1. Industrial R&D
Thermal imaging cameras help developers analyze, observe and quantify heat dissipation and thermal properties of R&D projects. This allows for continuous and stable control of the thermal efficiency of development projects, shortens design cycles and avoids costly product recalls.
For example, in the automotive industry, in order to produce more efficient, safer and higher-performance vehicles, the automotive industry invests a lot of money in research and development, which is often beyond the reach of other industries. One of the keys to success in the automotive industry is bringing reliable new products to market faster. Thermal imaging can help automotive engineers improve the design of airbag systems, verify the efficiency of heating and cooling systems, quantify the effects of thermal shock on tire wear, inspect the performance quality of joints and welds, and more.
2. Academic research
Thermal imaging technology is increasingly popular in university classrooms and laboratories. In a teaching setting, instructors use thermal imaging to help students understand heat transfer and thermodynamic theory and deepen their understanding of important concepts.
In the field of life sciences, for example, thermal imaging is an accurate, quantifiable, non-contact diagnostic technique that can be used to observe and quantify changes in surface temperature. Applications include: vascular assessment, tissue condition monitoring, muscle strain analysis, and bleeding point detection.
3. Non-destructive testing (NDT) / material testing
NDT is a method widely used for material, component and system property evaluation without compromising the inspection object. FLIR thermal imaging cameras with lock-in can perform advanced inspections such as NDT, stress mapping, and can also be used to find small temperature differences down to 1 mK.
For example, in stress analysis, stress testing and fatigue testing are commonly used test methods in mechanical engineering and materials science, but only provide limited information for complex structures. Thermal stress mapping provides thousands of stress measurements simultaneously, even for geometrically complex components. Compared with strain gauges, this technique can provide researchers with faster and more complete information.
4. Security and aviation
Most people associate thermal imaging cameras for security with "finding the enemy." But today, thermal imaging cameras are also used in the development of weapons, ammunition, missiles and aircraft. The information provided by thermal imaging cameras allows researchers to use thermal spectra to delineate target objects for target identification, defense deployment and multispectral camouflage studies.
For example, in the tracking operation, the thermal imager system makes up for the insufficiency of the video tracking system by improving the visibility under low light or haze conditions, so that the tracking system can find the target and continuously update the orientation, range and height of the target.