative Ó 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Contents

1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236
2. Application of IRT for diagnosing electrical equipments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237
2.1. Thermal anomalies in electrical equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237
2.2. Improving inspection techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238
2.3. Method of measurement and analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238
3. Automated diagnostic system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240
4. Future recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
4.1. Advanced technology of infrared camera with the higher detector resolution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
4.2. High resolution and continuous monitoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
4.3. Accurate methods of fault diagnosis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
4.4. Intelligent diagnostic system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
4.5. Models sustainability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244
5. Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244
Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244

1. Introduction thermal image on a video monitor and perform temperature calcu-

IRT is about the science of acquisition and analysis of thermal
information from non-contact thermal imaging devices. This de-
vice is used to detect infrared energy (i.e. the heat) and converts
it into an electronic signal, which is then processed to produce a
⇑ Corresponding author.
E-mail address: mohdshawal@ump.edu.my (M.S. Jadin).
lations. Due to its advantages in terms of being non-contact, free
from electromagnetic interference, safe, reliable and can provide
large inspection coverage, IRT has taken a very important role in
predictive and preventive maintenance programs [1–5]. It can
instantly visualize and verify thermal profiles, quickly locate the
hot spots, determine the severity of the problem and help estab-
lishing the time frame in which the equipment should be repaired.
Furthermore, inspections can be done without shutting down the
system operation.

1350-4495/$ - see front matter Ó 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.infrared.2012.03.002
 M.S. Jadin, S. Taib / Infrared Physics & Technology 55 (2012) 236–245
IRT can monitor the thermal behavior of electrical equipment
by sensing the emission of infrared energy (i.e. temperature) of
the equipment. Although heat is not a perfect indicator of all
problems in electrical systems, but heat produced by abnormally
high electrical resistance often precedes electrical failures [6]. It is
well understood that the life of electrical equipments is drasti-
cally reduced as temperatures increase. Condition monitoring
using IRT images can reveal the presence of any thermal anoma-
lies in electrical equipments, produced by the defect on the sur-
face of the equipment. The defect will normally alter the
thermal signature of the surface due to the change in the amount
of heat generated and the heat transfer properties of the equip-
ment [7].
Although the inspection technique of electrical equipment is
quite straightforward, there are several things that need to be con-
sidered. Many factors, such as environmental effects and equip-
ment’s condition will normally affect the results of analysis,
especially during an outdoor inspection such as in power substa-
tions. Direct inspection without considering these factors will def-
initely lead to inaccurate measurements and incorrect decision
making. A good electrical system thermographer must contend
with several problems related to the IRT instrument, the electrical
equipments to be inspected and the skill for data interpretation.
Due to these reasons, recent researches have shown an interest
on more advanced inspection techniques by implementing an
automated diagnosing system for assessing the equipment’s condi-
tion. This will involved various fields of studies especially image
processing and artificial intelligence.
The rest of this paper discusses the recent progress of IRT appli-
cation for diagnosing and analyzing the reliability of electrical
power equipment. Various types of faults that are commonly occur
in electrical power equipments and components are given in Sec-
tion 2. This section also discuses about the measurement tech-
niques as well as the methods for improving the quality of
inspection. Section 3 focuses on the recent development on auto-
mated system for detecting and evaluating the thermal fault in
electrical equipments. Some limitations of the current researches
and recommendations for future development are highlighted in
the Section 4. Concluding remarks appears in Section 5.
2. Application of IRT for diagnosing electrical equipments
This section focuses on the application of IRT for diagnosing the
reliability of electrical equipments and components. The typical
examples of thermal faults that commonly occur in electrical
equipments are briefly explained. The other part of this section will
look into methods of improving the quality of inspections and the
techniques used to evaluate the severity level of the thermal
anomaly.
Fig. 1. Oxidized connection of a miniature circuit breaker with its corresponding infrared image.
237
2.1. Thermal anomalies in electrical equipment
Electrical devices are usually rated for power, which indicates
the amount of energy that the device can conduct without being
damaged. If the device is operated at a power above its specifica-
tions, the excess power causes overheating on the device which
is in turn reduces its life cycle and efficiency. To an extend this con-
dition can potentially lead to fire ignition especially for old build-
ings with outdated electrical wiring that is deteriorating,
inappropriately amended, or insufficient to support the existing
electrical loads. However, new buildings or constructions also are
not immune from this condition. Over the time, the electrical
installations and their contact surfaces will begin to deteriorate,
resulting in an increased resistance.
Faults in electrical power systems can be classified into a few
categories, such as poor electrical connections, short or open cir-
cuits, overloads, loads imbalance and improper equipments instal-
lation [1,3,5,8–10]. In most cases, poor electrical connections are
among the common problems in transmission and distribution
lines of electrical power systems [4]. According to an IRT survey
conducted during the period of 1999–2005 [11], it was found that
almost halves of the thermal problems were found in conductor
connection accessories and bolted connections. The problems are
mainly caused by loose connections, corrosion, rust, and non-ade-
quate use of inhibitory grease. This kind of problem can be recog-
nized by inspecting the heat pattern via IRT camera where the
highest temperature point indicates the location of the problem.
Fig. 1 shows an example of oxidized connection of a miniature cir-
cuit breaker with its corresponding infrared image. The oxidation
cable connection has caused a hot spot temperature exceeding to
76.6 °C during the time of inspection and has resulted a burning
sign. This condition requires an immediate attention and repair.
It is recommended that, if oxidation and arcing damage cannot
be repaired, parts and cable should be replaced.
Ideally, electrical systems are designed and sized to meet the
load demands for a facility. However, over the time and due to
building expansion, additional loads have caused the electrical
system equipments reaching beyond its original design capacity.
Improper and under sizing of electrical equipments and compo-
nents can also cause an overload conditions. Overload condition
usually shows a uniformed heat pattern appears through the entire
circuit. Total heat generated from the equipments depends on the
load and the ambient operating temperature of the equipment.
Fig. 2 depicts a single phase circuit breaker with an overload
condition. The most left circuit breaker has risen in temperature
for more than 67 °C while the rest of the breakers operate below
40 °C.
In three phase electrical system, a perfect system should have
similar operating condition on each phase or at least not vary
238 M.S. Jadin, S. Taib / Infrared Physics & Technology 55 (2012) 236–245

greatly load differences between phases. IRT camera can clearly

shows the condition where the higher loads phase will be warmer
than other phases. As illustrated in Fig. 3, the whole B-phase circuit
shows an elevated heating compared to R-phase and Y-phase.
Other problems that can contribute to thermal anomalies in
electrical equipments are open circuits, harmonics, inductive heat-
ing and defective equipments. Under the normal operating condi-
tion, an open circuit conductor shows colder thermal pattern
when compared to adjacent conductor under similar loads. This
is due to lack of current flow through that conductor. A hot spot
in electrical equipments can also caused by harmonic problems
which are normally created by non-linear loads such as solid-state
electronics, electronic lighting ballast, variable frequency drives,
motors and so on. In order to confirm harmonics problem, it is
important to verify load conditions whether it is running within
Fig. 2. Typical heat pattern of an overloaded circuit breaker.
specified ratings and close to balanced. If not, the problem could
be due to overloading or load imbalance condition. Another testing
methods using harmonic analyzer is required in order to confirm
this problem. Inductive heating is resulted from the proximal
interaction of non-carrying electric devices with the magnetic field
around conductors. The heat intensity is depending on the amount
of current passing through the conductor and the affected electri-
cal components can reach temperatures up to several hundred de-
grees. Finally, IRT can also be used to detect the defective electrical
equipments such as power transformer, uninterruptible power
supply (UPS), current transformer, lightning arrester and many
others. The defective electrical equipments will display abnormal
thermal distribution on its surfaces. In inspecting a power trans-
former, for example, the common causes of failure in transformers
are due to oil leakage and inferiority in internal insulation, which
can lead to catastrophic destruction and power outage [1,10,12].
For normal operation of a transformer, operating temperatures rise Fig. 3. Typical heat pattern of load imbalance.
over ambient 65 °C for oil-filled ones and 150 °C for air-cooled
transformers [3]. Temperatures above these operating points will
cause the transformer to fail due to breakdown in the insulation object being inspected, and the IRT camera specifications
of the transformer’s winding, causing an electrical short-circuit. [6,9,15]. Without considering all these factors, results may be mis-
To summarize, IRT is a very useful tool for diagnosing the con- interpreted or incorrect.
dition of electrical equipments. The hot spot in electrical equip- For an outdoor or uncovered inspection, such as in power sub-
ments can be easily located and the problems prior to fatal station, environmental effect is a very critical issue. The data
failure can be identified. Nevertheless, in some cases, IRT images regarding the environmental factors are very important, and
cannot be interpreted directly except by experienced and qualified should be collected prior to inspection. Table 1 summarizes all
thermographers. Some IRT characteristics and many variables that the factors regarding the environmental effects that need to be
might affect the measurement should be well understood. considered when doing an IRT inspection [3,6,9,14–16].
Furthermore, there are other factors that can affect the thermal
2.2. Improving inspection techniques measurement. A prior study should be made before starting any IRT
inspection. In this particular case, most thermographers need to get
Newer developments in modern IRT equipment have improved some information about the target location. Sometimes, the history
the quality of measurements. Most modern IR imagers can resolve of the target location and electrical power equipments also needs to
surface temperature differences of 0.1 °C or less [6] [13]. Despite be taken into consideration. The load variations, type of equip-
the advantage of modern designs of IRT cameras associated with ments, as well as the materials used in building the equipment
advanced image processing and display system, there are still sev- are among other important data needed for an inspection. In order
eral factors that need to be considered when doing an inspection to get the best and accurate measurement, the right and suitable
even if the temperatures can be measured accurately [14]. This is tool should be selected. It is recommended that for an extensive
a very critical aspect, especially for an outdoor inspection such as outdoor inspection, especially during sunny periods, long-wave
in substation, underground distribution, and aerial distribution (generally 8–14 lm) sensing of IRT systems will give superior re-
[4]. In this section, all related factors that are directly or indirectly sults. This is because in this wave band, the thermal detectors have
affect the results of an inspection will be discussed. When an accu- greater sensitivity to ambient temperature objects and have good
rate measurement is required, all these factors may first need to be transmission through smoke [3,8]. Short-wave systems should be
identified at the time the IRT image is captured. used only on a limited basis, or if loads and other conditions allow,
Generally, the factors that affect the accuracy of IRT measure- on overcast days or at night [6]. Table 2 summarizes all the factors
ments can be categorized as procedural, technical and environ- related to the target equipment and the inspection tools.
mental/ambient conditions [6,9]. The procedural factor concerns
the thermographer itself. This factor can be minimized if certified 2.3. Method of measurement and analysis
or qualified personals are employed. For technical factors, most
of the information needed concerns the emissivity of the equip- There are two ways to measure the thermal condition of electri-
ment under inspection, load current variation, distance of the cal equipments. The first is known as quantitative, which is to take
 M.S. Jadin, S. Taib / Infrared Physics & Technology 55 (2012) 236–245 239

Table 1
Environmental factors to be considered during inspection.

Environmental factor Effect on IRT measurement

Ambient air temperature
Precipitation/humidity (snow,
rain, fog, etc.)
Wind or other convection
Sun or solar radiation
An increase in air temperature will result in an increase in the measured temperature of equipment. At very high or very low-
temperatures, the IR system becomes less stable
The temperature can be dramatically reduced, leading to a misinterpretation of the data. The equipments that are only slightly
warm may be cooled below the abnormal point
Wind speeds as low as 1–5 mph can have a significant cooling effect on a high resistance fitting. Above 5 mph, it can reduce the
temperature difference between the equipments and ambient to a few degrees above the ambient
Solar heating of equipments, especially those with a high absorption of the sun’s energy (such as aged conductors), will mask small
thermal differences

Table 2
Factors related to the target equipment and the inspection tool with their characteristics.

Equipment and Characteristic

tool
Electrical loads Temperature of the connection will increase as the load increases. When the loads are light, problems in the early stages of failure will be less
thermally obvious. It is recommended that during the inspection, the load on the line should be at least 40% [6,15,17]
Equipment Most of the conductors have quite low emissivities, typically 0.1–0.3. While greasy, black, overheated and aged conductors can have emissivity
emissivity values as high as 0.97, it is often difficult to assess this visually in the field from a distance [15,6]
Thermal gradient The heat of high resistance is usually being generated at some internal point to the surface. There exists a thermal gradient between the hottest
spot inside the equipment and the surface being viewed [16]
IRT device Factors that must be considered are resolution, both spatial and measurement, as well as the detected waveband [14,16]. Sensitivity and signal
(camera) processing speed must also be considered for good performance [6]
Distance and The resolution of the IRT image decreases with distance. Acute angles present less information than images taken at right angles [5]
angle

Table 3
the exact temperature of the equipments. The second type is qual-
Maintenance testing specifications for electrical equipment.
itative, which takes the relative temperature values of a hotspot
with respect to other parts of the equipment under the similar Priority DT between similar DT over Recommended action
components under ambient
conditions [18]. Some applications do not require obtaining exact
similar load (°C) temperature
surface temperatures. It is sufficient to acquire thermal signatures, (°C)
which are characteristic patterns of relative temperatures of the
4 1–3 1–10 Possible deficiency,
equipments. This method of qualitative visual inspection is expedi- warrants investigation
ent for collecting a large number of detailed data and conveying 3 4–15 11–20 Indicates probable
them in a fashion that can be easily interpreted. In contrast, deficiency; repair as
accurate quantitative thermography demands a more rigorous time permits
2 – 21–40 Monitor until
procedure to extract valid temperature maps from raw thermal
corrective measures
images [13]. can be accomplished
Qualitative analysis is a widely used method in electrical equip- 1 >15 >40 Major discrepancy;
ment inspection [19]. The analysis is done by employing the DT cri- repair immediately
teria [20,21]. The severity or the level of overheating of the
electrical equipments will be referred to the temperature-rating
table. This table is usually divided into three or four different derived by selecting an area or by locating a point at the compo-
categories to indicate the maintenance priority based on the nents or equipments as illustrated in Fig. 4a. The temperature dif-
equipment’s temperature rise with respect to similar reference ferences between all phases can be observed clearly by using one
equipment or component [21]. There are many standards such as line temperature profile (Fig. 4b). Based on the DT method, the
InterNational Electrical Testing Association (NETA) [22], American temperature rises between the suspected phase and reference is
Society for Testing & Materials (ASTM) – E 1934 [23] and National calculated as:
Fire Protection Association (NFPA) – NFPA 70-B [24] provide a
guidelines for IRT inspection. Standards are employed to provide DT ¼ T 3  T 1 ð1Þ
a simple, consistent and accurate method of evaluating the severity
of the problems located [14]. In assessing the level of severity, where T3 is the maximum temperature value of Area 3 or at Point 3
NETA standard is widely used for acceptance testing specifications while T1 is the maximum temperature value of Area 1 or Point
for electrical equipment by using the delta T criteria as shown in 1which is assigned as the reference temperature. The severity level
Table 3. These deltas T are based on temperature rise above a de- of the temperature elevated is then checked using Table 3 under the
fined reference, which is typically the ambient air temperature, a column ‘DT between similar equipments and under similar load
similar component under the same conditions or the maximum (°C)’. Maintenance action should be taken according to the level of
allowable temperature of the component [22]. Some thermogra- priority.
phers prefer to make their own testing specification table based The advantage of qualitative method is that it is a practical
on their experiences instead of using the available standards. method to establish ‘‘failure’’ or ‘‘no failure’’ and the emissivity
In common practice, the severity level assessment is evaluated has only a minor impact on the result [20]. A drawback is that
based on the maximum temperatures for both qualitative and the temperature tables are usually only found in handbooks and
quantitative measurement. Using any commercial infrared image guidelines; thus there is a lack of a recognized standard [14]. More-
analysis software, the maximum temperature values can be over, the DT criterion does not say anything about whether the
240 M.S. Jadin, S. Taib / Infrared Physics & Technology 55 (2012) 236–245
Fig. 4. (a) Techniques for extracting temperature values and (b) the temperature profile across Line 1.
equipment temperature limits are actually exceeded. Furthermore,
using the DT criteria will not expose systematic failures affecting
all three phases [21]. Therefore, quantitative measurement is re-
quired to confirm the level of failure in electrical equipments.
In quantitative measurement, ambient temperature value is
taken as the reference. The observation is established by measuring
the absolute temperature of the equipment. However, it is not easy
to determine precisely the true temperatures of the equipment or
component. It requires an even greater understanding of the
variables influencing radiometric measurement including object’s
emissivity, transmissivity and reflectivity as well as a grasp of its
limitations that have been discussed in previous section. Therefore,
some related data must be collected prior to IRT inspection and
adjustments should be made accordingly. Since this measurement
forms the basis for subsequent calculations, it is very important
that it is as accurate as possible. Using the same image as depicted
in Fig. 4a, to assess the suspected phase which is located in Area 3,
the maximum temperature rises relative to ambient temperature
is given as:
DT ¼ T 3  T amb
where T3 and Tamb are the maximum temperature value of Area 3 or
at Point 3 and the ambient temperature respectively. Again, the col-
umn ‘DT over ambient temperature’ in Table 3 is used for testing
specifications. It is also important to check the maximum allowable
temperature rating for electrical equipments.
3. Automated diagnostic system
Most of IRT cameras today come with their analysis software
and have the capability to prepare the inspection report including
the commercial stand alone software. However, despite multi func-
tions and ease to use of the software, the evaluation process are
very time consuming for a manually analyzing and preparing the
report even conducted by a qualified or experienced personnel.
Furthermore, for a maintenance program of a large electrical sys-
tem where hundreds of equipments need to be inspected, the anal-
ysis becomes more complicated. Therefore, applying an automated
diagnosis system will offer a faster and more accurate of decision
making. Rapid development in computer vision based on image
processing techniques and the integration of artificial intelligence
has provided advantages in monitoring and diagnosing problems
of the power equipments. Currently, automatic inspections of IRT
images are widely applied in medical imaging [25–32], non-
destructive testing [33,34], defect detection in structures [35,36]
and so on. In electrical power applications, automated diagnosis
of IRT images employing intelligent systems is still in the early
stages. This is due to the complex analysis and various factors that
need to be considered in developing such a system.
Developing an automated diagnosing system for analyzing
infrared images of electrical equipments usually consist of three
major steps as illustrated in Fig. 5. The primary step is finding re-
gion of interest (ROI) which is more related to image segmentation.
The purpose of segmentation is to subdivide an image into its con-
stituent regions or objects. After finding ROI, the descriptive infor-
mation within the regions should be extracted in such a way that it
can be distinctive enough to be classified in the next process.
Finally, classification step which regard to decision making process
to give result whether this image contain a possible thermal fault
or not.
The key success of decision making process depends on the cor-
rect ROI detection. Incorrect or inaccurate region identification will
affect to information extraction and classification process. There-
fore, finding ROI has taken very important role in this particular
application. Based on previous studies, the method used to find
the ROI and the extraction of features is dependent on the method
of analysis, whether qualitative or quantitative. For quantitative
analysis, global region segmentation was normally used to identify
the warm regions. The most popular and the simplest methods are
ð2Þ by using thresholding technique. The possible thermal anomalies
in electrical equipments can be detected by filtering the image
using a certain threshold value. If the original image is I(x, y), the
threshold image, G(x, y) is defined as

1 if Iðx; yÞ > T
Gðx; yÞ ¼ ð3Þ
0 if Iðx; yÞ 6 T
where T is the threshold value. The segmentation result is in the
binary image form where 1 represents the target object or region
and 0 represent for background image.
The hotspot region can be extracted using morphological seg-
mentation where the maximum gray pixel value determines the
maximum temperature of the hotspot region [20,37–39]. In other
work, Moja and Willis used two levels image segmentation for
detecting the warm regions in IRT images [40]. Image thresholding
technique was also implemented for diagnosing electrical appara-
tus using image comparison method [41,42]. This method used to
compare an infrared image to a single baseline or reference image.
A shortcoming of this technique is that the statistical variation in
thermal patterns due to changing equipment loading, environmen-
tal conditions, varying mechanisms of equipment deterioration
and changing measurement position are not catered for. Further-
more, template matching technique requires a precise alignment
Fig. 5. General step of an automated diagnosis system.
 M.S. Jadin, S. Taib / Infrared Physics & Technology 55 (2012) 236–245
of images and is limited to equipment that is really identical to
each other [40].
The problem with simple thresholding method is that the image
tends to be over segmented. This is due to the nature of an infrared
image which is quite different from that of visual light image. The
formation of a thermal image is purely based on the heat distribu-
tion of an object. It brings some difficulties to image segmentation
due to its over-centralized intensity distribution and low intensity
contrast [43]. Furthermore, extracting the hot regions within an
infrared image is a very challenging task, especially when the im-
age contains a very complex background and low signal-to-noise
ratio (SNR) [44]. Another reason of producing the low-quality
images such as blurring effect, low target-to-background contrast
and noises in infrared images is due to the limitation of infrared
camera technology availability [45]. Some examples of IRT image
segmentation results using various thresholding methods are
shown in Fig. 6 with their corresponding threshold values. Com-
pared to ground truth image, most of the segmented images tend
to be over segmented. This will lead to inaccurate ROIs detection.
Therefore, another method of thresholding-based segmentation
should be explored. There are various thresholding techniques
for image segmentation that have been proposed and published
[46].
Another possible approach for finding ROIs of electrical equip-
ments in an IRT image is to use region based segmentation such
as Watershed Transform [51]. Even watershed segmentation has
the advantages of noise and illumination robust, in practical appli-
cation it tends to be over-segmented especially for more complex
background in IRT image.
In quantitative analysis, ROIs are normally the warm regions
which are segmented from an IRT image. It can be in different sizes
and shapes depending on the temperature distribution of the im-
age and the method used for segmentation. The features are usu-
ally extracted from the geometrical properties of the region such
as moment invariant [37] [39], Zernik moment [38], and Fourier
transform as the textural feature descriptor [40]. Taking the geo-
metrical properties of the regions as classification parameters, a
proper justification is needed because some images may appear
hot but in actual it can be considered as normal temperature due
to the dynamic appearance of IRT images. The problem also arises
when there are other sources of heat outside the target equipment
since in quantitative image analysis; the decision is made for the
whole image. Therefore, it is recommended to also consider the
statistical temperature distribution as the region features [41,42].
Assessing the electrical equipments by analyzing its statistical
Fig. 6. Example results of infrared image segmentation using thresholding method: (a) original infrared image, (b) original image histogram, (c) ground truth segmentation,
(d) Otsu (T = 79) [47], (e) Hamadani (T = 136) [48], (f) Minimum Error Thresholding (MET) (T = 41) [49], (g) Kapur (T = 138) [50], (h) Fuzzy C-Mean (T = 99).
241
temperature distribution of each detected region is more practical
because the actual severity level of the equipments could be accu-
rately predicted. Another straightforward method of evaluation is
by analyzing the real temperature values for each pixel in the im-
age by extracting directly from its RGB data [52]. This method is
quite simple but has a problem with high processing time due to
the large feature vectors to be computed by a classifier algorithm.
For qualitative analysis, an automated diagnosing system can be
implemented to detect and evaluate the similar equipments or
components under the same condition. Since the qualitative eval-
uation needs to identify the differences between normal and
faulted regions, it brings some difficulties in finding ROIs. This is
due to variation of intensity levels of the image that make it diffi-
cult to detect the faulted and normal regions simultaneously. As for
example, hot fuse in Fig. 7 appears brighter intensities as the nor-
mal one. Looking at the same image, some parts of the fuse show
little bit dimmer (at the mid of hot fuse) while other parts show
brighter intensities making it more difficult to segment the fuse
as one region. The problems also become more complicated if there
is other heat source outside the equipment.
Using the conventional segmentation based on bottom-up ap-
proach, there are two typical segmentation mistakes that can hap-
pen. The first is the target equipments or components are
segmented into multiple regions. The second one is some parts of
the equipments or components are merged with the background
image. Fig. 8 illustrates this situation by giving examples of bot-
tom-up based segmentation results using Normalized Cut segmen-
tation [56] and Edge Detection and Image SegmentatiON (EDISON)
algorithm [57].
Therefore, a method based on top-down approach for object
recognition is one of the best choices. Smedberg [53] and Wretman
[54] have proposed a method based on top-down oriented. The
appropriate steps of this method are shown in Fig. 9. By assuming
that all objects in an infrared image of electrical equipments are in
repetitive structures, the ROIs are identified by detecting the local
features and grouping the similar distinctive features of each ob-
ject. Scale Invariant Feature Transform (SIFT) algorithm [55] was
employed to find the repeated structure by identifying its distinc-
tive features, describe the features (Fig. 9b) and matching each fea-
tures in order to detect similar object within the image (Fig. 9c).
Here, SIFT algorithm was modified in such a way that the distinc-
tive similar features are matched and paired within a single image
rather than between images. Finally, after having a set of matching
features, these set of features are grouped and the region of re-
peated structure can be extracted (Fig. 9d) [54]. This segmentation
242 M.S. Jadin, S. Taib / Infrared Physics & Technology 55 (2012) 236–245
Fig. 7. Heat distribution of fuses.
technique has shown a good ROIs identification and repeated ob-
ject detection. However, this technique is only practical for a very
look like similar structure of electrical equipment or component.
The limited texture in infrared image of electrical equipments
has lead to limited number of features detection.
In another attempt, Ishino [58] proposed a method for detecting
the thermal fault in electrical apparatus by comparing the refer-
ence thermal pattern of an apparatus using high-order local auto-
correlation features. In this study, similar apparatus are detected
using Manhattan distance between the reference feature and the
feature at each attention area. The similar is defined as
P
35
k k
Similarity ¼ jfeatureinput  featurereference j
k¼1
k k
where featureinput is the kth feature of input image, and featurereference
is the kth feature of high-order local autocorrelation of the refer-
ence thermal image. Once the target region is detected, local accu-
mulated gradient of brightness value is used to define the condition
of the electrical apparatus. Local accumulated gradient of brightness
value is given as
7 artificial neural network (ANN) algorithm that learns complex in-
Agb ¼ f jIn  In1 j
n¼2
where In is the brightness value at the nth point.
Lin et al. implement image registration method based on object-
oriented division and the image matching adjustment algorithm
Fig. 8. (a) Original IRT image, (b) result of Normalize cut segmentation [56], (c) result of EDISON segmentation [57].
Fig. 9. Finding ROI using top-down approach: (a) Original image of fuse, (b) SIFT key points and feature descriptors, (c) matching most similar features, (d) final ROIs
detection after grouping the set of features [54].
for monitoring the thermal anomaly in electrical equipment [59].
Image registration methods are divided into three steps: First,
based on (regional) gray similar to the method of selection of such
methods by a similarity measure, with time as a measure of simi-
larity of two images. The second is image transformation by using
phase correlation based on Fourier transform algorithm. Finally,
they use Harris corner point detection for matching the images.
After detecting the image of the target equipment, the image is
then compared with the similar template in order to define the
apparatus condition.
There are various techniques that can be used to determine the
thermal severity of electrical equipment through qualitative IRT
image analysis. One of the techniques is a direct interpretation
by identifying the real maximum temperature for each of electrical
equipment and evaluating their condition based on the DT criteria.
The maximum temperature is determined by finding the highest
pixel value within the selected region. However, this technique
some time can be misleading. This is because, a maximum temper-
ature of 80 °C which is quite high for electrical equipment if the
ambient temperature is 30 °C compare to an ambient temperature
of 60 °C. Therefore, relative temperature different against ambient
temperature has also to be considered. Calculating the histogram
or histogram distance is another method that can be used for find-
ing the similarity between two objects. In this case, the histogram
for each region is computed and compared with other regions in
order to get the DT. Another recommended approach is to analyze
ð4Þ
the gradient of the segmented region. One of the advantages of uti-
lizing the gradient analysis technique is that the source of the hot-
spot in electrical equipment can be identified [53]. All of these
parameters can be used as input features for classification or deci-
sion making process.
Either qualitative or quantitative analysis of IRT images, most of
the available classification algorithms can be successfully imple-
mented for classifying the condition of electrical equipments. An
ð5Þ put–output relationships of the data has been used for learning
and classifying the thermal condition of electrical equipments
[40,52,53,60]. Of all ANN algorithms, multi-layer perceptron
(MLP) model was widely used due to its flexibility, high computa-
tional rate and robust. In another attempt, support vector machine
 M.S. Jadin, S. Taib / Infrared Physics & Technology 55 (2012) 236–245
(SVM) algorithm can be employed to determine the condition of
the electrical equipment [37,38]. SVM widely used tool for data
classification, function approximation, etc., due to its generaliza-
tion ability [61]. SVM is a learning system that uses a hypothesis
space of linear functions in a high dimensional feature space to
estimate decision surfaces directly rather than modeling a proba-
bility distribution across training data. Fuzzy-based decision mak-
ing approach was also tested for classifying power apparatus
condition. So et al. proposed a fuzzy logic-based expert system
which can extract the major features within the IRT images and
recommends appropriate actions for maintenance [41]. While
Laurentys Almeida et al. [51] implemented neuro-fuzzy network
for detecting and classifying fault in surge arrester. The developed
system achieved 90% of fault classification based on tested datasets
of more than 760 measurements. The only thing that distinguishes
between the proposed systems from others is that the input vari-
ables for neuro-fuzzy network can consider the environmental fac-
tors parameters, IRT variables and surge arrester specifications
such as pollution index, rated voltage, material and manufacturer
of the equipment. The whole system diagram and the input vari-
ables are depicted in Fig. 10a and b respectively.
4. Future recommendations
There are several methods that can be implemented to improve
the quality of IRT inspections for the electrical equipments and
components. This includes the technology of IRT equipment as well
as the method of inspection. Since the demand for preventive
maintenance and condition monitoring of electrical equipment is
gaining attention and interesting, a robust and rapid analytical tool
is required for the inspections. The following items are highly rec-
ommended for improving the quality of IRT inspection and condi-
tion monitoring particularly in assessing the reliability of electrical
equipment.
4.1. Advanced technology of infrared camera with the higher detector
resolution
The main factor that mostly affects the quality of inspection is
the IRT equipment itself. Advances in manufacturing processes of
infrared detectors have dramatically increased both the yield and
quality while reducing the production costs. However, the quality
of inspection is related to the image resolution. Poor resolution will
produce bad interpretation of inspection images. Therefore, for
more accurate and correct data interpretation, it is recommended
Fig. 10. (a) System diagram of intelligent surge arrester diagnosis, (b) input variables for neuro-fuzzy classifier [51].
243
to use the latest technology for IRT cameras. Besides the resolution,
the modern IRT cameras have very high thermal sensitivity and
within some product the cameras have the capability to adjust
the data measurements on screen, like object emissivity, tempera-
ture, etc.
4.2. High resolution and continuous monitoring
The adoption of continuous thermal imaging deliver extra ben-
efits over periodic thermal inspection, especially relates to electri-
cal equipment durability. There is an advantage for the continuous
thermal monitoring, since faults can occur at any time. In addition,
it is not operator dependent, nor is it dependent on the periodical
inspection, especially during heavy load. In other aspect, the, real-
time monitoring can alert the signals or alarms if anomalies occur
unexpected and therefore appropriate action can be taken simulta-
neously. On top of this, integration with the existing Supervisory
Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems will enable the
real-time remote monitoring without the need for separate system
or report, which is practically, cannot be achieved with periodic
thermal inspections.
4.3. Accurate methods of fault diagnosis
IRT can often be use to compare between similar equipments to
detect faults, but there may be a need to show the severity of the
fault. Fault diagnosis in mechanical and electrical systems often
depends on the prediction of the hot spot at full load and the dura-
bility of the equipment at that temperature. New methods in pre-
dicting the reliability and service life of the equipments had to be
explored because there is a need to predict the maximum temper-
ature when the system operated at full load.
4.4. Intelligent diagnostic system
Due to the excessive demand for preventive maintenance in
electrical power equipments, there is an immediate requirement
to have more reliable and robust intelligent systems. To date, the
developed intelligent systems could only be used for specific elec-
trical equipments due to the different features of the equipments.
Therefore, a smart intelligent system model has to be designed and
developed which will also cater for the problem with image
quality. For inspections being done outdoors, the captured
image will normally be affected by noises. Therefore, an advanced
244 M.S. Jadin, S. Taib / Infrared Physics & Technology 55 (2012) 236–245
image processing techniques and new algorithms had to be ex-
plored to overcome that could solve these problems.
4.5. Models sustainability
Models developed should be able to accommodate the complex
interaction of the various factors and can be sustain for future
expansion. This inspection result should include the impact of
wind speed, variation of electrical loads, ambient air temperature,
object emissivity, resistance and so on.
5. Conclusion
It is evident that early prevention is required to avoid possible
faults due to the thermal impact and at the same time it will
increase the reliability of electrical power equipments. The use of
IRT provides effective and reliable information, particularly for
preventive maintenance programs and on line monitoring. Modifi-
cation and improvements in the algorithm and analysis methods
need to be considered in order to avoid misinterpretation or inac-
curate analysis of IRT data. Recent trends in IRT inspection of
electrical equipments show that there is a quick demand for an
intelligent system. The use of advanced system could improve
the quality of inspections. Therefore, a systematic approach must
be design for a new IRT inspection and a sustainable intelligent
system. For a complex image analysis, an advanced and effective
image processing techniques should be implemented. Further
development could embed the automatic processing capabilities
in the form of automatic recognition of the measured objects and
their critical parts.
Acknowledgements
The authors gratefully acknowledge Universiti Sains Malaysia
(USM) under Postgraduate Research Grant Scheme (USM-RU-
PRGS), FRGS Grant and Universiti Malaysia Pahang (UMP) for their
financial support and facilities.
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