Refractory Infrared

The failure of the refractory lining in your equipment is nothing to be taken lightly. In fact, refractory failure requires an entire plant to shut down for maintenance, which results in catastrophic downtimes and losses. Refractory equipment is not easily replaceable, and it’s an essential component of any operation. Without it, your entire set up comes to a standstill. 

 

Repairing your refractory equipment is even more expensive than other types of equipment, due to the heavy manpower, powerful equipment and extensive time needed to carry out those repairs. 

 

Let’s take a look at why refractory is so important for operations. Internal refractory lining is built into equipment like furnaces, kilns, pipes and tanks, where the inside is hot enough to melt and damage the external shell of your equipment. The refractory material that lines the inside of this equipment is crucial to trapping heat, protecting your steel outer shell and surrounding equipment from heat damage. Additionally, heat may be essential to your production, making a loss of heat detrimental to your operations.

 

But these faults are easily picked up with the use of infrared imaging, providing you with a thermal map to spot these problem areas and other areas threatened by this problem. That gives you the power to plan your predictive maintenance schedule and plan for downtime, rather than being taken by surprise. Keeping a keen eye on your equipment is key to planning and sustaining your operations.

 

Thermal imaging enables maintenance personnel to scan the kiln or furnace in real-time while in operation, and deficiencies in the refractory will show as hot spots on the outer surface of the kiln.