Criteria for identification and diagnosis of anomalies in ceramic facades through quantitative infrared thermography

Abstract

Thermography in the inspection of building facades allows the evaluation of anomalies in real time and without contact. However, it is necessary to develop criteria for the quantitative analysis of anomalies, to improve the mapping and analysis of severity. To determine and validate some of these criteria, this study evaluated the occurrence of ceramic detachment in a building through thermographic inspection. The north, south, east and west facade orientations in ceramic coating were inspected. The thermograms were evaluated by calculating the Delta-T and Delta-Tcor parameters. The influence of different heat flow conditions on the heating and cooling cycles was also evaluated in terms of the ability to detect and evaluate anomalies. The results indicate that the heat flux directly influences the detection capacity and that orientations with a higher incidence of radiation are easier to detect. The Delta-T and Delta-Tcor results, evaluated together, show convergence, which indicates that the Delta-Tcor is a satisfactory analysis criterion, applicable to other buildings with different heat flux conditions.