No-destructive analysis: 3d modeling by thermography for cultural heritage

Abstract

Nowadays, the law defines as “cultural heritage” a big number of artifacts, many of which are unfortunately in a state of decay. Their conservation and restoration are fundamental to preserve their history, and for this reason all the manufacts need to be kept in a good state maintaining their integrity and duration, without interrupting their accessibility to the public. This maintenance is realized carrying out measurements and investigations to preserve the state of the manufacts. Among the techniques used to fulfil the purpose, thermography has a fundamental role. This type of analyses is central to determine the insulating and thermo-absorbing capacities of the constituent elements and the position of structural elements not otherwise identifiable to the naked eye. In particular, in this paper, thermography has been used together with a three-dimensional photogrammetric model, realized with infrared images applied to archaeological assets. The 3D modeling is based on the combined use of imaging techniques as digital photogrammetry and computer vision. Object of the study has been a concrete sample, with the aim to determine its characteristics and some cracks or defects presents in it.