Justification of the efficiency of the thermal imaging method for detecting defects in the hydraulic system of BelAZ dump trucks

The article considers the feasibility of applying infrared thermography for non-destructive testing (NDT) in order to assess the technical condition of the hydraulic systems of BelAZ mining dump trucks. The relevance of this study stems from the need for timely detection of defects in hydraulic equipment at the early stages of their development, with the aim of reducing equipment downtime and extending its service life. Unlike conventional methods, infrared thermography is less sensitive to surface roughness and enables the scanning and inspection of large areas, thereby revealing local temperature anomalies. Based on the solution of the hydrodynamic and heat conduction equations for steady-state laminar oil flow within a crack, a theoretical assessment was performed of the quantitative dependence of the local temperature variation on both the crack opening displacement and the pressure gradient in the cylinder of an axial-piston pump. It is shown that cracks with an opening displacement of 30 µm or more produce local overheating of at least 0.5 °C, which exceeds the threshold sensitivity of modern thermal imagers by more than an order of magnitude. An increase in the opening displacement to 60 µm results in local heating of 10 °C, making the defect readily detectable. Experimental studies were carried out using a thermal imager on the hydraulic system components of BelAZ mining dump trucks. It was established that for contaminated surfaces the emissivity ranges from 0.90 to 0.97, whereas for cleaned surfaces it ranges from 0.73 to 0.95, depending on the degree of metal oxidation. On the basis of the data obtained, practical conditions for performing infrared thermographic inspection were formulated. An atlas of thermal maps of defect-free hydraulic system components of BelAZ trucks was compiled. The findings of the study make it possible to enhance the reliability and safety of mining transport machinery operation through the timely identification of pre-emergency conditions.

Cherepetskaya E. B., Khudaiberdiev Sh. M., Kosimov Sh.S., Gapeev A. A., Dudchenko O. L. Justification of the efficiency of the thermal imaging method for detecting defects in the hydraulic system of BelAZ dump trucks. MIAB. Mining Inf. Anal. Bull. 2026; (11-1):124-136. [In Russ]. DOI: 10.25018/0236_1493_2026_111_0_124.

E.B. Cherepetskaya¹, Dr. Sci. (Eng.), Chief Researcher, e-mail: eb.cherepetskaya@misis.ru, ORCID ID: 0000-0002-9642-2149,
Sh.M. Khudaiberdiev², Cand. Sci. (Eng.), Dean of the Mining and Metallurgical Faculty, e-mail: h.sherzod@list.ru, ORCID ID: 0000-0001-7248-492X,
Sh.S. Kosimov², Deputy Dean of the Mining and Metallurgical Faculty, e-mail: sh.kasimov.mk@gmail.com, ORCID ID: 0009-0005-0655-6020,
A.A. Gapeev¹, Cand. Sci. (Eng.), Researcher, e-mail: agapeev@misis.ru, ORCID ID: 0009-0001-7744-9426,
O.L. Dudchenko¹, Cand. Sci. (Eng.), Assistant Professor, e-mail: dionis_4444@mail.ru,
¹ NUST MISIS, 119049, Moscow, Russia, 
² Almalyk Branch of NUST MISIS, 110105, Almalyk, Republic of Uzbekistan.

E.B. Cherepetskaia, e-mail: eb.cherepetskaya@misis.ru.

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