University Uses Infrared Scans to Locate Steam Pipeline Issues

I recently got a call from a local University who was having problems with their buried steam lines. This system was approximately 50 years old and supplied steam to the residence halls and other University buildings. They were buried approx. 6 feet under the ground and crisscrossed the campus under lawns, roadways, sidewalks and parking lots.

The problem was that the steam lines were leaking and the heat was affecting the area above the lines, killing grass. Visible steam was coming up through numerous manhole covers, even in the middle of a very warm summer day in August in South Carolina!

We scheduled the infrared scan at 5 in the morning to allow us to have a differential temperature in the ground. Even at this hour some of the latent heat remaining in the ground from the sun of the daytime, measured 80 plus degrees F. We then started from one end of the line and progressed to the other end, marking abnormally high temperatures with marking paint.

We determined the general condition of the piping was poorly insulated with surface temperatures of 100 degrees F plus, probably due to methods of insulating at the time and the breakdown of the insulation over time. We additionally discovered areas of extremely high surface temperature in the 150 degree F range and some manhole covers that were close to 200 degrees!

These areas will be dug up and repairs made to the lines and insulation. We also found a steam line that extended out into a parking lot and just ended under a car. It was later determined that this line had gone to a maintenance shop which had been torn down years ago and the line had not been capped.

So what's the moral of this story?

Finding and fixing costly leaks and reducing liability (can you imagine if someone stepped a barefoot on a 200 degree manhole cover? Yikes!) is an important use of infrared scanning technology. By using infrared thermography, this university saved thousands and thousands of dollars in detection costs, and was able to find and fix the exact problem. Now that's a smart school.


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IR Infrared Services provides top quality thermographic service at a competitive price to commercial  users in North Carolina and South Carolina. For more information, visit http://www.irinfraredservices.com/ or follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/infraredscans. We are proud to offer the very best thermography services in North Carolina and South Carolina!