Bench-Scale Test Facility for Evaluating the Performance of Thermal Imagers for Fire Service Applications

Area of Science:

• Optical Engineering
• Thermal Imaging Technology
• Fire Safety Science

Background:

• Thermal imaging cameras are crucial for fire services.
• Evaluating imager performance in smoke is challenging.
• Existing methods may lack controlled smoke conditions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a bench-scale facility for thermal imager evaluation.
• To characterize smoke conditions within an optical smoke cell.
• To assess thermal imager sensitivity under smoke obscuration.

Main Methods:

• Developed a bench-scale facility with an optical smoke cell.
• Measured laser light transmittance to characterize smoke uniformity.
• Assessed thermal imager sensitivity using Michelson Contrast (CM) with a bar target.
• Varied background thermal conditions during testing.

Main Results:

• Laser transmittance was uniform in the upper and lower halves of the smoke cell.
• The optical smoke cell demonstrated controlled smoke obscuration.
• Michelson Contrast (CM) effectively measured thermal sensitivity through smoke.

Conclusions:

• The developed optical smoke cell is a well-controlled test apparatus.
• This facility is suitable for evaluating thermal imager performance in fire service scenarios.
• The study validates a method for assessing thermal imagers under realistic smoke conditions.