Detection of Hygroscopic Salts before the Apparition of Degradation Patterns: Experimental Approach on Limestones using the Stimulated Infrared Thermography

Abstract eng:
Recent improvements of infrared thermography cameras allow detecting small defects and hygroscopic salts that are present under the surface of building heritage materials. Preliminary laboratory experiments have been conducted and they show that it is possible to detect salted area in a limestone. Thermophysical properties of materials in presence of salts have been studied. The effusivity (b) and thermal diffusivity (a) have been thus characterized according to ways: measurements under an extended flash excitation and measurements on the center of the excited area after stimulation. The results show that these parameters are very sensitive to the presence of salts. It is then possible to detect the crystallization process of hygroscopic salts at its first steps and to localize the crystal germs inside the stone.

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