Keeping Machines Dry

Michael Labeit, 249th Engineer Battalion, U.S. Army Corps of EngineersColumns, Fall 2024 Columns, In the Field

Equipment underutilization is, by implication, an underdiscussed subject. I am all too familiar with this phenomenon, e.g., relays with useful but unprogrammed protective functions, calibrated test equipment that rarely sees the light of day, fully functional battery chargers next to pallets of long-deceased 12 V valve-regulated lead–acid batteries (VRLAs), etc.  This negligence is no less true of rotating machines, where inexpensive …

Using Thermographic Surveys to Monitor Condition

Michael Labeit, 249th Engineer Battalion, U.S. Army Corps of EngineersColumns, In the Field, Spring 2023 Columns

The most basic maintenance begins with our senses. Electrical and mechanical equipment tend to produce distinct sights, sounds, or smells before it fails. However, our senses have strict limitations.  BACK TO SCIENCE CLASS Anything above zero kelvin will produce infrared radiation. There is no molecular movement at 0 K, including electron movement. When electrons move back into inner atomic orbitals (which …