Gas Imaging Cameras - Making Invisible Gas Leaks Visible - Steve Beynon

Many chemical compounds and gases are invisible to the naked eye. Yet many companies work intensively with these substances before, during and after their production processes. This article discusses how thermal imaging cameras can be adapted to visualise fugitive gas leaks. The GF-Series thermal imaging cameras from FLIR Systems (see figure 1) were developed to produce a full picture of the scanned area and visualise gas leaks as ‘smoke like images’ on the camera’s viewfinder or on an inbuilt LCD, thereby allowing the user to see fugitive gas emissions. The GF-Series imaging technology allows gas leaks to be viewed in real time and images recorded in the camera for easy archiving.

The Gas Imaging Camera – Why is it different?

The construction of a thermal imaging camera is similar to the construction of a digital video camera. There is a lens, a detector, some electronics to process the signal from the detector and a viewfinder or screen for the user to see the image produced by the camera. The detectors used for the Gas Imaging cameras are quantum detectors that require cooling to cryogenic temperatures (around 70K or -203°C). Gas Imaging Cameras operating in the mid-wave infrared region (MWIR) use an Indium Antimonide (InSb) detector, those operating in the long wave infrared region (LWIR) use a quantum well infrared photodetector (QWIP) detector.