Energy and Buildings 34 (2002) 6369

Non-destructive testing of a building wall by studying

natural thermal signals
D. Defer*, J. Shen, S. Lassue, B. Duthoit
Laboratoire d'Artois de Mecanique et Habitat, LAMH Faculte des Sciences Appliquees,
Universite d'Artois, Technoparc Futura, 62400 Bethune Cedex, France
Received 10 March 2001; accepted 16 May 2001

Abstract

The behaviour of civil engineering works (structures, buildings, dams, etc.) in time is a current problem which is the subject of deep
consideration and numerous research projects. These studies which are aimed at adopting a better approach to repair, maintenance and
reinforcement operations have revealed a signicant need for the development of means to diagnose and monitor structures. Many non-
destructive testing techniques already exist but a major difculty in applying them arises from the fact that they are not universal. It is
therefore necessary to analyse their limits and dene elds of application. Choosing a suitable technique is always a delicate process. In
addition, the results obtained are generally affected by a considerable degree of uncertainty; cross tests using different techniques make it
possible to improve the quality of the diagnosis. Thermal approaches are currently emerging and being developed quickly. They are
typically based on infrared thermography measurements. These techniques involve a contact-free analysis and provide overall information
on the structure. They are adapted to a qualitative type of research in which the prime objective is to highlight anomalies. However, it is
generally complicated and difcult to make a quantitative interpretation of the results [1]. This article presents a new thermal method based
on the concept of thermal impedance, which can be measured at the surface of a structure. It is adapted to a local quantitative analysis and
should be used as a complement to the overall measurements taken by infrared thermography to quantify and rene the analysis.
# 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Natural thermal signals; Non-destructive testing; Thermal impedance; Thermal quadripole

1. Theoretical aspects case of a homogeneous medium during one-directional

conduction. In such cases, it may be demonstrated that
The study described here is based on the use of thermal the temperature and ux density thermal state vectors
impedance as a means for characterising a phenomenon. dened in two planes perpendicular to the direction of
Thermal impedance denes a relation between temperature conductive exchanges and at a distance e from one another
and ux density in a plane. This variable has been used are linked by a matrix
extensively in the case of two-dimensional systems [2], but     
ye M11 M12 ys
is used here to characterise one-directional systems. A (1)
fe M21 M22 fs s
conventional way of introducing thermal impedance is to
use the quadripole theory. with
 q   q 
1.1. Thermal quadripole 1
M11 cosh e jo a ; M 12 p sinh e jo
a
b jo
p  q   q 
The notion of a quadripole is derived from the simulta-
M21 b jo sinh e jo a ; M22 cosh e
jo
a
neous solving of the heat equation and Fourier law in the
(2)
*
Corresponding author. Tel.: 33-3-21-63-71-55; cosh and sinh are, respectively, the cosine and hyperbolic
fax: 33-3-21-63-71-23.
E-mail addresses: defer@univ-artois.fr (D. Defer),
sine and w the pulse. This matrix written in the frequency
jibao.shen@fsa.univ-artois.fr (J. Shen), lassue@univ-artois.fr (S. Lassue), space is calculated here for two planes at a distance e
bruno.duthoit@univ-artois.fr (B. Duthoit). from one another and made of a homogenous material

0378-7788/02/$ see front matter # 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
PII: S 0 3 7 8 - 7 7 8 8 ( 0 1 ) 0 0 0 8 6 - X
64 D. Defer et al. / Energy and Buildings 34 (2002) 6369

Nomenclature

a thermal diffusivity (m2 s 1)

b thermal effusivity (J K 1 m 1 s 1/2)
e thickness (m)
f frequency (Hz)
F flux density (W m 2)
H transfert function
[M] transfert matrix
Mii terms of the transfer matrix
pi impedance parameter
R contact resistance (K m2 W 1)
Sp i function of sensitivity to the parameter p Fig. 1. Wall tested.
Sxy flux density power spectrum ((W m 2)2 Hz 1)
t time (s) 1.3. Definition of the problem
T temperature (8C)
Te sampling rate (s) A classical system is used here to illustrate and validate
x thickness of the first layer (m) the procedure. The three-layer wall is represented on Fig. 1.
Z thermal impedance (K m2 W 1 Hz 1) It consists of two layers of solid concrete 14 and 10 cm thick
separated by a 4-cm thick insulating layer. In the experi-
Greek letters mental scenario, the internal structure of the wall is assumed
y Fourier transform of heat flux (K) to be unknown. The ``zero-state'' hypothesis, therefore
f Fourier transform of temperature (W m 2) involves assuming that the wall is made of solid concrete.
o pulsation (rad s 1) In this case, the expected impedance is known and compar-
ing it with the experimental impedance should reveal any
Subscripts anomaly. If an anomaly is detected, an inverse parameter
i input identication method should enable a quantitative diagnosis
o output to be made by characterising the discontinuity thermally,
and in particular by positioning it within the wall. The
thermal impedance is dened in the frequency domain on
characterised by its effusivity e and diffusivity a. If this the basis of stresses that may have a random character. The
matrix connects the input and output vectors of a wall, it is spectral domain used in the tests depends on the depth of the
referred to as the system transfer matrix. This formalism is material that is being investigated. The present work seeks to
not limited to homogeneous materials. In the case of a multi- exploit the information contained in the natural energy
layer medium, the transfer matrix is obtained by cascading interactions between the wall and its micro-climatic envir-
the products of elementary matrices associated with each onment in the absence of any articial source. The outer
homogeneous wall. surface of the wall will be considered as the face providing
access to the system.
1.2. Thermal impedance
1.4. Thermal impedance of a three-layer system
A thermal quadripole links the input and output thermal
state vectors of a system. It is possible to dene the system's Quantitative analysis of the results involves developing a
input impedance if there is a known relation between the theoretical model, on the basis of which it will be possible to
output values [3] identify the required parameters by calibration with the
experimental results, as part of an inverse process. The
yo o experimental results will indicate a resistive-type anomaly.
Zo o (3)
fo o The calibration model adopted is therefore that of a system
consisting of a homogeneous matrix including a localised
In this case, it is possible to calculate the system's
pure resistance. The value and position of the resistance are
input impedance Zi which is a complex function of the
unknown.
frequency.
The transfer matrix of such a system is obtained by the
yi o M11 Zs oM12 cascaded product of the matrices relating to each elementary
Zi o (4) layer.
fi o M21 Zs oM22
The rst element to be taken into consideration is the
The Mii correspond to the terms of the overall matrix of the homogeneous layer of concrete of thickness x (14 cm in the
system in question. present case). The above matrix may be associated with this.
 D. Defer et al. / Energy and Buildings 34 (2002) 6369 65

The second is a layer of insulating material (pure resis- correlations between the parameters in order to define
tance) that is characterised by a transfer matrix those that can be identified simultaneously, and second to
  analyse the extent of sensitivity to each identifiable para-
1 R
Mpoly (5) meter in the range of working frequencies in order to ensure
0 1
sufficient precision.
where R epoly =lpoly represents the pure resistance.
The nal component of the system is a concrete wall 1.5. Sensitivity study
10 cm thick. This part could be characterised by a transfer
matrix. However, in this work, it was represented in the form A sensitivity function was dened for each parameter in
of signals measured over a period of several days. The lowest order to perform a sensitivity study. This function was
frequencies taken into account were of the order of 10 5 Hz. dened as the ratio between the relative variation in impe-
These components are already ltered by the rst two dance to the relative variation in the parameter. Impedance is
layers. Modelling showed that, in this case, the last layer a complex function of frequency. This discussion will be
could be assimilated to a semi-innite medium. There is thus limited to a study of the modulus, as the conclusions drawn
a relation between the ux density and output temperature from the study of phase sensitivity functions are identical, in
of the polystyrene that depends only on the effusivity b of this particular case. The modulus sensitivity functions for
the concrete. each parameter are dened by
yo o 1 DjZp1 ; p2 ; . . . ; pn ; f j=jZp1 ; p2 ; . . . ; pn ; f j
Zo o p (6) Spi f (8)
fo o b jo Dpi =pi
Using this relation, it is possible to write a relation between D|Z| represents the variation of the input impedance modulus
the input variables. The wall input impedance is defined Zi following a variation Dpi in parameter pi. To calculate
by [4] sensitivity functions, it is essential to fix an order of mag-
0  q  1 nitude for each parameter. This requirement does not con-
jox2 p
1 tanh Rb jo flict with the fact that the parameters to be identified are
1 B a C
Zi o p B  q  C (7) initially unknown, as the sensitivity functions are only used
b jo @ jox 2 p A
qualitatively. They are used to determine which parameters
1 tanh a 1 Rb jo
have a significant influence on the impedance and which
Four parameters appear in this relation. Two of them are parameters can be identified in the frequency band consid-
characteristic of the concrete, namely the effusivity b and ered in this study. Only an order of magnitude is required for
diffusivity a. The other two characterise the discontinuity in the parameters.
terms of its position x and thermal resistance R. A study to Fig. 2 represents the four sensitivity curves in the range
determine sensitivity to the various parameters appears to [10 3; 3  10 6 Hz]. Comparative study of these curves
be essential as part of this inverse method identification shows that the impedance is highly sensitive to the effusivity
procedure. This analysis has a two-fold aim, first to study value b of the homogeneous matrix. There is less sensitivity

Fig. 2. Change in sensitivity of the impedance modulus to the various parameters.

66 D. Defer et al. / Energy and Buildings 34 (2002) 6369

Fig. 3. Sensitivity to position as a function of sensitivity to diffusivity.

to the resistance value R in this range, which means that the This equation illustrates the fact that the temperature
estimation of resistance will be less accurate. Sensitivity to the value at a given instant depends on the past and present
position x and diffusivity a are quite important but change in a values of the flux density excitation and on past changes in
similar manner. Fig. 3 represents the change in sensitivity to x temperature.
as a function of sensitivity to a. This type of representation To obtain a frequential representation of the system, the
produces a straight line passing through the origin, thus, formalism of the z transform is used. The z transform of the
showing that the two types of sensitivity are proportional. temperature sequence is dened as y(z) and that of the ux
Simultaneous identication of the two parameters is not density as f(z) by
possible. These a and x are contained in the impedance
expression in the form of the ratio x2/a, and therefore, only X
1 X
1
yz Tkz k et fz Fkz k
(10)
this pair can be determined. When non-destructive testing is 1 1
being carried out, it may be assumed that the diffusivity a
of the material is known. The fact that x and a are linked in the On the basis of the time equation linking the input and output
term x2/a makes this assumption less detrimental as an error in signals of the linear system, an equivalent equation linking
a would produce a smaller error in x. This rest of this the various z transforms may be written as follows
discussion will focus on a situation in which a is known. A
typical value, a 6  10 7 m2 s 1, was chosen for the con- yz a1 z 1 yz


ap z p yz
crete. For simultaneous identication of b, R and x, it is nec- b0 fz b1 z 1 fz


bq z q fz (11)
essary to t a non-linear function of these parameters to the
experimental function. An iterative procedure was used to do or
this,inordertominimisetheleastsquareerror.TheLevenberg
yz 1 a 1 z 1


ap z p
Marquardt algorithm was chosen for this purpose [5]. Hz (12)
fz b0 b1 z 1


bq z q

H(z) is called the z transfer function of the discrete-time

2. Calculation of experimental impedance linear system.
The z transform is obtained by the relation proposed
This principle adopted in the study involved considering above. If this transform is calculated for z ejoTe the
the wall as a linear system that does not vary in time [6]. The expression for the discrete Fourier transform is obtained
system is excited by a ux density stress that produces a
change in surface temperature as a response. X
1
jokTe
The numerical lter theory indicates that the samples of Yo ykTe (13)
1
the two signals are linked by a linear relation representing
the discrete linear model. where Te represents the sampling rate.
X
p X
q The transfer function determined above and calculated for
Tk ai Tk i bi Fk i (9) z ejoTe gives a direct value for the input thermal impe-
i1 i0 dance of the system.
 D. Defer et al. / Energy and Buildings 34 (2002) 6369 67

3. Instrumentation 4. Application

Calculating impedance involves measuring changes in
thermal ux and temperature in the system input plane. A
``tangential gradient'' uxmeter was used in these experi-
ments [7]. This sensor has the basic advantage of being very
thin (of the order of 0.2 mm). Hence it does not disturb the
measurements in the chosen frequency range. A sensor with
an active surface area of 25 cm  25 cm was chosen so that
the heterogeneities inherent in the concrete material would
be integrated. A thermoelectric cell integrated in the ux-
meter provides simultaneous temperature measurements in
the access plane. The measurements were taken at constant
intervals by a scanning multimeter and the values stored on a
microcomputer.
Flux density and temperature values were measured for
150 h (6.25 days) at 900 s intervals. Figs. 4 and 5 show the
changes in ux density and temperature measured on the
wall input side over a period of about 6 days. These stresses
are the result of natural energy interactions between the wall
and microclimatic environment.
The preponderant role of the day/night cycle can be seen
from these two curves. Fig. 6 represents the power spectral
density of the ux obtained by Fourier transformation of the
autocorrelation function.
Generally speaking, the frequency window used in the study
is between 6  10 6 Hz and 10 4 Hz. The preponderance of
the day/night cycle is clearly visible. Fig. 7 compares changes

Fig. 4. Flux density as a function of time measured on the outer surface of the wall.

Fig. 5. Temperature as a function of time measured on the outer surface of the wall.
68 D. Defer et al. / Energy and Buildings 34 (2002) 6369

Fig. 6. Power spectral density of flux as a function of frequency.

in impedance moduli from the experiments and those that are
characteristic of an assumed homogeneous medium.
The changes are very similar in the high frequency range,
which is quite normal as in this case the thermal signals
concern only, the rst layer of concrete which responds as a
semi-innite medium. Nearer the lower frequencies, the
curves diverge quite noticeably. The experimental curve
displays excess impedance, which is characteristic of an
anomaly in resistance. Once the anomaly has been detected
and dened, the following stage involves performing a
quantitative study using the inverse procedure described
in the theoretical discussion. Three parameters are assumed
to be unknown: the effusivity b, position x of the resistance
and its value R.
Fig. 8 compares the experimental impedance and that of
the three-layer model after parameter optimisation.
There is excellent correspondence between the two curves
over the entire spectral domain. The optimised parameter
values are: concrete effusivity: b 1900 J K 1 m 2 s 1/2;
resistance: R 0:7 K m2 W 1 (i.e. epoly 0:035 m pour);
position: x 0:15 cm.This corresponds well with the real
conguration. The effusivity value is in good agreement
with the results given in the literature. The position of the
insulating layer is accurately situated. The discontinuity
resistance value is obtained with an estimated error of
1015%. This uncertainty concerning the resistance value
was foreseeable given the low sensitivity to the parameter
R in the frequency range investigated here.

Fig. 7. Impedance moduli from experiments and for a simulated homogeneous medium as a function of frequency.
 D. Defer et al. / Energy and Buildings 34 (2002) 6369
Fig. 8. Moduli of measured impedance and impedance optimised as a function of frequency.
5. Conclusion
This work showed that thermal impedance could be used
as a means of non-destructive testing and that it provides
quantitative information on a conductive system. The
method has the further advantage of requiring only simple,
inexpensive equipment. It is easy to implement and involves
simply placing a sensor on the surface of the material. It is
important to underline that this type of measurement is
particularly suited to in situ applications, as it requires no
checking of boundary conditions. Stresses may be natural or
applied articially if it is necessary to analyse certain
particular frequencies, or if the natural signals are too weak.
In practice, this type of monitoring could be used in associa-
tion with another investigation method, such as an infrared
camera, to detect anomalies.
The conguration tested here is relatively demanding for
this method. The thermal stresses in fact spread slowly and
the thickness of the material means that the observations
often take a long time. Another application is currently
being studied. This involves detecting and studying wide-
spread discontinuities situated near the skin of structures.
Typical examples include areas of concrete that have been
weathered by cycles of freezing and thawing or by severe
69
thermal contrasts. The rst results obtained in this work
are extremely encouraging.
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