Performance Evaluation of Colour Codes On Thermal Images Analysis - Application In The Wood Damage Detection

Early detection of wood damage will allow the wood industry to raise the quality standards of the material it supplies to the market. The infrared thermography, non-invasive and non-contact technique based on visualizing the surface temperature of objects, proves to be a promising technique in the early detection of these damages. As the thermographic images are represented by a colour code. Software for acquiring and processing thermograms have several thermal colour codes, which produce different levels of detail. In this study, the potential of different thermal colour codes is analysed and compared to determine and identify some induced damages in a wood sample. The results show that not all thermal colour codes have the same potential to determine and identify the induced damages. The right selection of the thermal colour code is crucial in the success of the analysis of wood damage detection characterized by small temperature gradients, as it also occurs in the health evaluation of wood and other natural materials in buildings. New colour codes are required with a high sensitivity that allows detecting more slight temperature gradients.