Evaluation of hydric behavior into porous building stones by means of Infrared Thermography (IRT)

In this study, the infrared thermography method (IRT) has been carried out to evaluate the water distribution into stone specimens in the laboratory, in order to simulate the same hydric behavior in real scale material systems in situ. Samples of sandstone and calcarenite have been tested by means of hydric tests under stable laboratory conditions (temperature and relative humidity). Capillary water absorption and evaporation transport phenomena, which are responsible of the majority of decay processes occurring in masonries, have been monitored through IRT. This technique allows to record thermal images at different intervals of time highlighting the internal capillary and evaporation rise heights into the investigated materials across two splitting planes, in order to obtain useful results that could be applied for real masonries. Thanks to obtained results, IRT can be exploited as a nondestructive technique, with the aim of characterizing physical stone features and effectiveness of applied conservation treatments.