Mapping large surfaces of cultural heritage buildings by infrared thermography

Abstract

Thermographic mapping of cultural heritage buildings is nowadays a key technique to evaluate the status of a building, thanks to its non-destructive and non-invasive nature. Infrared thermography allows both to study the structure of the building itself, looking for hidden elements and defining the stratigraphy, and to assess the building status, checking for damages such as detachments or degradation due to ageing or humidity. The need for a fast thermographic scanning procedure, useful for investigating large surfaces, led to the creation and refinement of the IRpano device, that allows a rapid and complete thermal scanning of building surfaces and the visualization of results in a 360° panoramic environment. This work presents the conceptual framework of the IRpano device and the results of thermal scanning on cultural heritage buildings.