Thermography as Art

Here's another "pretty" (to my way of thinking) thermographic image-this time, of a Harley-Davidson engine.

We produced a thermal video of a big Harley warming up on a very cold (-5° C) morning, just for a bit of fun (our friend and FLIR Rep Todd Faulkner was in town and accompanied). This is one of the frame captures from that video. Click on the image for a larger version.

All of this occured at High Desert Harley Davidson in Meridian, Idaho, which is right around the corner from my house-and a constant source of temptation. I flew over High Desert on February 27, 2011 and shot this aerial photograph enroute to eastern Idaho-interestingly, that's my friend David Hoelscher (who arranged the thermal shoot) walking into the portico.

While this is an artistic exercise there is a very valuable capability being demonstrated: thermal anomalies produced by engine bearings differential cooling (particularly in the front cylinders of aircraft or in radiators) can be identified very easily. In industrial and process thermographic applications this speeds and accurizes maintenance inspections and diagnoses.

L