Infrared thermography transforms the thermal energy, emitted by objects in the infrared band of the electromagnetic spectrum, into a visible image. This feature represents a great potentiality to be exploited in many fields, but this technique is still not adequately enclosed in industrial instrumentation because of a lack of adequate knowledge; at first sight, it seems too expensive and difficult to use. The aim of the present paper is to shortly overview existing work and to describe the most relevant experiences devoted to the use of infrared thermography in three main fields, i.e. thermo-fluid dynamics, technology and cultural heritage, which have been performed in the department the authors belong to. Results may be regarded from two points of view, either as validating infrared thermography as a full measurement instrument, or as presenting infrared thermography as a novel technique able to deal with several requirements, which are difficult to perform with other techniques. This study is also an attempt to give indications for a synergic use of the different thermographic methods and sharing experiences in the different fields.

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Lock-in thermography is employed for non-destructive control to evaluate several aspects of industrial interest: inclusions of spurious materials in both carbon-epoxy and glass-epoxy, impact damage and delaminations occurring around holes during drilling in carbon-epoxy, bonding improvements in Certran® after plasma treatments and steel modifications after welding. Phase images are analysed to find quantitative information for industrial characterization.

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