Air Compressor Leak Detection Navigation
As the core electromechanical equipment of pneumatic system and the main body of air source device, air compressor converts mechanical energy into gas pressure energy. Air compressor as a common provide air power machinery, its application areas cover food and beverage, pharmaceutical, electric power, heavy industry, chemical fiber, manufacturing, automotive industry and other major important industries. Compressor leakage detection, therefore, is important for all industries!
In practice, undetected compressor leaks pose significant risks, including degradation of system performance, equipment failure, increased energy consumption, contamination and product quality issues, as well as safety hazards, compliance issues and significant financial losses. Therefore, timely detection and resolution of air compressor leaks through effective preventive maintenance is critical to ensure efficiency, safety and operational reliability.
Demand for Air Compressors in Various Industries
Air compressors are a common piece of machinery and equipment used in many industries. Below are some of the applications of air compressors in different industries and the pitfalls arising from leaks:
Air compressors are mainly used in the manufacturing industry to provide a power source, such as to drive tools, equipment and small mechanical devices. They are also used to purge and clean machines, equipment and parts, improving productivity and product quality. If an air compressor leak occurs, it can result in underpowered equipment and increased production costs.
The medical industry requires clean, oil-free compressed air for a variety of applications such as ventilators, surgical instruments and anesthesia machines. Screw compressors are used to provide high quality compressed air that meets the stringent requirements of the medical industry. If an air compressor leaks, it can lead to wasted energy or, in severe cases, equipment downtime, which can lead to medical errors.
A large-scale iron and steel enterprise needs air compressors as power equipment in the sintering workshop (or plant), ironmaking blast furnace, steelmaking plant and other parts of the plant, such as pneumatic cylinders, blast furnace door opening and a series of other actions are completed with compressed air. Can also be used as cleaning equipment, such as in the sintering plant for blowing instrumentation. Overall, the amount of compressed air used in the steel industry is very large and can range from several hundred cubic meters to thousands of cubic meters. Therefore for the steel industry, the detection of compressed gas leaks is a major key to saving production costs.
Air compressors can also be widely used in food, logistics, construction, and aerospace industries, where gas leaks are mainly a waste of energy. A single leak may only cause a few thousand dollars in waste, but hundreds of leaks across an entire factory or enterprise combined can be enough to trigger an energy crisis. Therefore, companies involved in the use of air compressors must regularly check the equipment for leaks to avoid the waste of production costs!
Acoustic imaging: pinpointing gas leaks
The main advantages of using acoustic imagers to locate leaks in air compressors include their robust functionality, which allows users to provide accurate and efficient leak detection in real time, safely and easily, with minimal training. FLIR sonic imagers, for example, use advanced technology to capture and analyze the sound waves emitted by leaks to pinpoint and visualize the source of the leak.
Equipped with 124 microphones, the FLIR Sonic Imager – Si124-LD easily “cuts through” background noise and detects small leaks even in noisy industrial environments, providing excellent sensitivity and accuracy. It is lightweight, portable and easy to use with just one hand.
The FLIR Si124-LD Plus version also automatically detects the distance to the target within a range of 5 meters and displays it on the screen in real time, allowing the user to reliably estimate the leak rate in real time! Paired with the powerful analysis and reporting software FLIR Thermal Studio, users of the Si124-LD can also generate advanced reports including visible and acoustic images with a single click.