Active thermography data processing for the NDT&E of frescoes

In this study, a reproduction of Giotto’s fresco “Meeting at Golden Gate” containing artificial defects typical of fresco decay was inspected by active infrared thermography. Data was processed using different techniques in order to improve the infrared signature of the defects and to reduce the impact of non-uniform heating and emissivity variations due to the painting's pigments. It is shown that active thermography constitutes an interesting alternative for the in situ inspection of frescoes without impairing their integrity. More research should be carried out to optimize the way that heat is delivered to the surface to improve defect detectability.

[1]  Richard E. Martin,et al.  Interpreting the results of pulsed thermography data , 2003 .

[2]  Fabio Peron,et al.  Indoor climatic conditions of ancient buildings by numerical simulation and thermographic measurements , 2000, Defense, Security, and Sensing.

[3]  Steven M. Shepard,et al.  Advances in pulsed thermography , 2001, SPIE Defense + Commercial Sensing.

[4]  Xavier Maldague,et al.  Quantitative Infrared Thermography (IRT) and Holographic Interferometry (HI): Nondestructive Testing (NDT) for Defects Detection in the Silicate Ceramics Industry , 2010 .

[5]  Clemente Ibarra-Castanedo,et al.  Enhanced contrast detection of subsurface defects by pulsed infrared thermography based on the fourth order statistic moment, kurtosis , 2009, Defense + Commercial Sensing.

[6]  Giovanni Maria Carlomagno,et al.  Infrared thermography in the restoration of cultural properties , 2001, SPIE Defense + Commercial Sensing.

[7]  C. Ibarra-Castanedo,et al.  Active thermography signal processing techniques for defect detection and characterization on composite materials , 2010, Defense + Commercial Sensing.

[8]  Xavier Maldague,et al.  Theory and Practice of Infrared Technology for Nondestructive Testing , 2001 .

[9]  James R. Lhota,et al.  Enhancement and reconstruction of thermographic NDT data , 2002, SPIE Defense + Commercial Sensing.

[11]  X. Maldague,et al.  New absolute contrast for pulsed thermography , 2002 .

[12]  Xavier Maldague,et al.  Pulsed phase thermography reviewed , 2004 .

[13]  Nik Rajic,et al.  Principal component thermography for flaw contrast enhancement and flaw depth characterisation in composite structures , 2002 .

[14]  Paolo Cielo,et al.  Pulsed photothermal modeling of layered materials , 1986 .

[15]  S. Marinetti,et al.  Pulse phase infrared thermography , 1996 .

[16]  L. Rosenhead.  Conduction of Heat in Solids , 1947, Nature.

[17]  Ermanno G. Grinzato,et al.  Monitoring of the Scrovegni Chapel by IR thermography: Giotto at infrared , 2002 .

[18]  Giovanni Maria Carlomagno,et al.  Comparison between thermographic techniques for frescoes NDT , 2002 .

[19]  Xavier Maldague,et al.  Automatic data processing based on the skewness statistic parameter for subsurface defect detection by active infrared thermography , 2008 .

[20]  Ermanno G. Grinzato,et al.  Nondestructive evaluation of delaminations in fresco plaster using transient infrared thermography , 1994 .

[21]  C. Ibarra-Castanedo,et al.  Comparative study for the nondestructive testing of advanced ceramic materials by infrared thermography and holographic interferometry , 2010, Defense + Commercial Sensing.

[22]  Elisabetta Rosina,et al.  Dynamic IRT for the frescoes assessment: the study case of Danza Macabra in Clusone (Italy) , 2005, SPIE Defense + Commercial Sensing.