1.
Background
Building defects
diagnosis by infrared
thermography
Tommy Y. Lo and
K.T.W. Choi
The authors
Tommy Y. Lo is based in the Department of Building and
Construction, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
K.T.W. Choi is based at the Castco Testing Centre Ltd,
Hong Kong.
Keywords
Infra-red devices, Buildings, Inspection, Non-destructive testing
Abstract
The application of infrared thermography has provided a reliable
and accurate assessment method for the inspection of buildings
and structures. The principle of the infrared thermography
technique is the detection of energy by an infrared scanner and
mapping the temperature contours over the surface of a target
object to provide an appropriate measure of the damaged
building or structure. This paper reviews the background of
infrared thermography and the factors influencing the
IR imaging. The applicability of infrared thermography in two
particular situations is considered – the delamination of external
wall finishes and a roofing system condition survey.
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Structural Survey
Volume 22 · Number 5 · 2004 · pp. 259–263
q Emerald Group Publishing Limited · ISSN 0263-080X
DOI 10.1108/02630800410571571
259
In recent years, Infrared (IR) thermography has
become a common technique for non-destructive
inspections in various engineering fields such as
overhead electrical power lines and components,
tyres of racecars, naval aircraft, power plants,
shipbuilding, large refrigerant compressor units,
radioactive plants, and buildings. The reporting
of these defects is presented as a thermograph
(i.e. thermal image) which is in an easy-to-
understand format (Stockton, 2000). The IR
thermography technique identifies and measures
near surface defects by detecting the temperature
gradient on the surface of a target object
(e.g. a concrete wall).
Visual inspection of a building or structure
always depends on the surveyor’s subjective views
and may not give an accurate assessment of the
condition of the building or structure under
investigation. Moreover, visual inspection can be
slow, expensive and even potentially unsafe if the
operator has to work at height. In this paper,
the applicability of IR thermography to building
diagnosis, in particular to a roofing system and to
external walls of buildings, is presented.
2. Applicability of IR thermography
The IR thermography technique detects the
energy by using an IR scanner or camera and maps
the temperature contours across a surface of the
object by its thermal condition. Indeed, all objects
emit IR radiation as a function of their
temperatures. IR radiation is an electromagnetic
wave having wavelength ranges from 0.78
(near IR or short wavelength) to 1,000 mm
(far infrared region or long wavelength). The use
of “long wave” scanners filtered for the 8-12 mm
waveband region is most efficient for use in
building inspections where the target temperatures
range from 278C (808F) to 658C (1508F).
Therefore, long wavelengths scanners are always
preferred for wall inspection for outdoor IR
thermography in warm climate regions. On the
other hand, “short wave” scanners filtered to
operate between 3 and 5 mm wavebands are more
appropriate to conduct roofing inspections taking
into consideration the solar shadowing and
reflection effects. Unlike X-ray or other radiation,
IR radiation is not harmful to human beings or to
target objects.
IR rays can be reflected and absorbed by surface
materials. The higher the temperature of an object,
The work presented in this paper was supported by
Castco Testing Centre Ltd.
 Building defects diagnosis by infrared thermography Structural Survey
Tommy Y. Lo and K.T.W. Choi Volume 22 · Number 5 · 2004 · 259–263

the more IR energy is emitted through the Table II Reflective capacity of some common surfaces
vibration of atoms and molecules and the shorter (Nachbarschaftsverband Stuttgart, 2001)
the wavelength is. The intensity of the IR Type of surface Reflective capacity (per cent)
thermograph depends on the temperature of the
Surface water 5-15
object and its surface characteristics. Materials
Concrete 14-22
that do not reflect or transmit any IR energy are Wall, white 65-80
“Blackbodies” in the IR thermograph scan. Wall, yellow 35-50
The surface characteristic of a material is defined Wall, gray 20-45
in terms of emissivity (the ability to emit IR Asphalt 12-25
radiation) which is the ratio of energy radiated Gravel 5-10
from an object to the exterior and is a constant Sand 30-40
inherent to that object at a specific temperature. Green grass 26
The emissivity of a material is dependent on the Black soil, dry 14
ambient temperature and the higher the emissivity
of a surface is; the greater will be the heat flow from Table III shows the main benefits and limitations
its surface. Table I shows some typical values of of using IR thermography for buildings or
emissivity of common construction materials. structures problems Maldague (2002). BS 1881
In general, non-metallic materials such as bricks (BSI, 1986) suggests the use of, for a large scale
and plaster have a high emissivity and metals structural survey, a high resolution scanner in
(e.g. aluminum) have a low emissivity. The change conjunction with video monitor to produce a
in emissivity will be indicated on the IR colour display of calibrated isotherms which may
thermograph. The reflectivity of a material is be photographed for visual inspection.
another best indicator in contrast to emissivity.
A highly reflective surface (e.g. aluminum) is a
poor emitter when compared to a less reflective
surface such as brick. The typical reflective 3. Defects monitoring by temperature
capacity of common surface materials encountered contour mapping
in and around buildings is shown in Table II.
It indicates that the reflective capacities of most of There are three mechanisms that affect the
the construction materials (e.g. asphalt) are low. temperature gradient over an object under
The colour of the surface of a wall can also affect investigation. They are:
its reflective capacity to IR radiation causing (1) thermal conduction;
different temperature contours in the (2) air flow; and
corresponding thermograph. Knowledge of both (3) temperature reversal.
the emissivity and reflectivity of common building
Thermal conduction defines the rate of heat flow
materials is necessary in understanding and
across the section of a structure, it depends on the
interpretation of IR images.
temperature difference across the structure and the
thermal resistance of the materials. For the external
Table I Emissivity of some common materials (Bramson, 1966) wall of a structure, a temperature gradient exists
Material Temperature 8C Emissivity 1 between the ambient indoor temperature
Steel, galvanized 20 0.28 maintained by the heating or cooling system
Aluminum, rough surface 20-50 0.06-0.07 (e.g. the air conditioning system) and the ambient
Aluminum, polished surface 50-100 0.04-0.06 external temperature as determined by the weather.
Cement Normal temperature 0.54 The temperature variation due to air flow can be
Clay, fired 70 0.91 ten times greater than those resulting from a
Glass 20-100 0.91-0.94 conductive heat flow (Tobiasson, 1993). When the
Marble, grayish, polished 20 0.93
Sand Normal temperature 0.60 Table III Benefits and limitations of using IR thermography
Stucco, rough, lime 10-90 0.91
Benefits Limitations
Tar – 0.79-0.84
Water, film on metal surface 20 0.98 Fast operation Applicable to limited surface thickness
Water layer > 0.1 mm thick 0-100 0.95-0.98 Non-contacting and (boundary technique)
Brick, red, rough 20 0.88-0.93 non-destructive Affected by thermal losses due to
Brick, fireclay 20 0.85 Safe, no harmful radiation convection, radiation etc.
Silica brick 1,230 0.66 to operator Affected by weather and air pollution
Granite – 0.82-0.90 Easy to interpret thermographs Interference from extraneous heat sources
Plaster 20 0.91 Deployment on one side of
Wood, plank 20 0.8-0.9 an object only

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Tommy Y. Lo and K.T.W. Choi Volume 22 · Number 5 · 2004 · 259–263

interface (e.g. plaster and parent concrete) is filled Plate 1 A typical IR thermograph of wall condition survey with tile delamination
by air or void, there will be a difference in heat flow identified
and a resultant variation in the surface
temperature. The contour of variation indicates a
suspected defect in the building structure.
Since a massive object (for example, a dense
homogenous substrate) will gain or lose heat
energy more slowly than a less massive object
(say a loose heterogeneous substrate), temperature
reversal occurs when a uniform building
component is being heated or cooled.
The variations in heat loss or gain will depend
on the heat capacity (or mass) of the substrate
(e.g. tile finishes of a building). Therefore,
a variation in the surface temperature implies
a defect of the finishes. 5. Roof moisture condition survey
In practice, the IR thermography can be applied
to the inspection of defects such as roofing Another successful application of IR
structure as well as to concrete finishes by thermography in building diagnosis is to detect
detecting the temperature gradient to a precision and locate roof areas containing moisture ingress.
of 0.18C. IR shows the “hot or warm spots” which Infrared scanning is an effective technique as an
indicate potential near surface defects or by alternative to the use of a moisture meter test or
“cold spots” indicate the deposits of moisture near conductance meter (Bolkcom and Zielke, 1997)
surface. for leakage investigation. Normally, the roofing has
to flood overnight to assure water seepage is
developed within the roof prior to the inspection.
An indoor IR performed at the ceiling (i.e. the
4. Delamination of external wall finishing underside of roof slab) may reveal the moisture
survey ingress from roof slab. To obtain a good
thermograph for a wet area, it is important to get as
A successful application of IR thermography in close as possible to a 908 angle over the area in
building defect diagnosis is to detect the order to avoid reflections of IR rays. A typical
delamination or debonding of mosaics tiles from IR thermograph of a roof moisture survey with an
the main structure. The benefit is that this can identified “wet” area is shown in Figure 1. During
be carried out remotely and is non-destructive. the heating up of the roofing structure, the portion
For a material without any defects, the heat wave of roof which is “wet” will lose heat more quickly
(e.g. generated by sun radiation on the target than the dry areas because moisture is a better
surface) passes through uniformly into the conductor of heat energy than an air void. IR
concrete wall resulting in a uniform thermographic thermography detects the heat and distinguishes
image. When the finishing mortar or tiles of an
external wall delaminates, a small air void will be Figure 1 A typical IR thermograph of roof moisture condition
created on the underside and block the heat flow survey with “wet” area identified
between the void and main structure. The defected
area thus exhibits higher temperature than that of
the area without any defects under the heating
from the sun and creating the “hot spots” in the IR
thermograph. To this end, IR thermography can
be employed for investigating the delamination of
the finishing material by monitoring the
temperature distribution on the external wall
surface. Plate 1 shows the IR thermograph of
identified defects on the wall under inspection.
The defects restrict the cooling rate due to an
insulation blocking effect, and “hot spots” are
created. The presence of the suspected defects can
be further validated by other structural
investigations such as hammer tapping.
261
 Building defects diagnosis by infrared thermography
Tommy Y. Lo and K.T.W. Choi
this pattern of uneven heat dissipation, and the
damp areas will display a differential surface
temperature contour (i.e. cold spots) to the
surrounding dry areas.
This valuable information allows local repairs to
be carried out effectively, instead of replacing the
entire roof area. In this respect, maintenance costs
and a realistic maintenance budget can be planned
basing on the IR survey findings.
A good surveyor must have a complete
understanding and the implications of the factors
affecting the IR thermography of a roofing system
are shown below:
.
dryness of the roof surface and water films;
.
weather dependent (e.g. rain, wind), low
speed winds are preferred;
.
wind sheltering or warming radiation effects
from adjacent buildings/structure;
.
difference in thickness of the roof membrane;
.
existence of hot air exhaust onto a roof from
fans or vents;
.
plant/machine room below the roof area;
.
surface texture (e.g. multi-layer membranes);
.
shadow from obstructing objects (e.g. walls);
and
.
survey distance from object.
6. Practical consideration of IR
thermography
IR thermography of concrete walls will provide the
data for making appropriate decisions because
IR thermography can accurately detect and locate
the defective areas quickly. This valuable
information may alert the owner of the building
to the need for remedial action; and reveal
common defects such as:
(1) voids or porosity;
(2) spalling or delamination and cracks; and
(3) increasing expansion or distortion of the area
of weakness.
Generally, the IR thermograph of a concrete wall
survey may have a low spatial resolution because
the concrete materials have a lower thermal
conductivity when compared to metals.
During IR thermography, it is important to
consider factors that may affect the infrared
information such as emissivity, surface texture, sky
temperature, and wind velocity during the
interpretation and analysis of thermography data.
The main factors affecting the IR thermography
(Stockton, 2000; Chown and Burn, 1983) during
a wall inspection are shown below:
.
the weather, e.g. wind, rain, ambient
temperature;
.
wetting of wall surface or moisture content
within the wall;
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Volume 22 · Number 5 · 2004 · 259–263
.
orientation of building to the path of sunshine
during the survey;
.
existence of any heat generating plants or
machines inside the building;
.
emissivity of wall surface;
.
dryness of wall surface;
.
reflectivity of wall surface;
.
roughness or unevenness of wall surface;
.
stains on wall surface;
.
colour of wall surface;
.
angle of vision and survey distance;
.
construction of wall finish (e.g. extremely
thick finish);
.
building in shade of eaves or adjacent
building; and
.
many screening objects (e.g. trees).
Since the movement of air particles may affect the
thermal image, it is more difficult to detect
temperature differences on the outside surface of the
building on a windy day. The best thermographic
images usually occur when there is a large
temperature differential (e.g. 148C).
The temperature differential losses can be caused by
convection due to wind effect and by conduction due
to rain. It is therefore recommended that an IR
survey should not be carried out under heavy wind
and raining condition. Past research suggests that
outdoor IR thermography measurement is not
recommended if the wind speed exceeds 32 km/h
(Maldague, 2001). It is most important to have a
thorough understanding of these factors for
interpretation of the IR data gathered.
For health monitoring of building, IR
thermography should preferably be conducted at
regular intervals (e.g. every 5 years) in order to
select the most cost-effective method for its
maintenance and to reduce the risk and hazards to
the general public.
7. Conclusion
IR thermography has proven to be an effective and
efficient means of locating near surface defects in
concrete walls and in roofing systems and can
narrow the scope of an expensive maintenance
investigation. However, the results of the IR survey
can be affected by the experience of the surveyor,
equipment capabilities, construction details and
environmental factors. The surveyor must have a
complete understanding of the implications of the
influencing factors that may affect the usefulness and
the value of the thermographic data obtained.
Thermography should be carried out during suitable
weather and radiation conditions and the surveyor
must have adequate background training and a
sound knowledge of the construction of buildings.
 Building defects diagnosis by infrared thermography
Tommy Y. Lo and K.T.W. Choi
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