2. Thermography and the use of thermal imaging cameras

2.1 Contribution of thermography

Thermography makes a specific contribution to temperature and flow measurements. It is instantaneous, global, discriminating and discrete.

• Instantaneous, since measurements can be taken at high speed. It's the preparation, control and interpretation that determine the duration of a measurement campaign.

• Global, since the camera provides a thermal image of the entire thermal scene it is observing. A simple glance at the image can then reveal a highly localized defect in a complex assembly (an electrical cabinet undergoing maintenance, for example).

• Discriminative, both spatially (spatial resolution)...