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Imaging technique for inspecting the inside of coal-fired boilers in operation using a visible-light camera

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Abstract

We developed an imaging technique for inspecting the inside of coal-fired boilers during operation by using a visible-light camera, which has a higher spatial resolution and depth of field than mid-infrared image sensor camera systems commonly used for imaging the inside of boilers. Two main problems are associated with the use of a visible-light camera: the low light transmittance of combustion gases in the visible spectrum and the large non-stationary variations in intensity levels. To overcome these difficulties, a narrow-band imaging technique using a bandpass filter was employed to identify the wavelength range with the highest transmittance through gases. Contrast adjustment and noise reduction via conditional averaging of the temporal images were performed during post-image processing. Results obtained from the tests of several bandpass filters indicated that bandpass filtering centered at 650 ± 5 nm is optimal for obtaining clear images. Adaptive histogram equalization was found to be more effective for contrast enhancement than other standard methods. Additionally, a clearer image can be obtained by conditionally extracting and averaging temporal images with high Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient values for the average of all images. Finally, a clear image of the inner wall of a 1000-MW-class coal-fired boiler during operation is presented to demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed method.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the cooperation of electric power companies in Japan for allowing photographs to be taken at their power plants. The authors would also like to thank Editage (www.editage.com) for English language editing.

Funding

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Central Research Institute of Electric Power Industry, 2-6-1, Nagasaka, Yokosuka, Kanagawa, 240-0196, Japan

    Masahide Yoshida, Akifumi Ido, Makoto Kawase, Nobuyuki Wakabayashi & Masahiko Morinaga

  2. Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, 2-24-16, Naka-cho, Koganei, Tokyo, 184-8588, Japan

    Masahide Yoshida & Masaharu Kameda

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  1. Masahide Yoshida
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  2. Akifumi Ido
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  3. Makoto Kawase
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  4. Nobuyuki Wakabayashi
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  5. Masahiko Morinaga
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  6. Masaharu Kameda
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Correspondence to Masahide Yoshida.

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Yoshida, M., Ido, A., Kawase, M. et al. Imaging technique for inspecting the inside of coal-fired boilers in operation using a visible-light camera. J Vis 26, 1339–1357 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12650-023-00935-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12650-023-00935-1

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