Joe Carignan Royal Canadian Mounted Police Courtenay, British Columbia One of the new applications of the thermal imager presently being investigated in the Province of British Columbia, Canada is the detection of unsafe air brakes on vehicles. Air brakes are a means of stopping heavy vehicles with the use of air. With the correct amount of air pressure applied to the brake system the vehicle can be slowed or stopped.
Air brakes have to be adjusted often and set to compensate for any wear.
Unsafe brakes occur when the brakes are not set properly and therefore not braking equally. This will result in one or more wheels braking heavier, causing more friction and heat on that brake. If the brakes are worn to an unsafe level or not set properly, that brake will show much less heat. Most brake linings operate best around 250 degrees Celsius and should not exceed 425 degrees Celsius. Usually, more and more heat is generated the harder the brakes are applied.