INFRARED THERMOGRAPHY IN DETECTION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF DEFECTS IN CONCRETE STRUCTURES

ABSTRACT

This paper presents a method for the detection and characterization of defects in reinforced concrete structures by using the method of infrared (IR) thermography.IR thermography, which has been successfully used in the USA in civil engineering applications, is being increasingly  applied in the UK as an NDT technique .Non-destructive testing using active infrared (IR) thermography consists of external thermal stimulation of the object of interest and monitoring of the surface temperature variation during the transient cooling or heating process. The existence of in homogeneities in the core material affects the heat transfer and thus causes local changes of temperature distribution on the surface of the observed structure, which is then recorded using an IR camera. The paper will provide the theoretical background of active IR thermography, equipment being used, as well as post-processing methods that are used to analyze sequences of thermo grams. This paper also presents the fields of applicability of IRT with a focus on the aspects related to reinforced concrete structures, as well as the advantages, limitations and potential sources of errors of IRT employment. Additionally previous non-destructive testing (NDT) studies that employed thermography techniques with natural excitation are briefly presented. A review of the future trends of thermal imaging is also included in this paper. It can be concluded that while IRT is a useful tool for the characterization of defects in the building sector, there is great prospect for the development of more advanced, effective and accurate approaches that will employ a combination of thermography approaches.

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