Assessing the opportunity to use the infrared thermography method for predictive maintenance of hydrostatic pumps

In the operation of hydrostatic drive systems, the maintenance has an important role to maintain the designed parameters and efficiency. The paper presents an experimental approach regarding the possibility to use the infrared thermography method in the behavioral prediction of the hydrostatic drive systems. To simulate the malfunction of a hydraulic gear pump a test bench was designed and built so that three steps of pressure were considered and different operating modes by using a variable throttle on the pump's suction. The pump temperature was measured with an infrared thermal imaging camera, and an infrared thermometer. The results were compared between the two methods of pump monitoring using non-contact temperature measurements. The conclusion is that infrared thermography can be used as a qualitative method, and by increasing the accuracy of measurements it can also be used as a quantitative method in the predictive evaluation of the behavior of hydraulic equipment.