Evaluation of Rising Damp Using Infrared Thermography

Abstract

Moisture is one of the most deteriorating factors of buildings components. To avoid severe degradation, which affects the building durability, it is important to detect moisture in an earlier stage. Using non-destructive techniques (NDT) to detect moisture is very important, especially in buildings with some historical relevance, where more intrusive testing may not be acceptable. In this work it was analysed the applicability of infrared thermography, a NDT, to assess moisture in building walls caused by rising damp. Laboratory tests were carried out on a full-scale model, consisting on a limestone wall with about 2.00 x 1.80 x 0.20 m3, which was partially immersed in water. Thermograms were taken before the immersion started and during the absorption period of about 3 weeks. Simultaneously, a moisture detector was also used to evaluate qualitatively the moisture content of the wall. The comparison between the two testing methods showed a good agreement in the results and proved that infrared thermography can be very useful to detect moisture caused by rising damp in an earlier stage.