Infrared Thermography for Condition Monitoring of Ship Machinery in Bodrum Gulets

This study aims to investigate the applicability and effectiveness of infrared thermography for the condition monitoring of machinery systems by conducting onboard measurements. Thermographic inspection studies for machinery equipment were carried out on two separate vessels using a thermal camera with a thermal sensitivity of 60 mK under different engine operating conditions, covering the main and auxiliary engines along with their connected system components, engine room ventilation systems, and electrical equipment. Measurement and analysis activities were conducted based on the ISO 18434-1, ISO 18434-2, and ASTM E1934 - 99a standards specific to thermographic inspection. According to the inspection results, including 152 filtered thermograms, most components on both vessels operate normally, except for overheating electrical panel switches on the first vessel (V-1) at full load and insulated exhaust areas exceeding 350 °C on the second vessel (V-2) at normal operating conditions. Besides, by analyzing the thermograms obtained from the measurements, the temperature distributions, anomalies, and thermal behavior characteristics of the equipment were determined. In line with these data, a systematic thermogram inventory was established and used to propose a preliminary condition-based maintenance-oriented inspection framework for future monitoring.