Detection of wood damages using infrared thermography

Abstract Much of the built heritage is made up of wooden structures which are subject to the natural degradation of ageing. The wooden structures are also susceptible to biological attacks, such as fungi and wood destroying insects. Therefore, all these constructions need a temporal plan of inspections and maintenance. Monitoring systems are crucial to detect anomalies still in the initial phase. However, most of these methods of inspection and evaluation are expensive, time-consuming and intrusive. More friendly and sustainable methods are needed. The Infrared thermography is a non-destructive, contactless and versatile technique that can be a very useful tool in this field. This study aims to evaluate the thermographic technique potential to detect wood damages. For this purpose, a wood sample of Pinus pinaster species with induced holes was observed using IRT in active mode. The results confirm the potential of the technique to identify the presence of defects or gaps in wood structures or components.