IR Thermography Scanning Technique in the Assessment of Airport Pavements

Abstract Corrosion of asphalt pavements is a major problem involved with materials engineering and transportation engineering. Asphalt pavements frequently start to deteriorate slowly primarily, gradually progressing to failure. Such failure can be expensive in terms of both money and lives, but can also be prevented. For that reason, intelligent techniques should be suggested, with the intention of examining the condition of such engineering structures. IR thermography is a non-destructive technique that has the ability to inspect effectively substantial areas, such as airport pavements. It has been used successfully in the detection of cracks, voids and other imperfections appearing either from the aging of the materials or due to poor workmanship. Investigation of asphalt overlays by the means of IR thermography is possible, given that subsurface defects in a material influence the heat flow through that material, generating surface temperature alterations. Despite that, other issues such as, environmental conditions and surface temperatures should also be considered, in an attempt to obtain reliable results. In this research work, a selection of asphalt pavements located at the International Airport of Athens, in Greece, are investigated by the use of scanning IR thermography. In conclusion, this paper describes the problem of deteriorated airport pavements, the process and the apparatus used for the in situ tests, whilst the results obtained lead to the suggestion of a predictive monitoring non-destructive technique for the inspection and appropriateness of airport pavements.