Introduction

Infrared thermography has been used for the nondestructive

testing (NDT) of aerospace components for several years now.
The main advantage of thermography over classical NDT
techniques resides in the possibility of inspecting large areas in a
fast and safe manner without needing to have access to both
sides of the component. Nevertheless, infrared thermography is
limited to the detection of relatively shallow defects (a few
millimeters under the surface), since it is affected by 3D heat
diffusion. However, the most common types of anomalies found
on aerospace applications, such as delamination, disband, water
ingress, node failure and core crushing, can be effectively
detected and sometimes quantified using active thermographic
techniques. Several configurations can be adopted depending on
the particular application in sight and the available equipment. A
passive or active approach can be used depending on whether
the inspected part is in thermal equilibrium or not. For instance,
the passive approach, i.e. without using an external source of
energy, can be employed in the detection of water ingress right
after aircraft landing when the thermal difference between the
material and water is significant allowing defect detection. On the
contrary, a thermal contrast needs to be created via an external
source whenever the component is in thermal equilibrium. This is
the most common type of approach since aerospace parts are
usually inspected after being fabricated or in situ several hours
after landing and is the subject of this paper. In the following
paragraphs, the different experimental configurations
experimental techniques and data processing algorithms in active
thermography are described, Since the infrared system measures
surface temperatures only, the temperatures measured are
influenced by three factors: (1) subsurface configuration, (2)

surface condition; and (3) environment. As an NDT technique for

inspecting concrete, the effect of the subsurface configuration is
usually most interesting. All the information revealed by the
infrared system relies on the principle that heat cannot be
stopped from flowing from warmer to cooler areas, it can only be
slowed down by the insulating effects of the material through
which it is flowing. Various types of construction materials have
different insulating abilities or thermal conductivities. In addition,
differing types of concrete defects have different thermal
conductivity values. For example, an air void has a lower thermal
conductivity compared with the surrounding concrete. Hence the
surface of a section of concrete containing an air void could be
expected to have a slightly different temperature from a section
of concrete without an air void. There are three ways of
transferring thermal energy from a warmer to a cooler region: (1)
conduction; (2) convection; and (3) radiation. Sound concrete
should have the least resistance to conduction of heat, and the
convection effects should be negligible. The surface appearance,
as revealed by the infrared system, should show a uniform
temperature over the whole surface examined. However, poor
quality concrete contains anomalies such as voids and low density
areas which decrease the thermal conductivity of the concrete by
reducing the energy conduction properties without substantially
increasing the convection effects.

FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES

According to the fundamental Law of Planck all objects above

absolute zero emit

infrared radiation. This radiation only becomes visible to the

human eye when the temperature is above about 500oC. Infrared
monitoring equipment has been developed which can detect
infrared emission and visualize it as a visible image. The sensitive
range of the detector lies between 2 and 14 microns. The 2-5.6
micron range is generally used to visualize temperature between
40oC and 2000oC and the 8-14 micron range is used for
temperature between -20oC and ambient temperatures. The
thermograms taken with an infrared camera measure the
temperature distribution at the surface of the object at the time of
the test. It is important to take into consideration that this
temperature distribution is the result of a dynamic process. Taking
a thermogram of this object at an earlier or later time may result
in a very different temperature distribution. This is especially true
when the object has been heated or cooled.

Objectives of Test

To
To
To
To

detect hot or cold areas

determine absolute temperature
view Thermal profiles
detect temperature loss

Test Equipment

Hand held portable camera

Battery Powered

Operating at correct
wavelength

Range..-20c to +1500c
Sensitivity..0.1c at 30c
Real time display
Image Recording capability

GENERAL PROCEDURE
FOR INFRARED
THERMOGRAPHIC
METHOD
In order to perform an infrared
thermographic inspection, a
temperature gradient and thus a
flow of heat must be established in the structure. The first
example deals with the simplest and most widespread situation.
Assume that it is desired to test an open concrete bridge deck
surface. The day preceding the inspection should be dry with
plenty of sunshine. The inspection may begin two to three hours
after either sunrise or sunset, both times being of rapid heat
transfer. The deck should be cleaned of all debris. Traffic control
should be established to prevent accidents and to prevent traffic
vehicles from stopping or standing on the pavement to be tested.
It will be assumed that the infrared scanner be mounted on a
mobile van along with other peripheral equipment, such as
recorders for data storage and a computer for assistance in data
analysis. The scanner head and either a regular film-type camera
or a standard video camera should be aligned to view the same
sections to be tested. The next step is to locate a section of
concrete deck and establish, by coring, that it is sound concrete.

Scan the reference area and set the equipment controls so that
an adequate temperature image is viewed and recorded. Next,
locate a section of concrete deck known to be defective by
containing a void, delamination, or powdery material. Scan this
reference area and again make sure that the equipment settings
allow viewing of both the sound and defective reference areas in
the same image with the widest contrast possible. These settings
will normally produce a sensitivity scale such that full scale
represents no more than 5. If a black and white monitor is used,
better contrast images will normally be produced when the
following convention is used: black is defective concrete and
white is sound material. If a colour monitor or computer enhanced
screen is used, three colours are normally used to designate
definite sound areas, definite defective areas, and indeterminate
areas. As has been mentioned, when tests are performed during
daylight hours, the defective concrete areas will appear warmer,
while during tests performed after dark, defective areas will
appear cooler. Once the controls are set and traffic control is in
place, the van may move forward as rapidly as images can be
collected, normally 1 to 10 miles (1.6 to 16 km) per hour. If it is
desired to mark the pavement, white or metallic paint may be
used to outline the defective deck areas. At other times, a
videotape may be used to document the defective areas, or a
scale drawing may be drawn with reference to bridge deck
reference points. Production rates of up to 130 m2/day have been
attained. During long testing sessions, re-inspection of the
reference areas should be performed approximately every 2 h,
with more calibration retests scheduled during the early and later
periods of the session when the testing window may be opening
or closing. For inside areas where the sun cannot be used for its
heating effect, it may be possible to use the same techniques
except for using the ground as a heat sink. The equipment should
be set up in a similar fashion as that described above, except that
the infrared scanner's sensitivity will have to be increased. This

may be accomplished by setting the full scale so it represents 2C

and/or using computer enhancement techniques to bring out
detail and to improve image contrast.

ADVANTAGES AND LIMITATIONS OF INFRARED

THERMOGRAPHY

ADVANTAGES:
Thermographic testing techniques for determining concrete
subsurface voids,
delaminations, and other anomalies have advantages over
destructive tests like coring and other NDT techniques such as
radioactive/nuclear, electrical/magnetic, acoustic and radar
techniques. The obvious advantage of infrared thermographic
analysis over the destructive testing methods is that major
concrete areas need not be destroyed during testing. Only small
calibration corings are used. This results in major savings in time,
labour, equipment, traffic control, and scheduling problems. In
addition, when aesthetics is important, no disfiguring occurs on
the concrete to be tested. Rapid set up and take down are also
advantages when vandalism is possible. Finally, no concrete dust
and debris are generated that could cause environmental
problems. Other advantages are that infrared thermographic
equipment is safe as it emits no radiation. It only records thermal
radiation, which is naturally emitted from the concrete, as well as
from all other objects. It is similar in function to an ordinary
thermometer, only much more efficient. The other methods
including radioactive/nuclear, electrical/magnetic, acoustic, and
radar are all point tests. They depend upon a signal propagating
downward through the concrete at a discrete point. This gives an
indication of the concrete condition at that point. If an area is to

be tested, then multiple readings must be taken. Radar however

has the advantage over the other point testing techniques in that
the sensor may be mounted on a vehicle and moved in a straight
line over the test area. This improves efficiency somewhat, but if
an area is wide, many line passes have to be made.

LIMITATIONS:
There is one major disadvantage to infrared thermographic
testing. At this stage of development, the depth or thickness of a
void cannot be determined, although its outer dimensions are
evident. It cannot be determined if a subsurface void is near the
surface or farther down at the level of the reinforcing bars.
Techniques such as radar or stress wave propagation methods can
determine the depth of the void, but again these methods cannot
determine the other dimensions in a single measurement. In most
testing instances, the thickness of the anomaly is not nearly as
important as its other dimensions. But in those instances where
information on a specific anomaly thickness or depth is needed, it
is recommended that infrared thermography be used to survey
the large areas for problems. Once specific problem locations are
established, radar can be used to spot check the anomaly for its
depth and thickness. This combined technique would give the
best combination of accuracy, efficiency, economy, and safety.

Reference
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermogr
aphy
http://www.infrared.avio.co.jp/en/produ
cts/ir-thermo/what-thermo.html
http://web.utk.edu/~jbeard8/IT570/Intr
oduction%20to%20Infrared
%20Thermography.pdf
http://www2.emersonprocess.com/enus/brands/csitechnologies/it/pages/infr
aredthermography.aspx
http://www.lirkorea.com/Landinstrume
nts.net
%20Website/infrared/downloads/pdf/th
ermography_guide.pdf
http://w3.gel.ulaval.ca/~maldagx/r_12
21t.pdf