Airborne thermal mapping for winter highway maintenance using the Barr and Stroud IR18 thermal video frame scanner

Infrared thermography in applied road climatological studies

“…The influence of microclimate on winter slipperiness has been studied using thermal infrared observation techniques developed by Rosema and Welleman (1977). Stove et al (1987) have also used thermal scanners for airborne thermal mapping along road stretches. The results from the thermal recording were used to detect cold spots along road stretches, suitable for location of temperature sensors.…”

Thermographic measurement and numerical weather forecast along a highway road surface

“…Winter maintenance of motorways can be a significant part of the overall maintenance cost and may include implications from the environmental impact of the methods applied (Stove et al , 1987; Gustavsson and Bogren, 1991). In the scope of winter maintenance optimization and minimization of environmental impact, a thermographic measurement of a portion of the Egnatia motorway in northern Greece has been performed and a mesoscale meteorological forecast model (Coupled Ocean/Atmosphere Mesoscale Prediction System: COAMPS) has been applied at high resolution for the same period as the measurements.…”

“…Ambient temperature measurement stations have been installed in order to optimize winter maintenance works such as salt spreading and timely notification of snow ploughs. This is also important in controlling the quantity of salt used and thus minimizing the economic and environmental impact (Stove et al , 1987). However, it is understandable that road surface conditions may differ significantly from ambient as well as between RWIS installations so common practice suggests that a correlation be devised.…”

“…Infrared thermography is a powerful tool for non‐destructive testing and monitoring of surface temperatures, having found interesting applications e.g. in the assessment of bridge decks (Maser and Roddis, 1990; Yehia et al , 2007) and in thermal road mapping for obtaining a temperature profile of the road surface (Stove et al , 1987; Shao et al 1997; Gustavsson, 1999). Thermal mapping of road surfaces began in the 1970s (Lindqvist, 1976) and has become an accepted approach to measure the spatial variation of road surface temperature.…”

“…Thermal mapping of road surfaces began in the 1970s (Lindqvist, 1976) and has become an accepted approach to measure the spatial variation of road surface temperature. Characteristic applications of using an infrared thermal imaging camera to obtain a thermal profile of highway road surfaces for winter maintenance were those by Stove et al (1987), with a camera mounted on an aircraft, and by Gustavsson and Bogren (1991), who mounted the camera on both stationary and mobile (car, helicopter) platforms. The measured temperature profile is often used to calibrate a numerical model for the correlation of road surface temperatures with environmental conditions (Shao, 1998, 2000), to determine the appropriate positions for implanting road surface sensors, and, perhaps, most importantly, to extrapolate the data from the local position of a meteorological measurement station to the whole road network.…”