Infrared Thermography in CMU walls

Wordco has recently initiated its own infrared thermal scanning program. Thermal scanning is a cost-effective and comprehensive means of non-destructive testing of our work. This process is currently in use by independent testing companies and project engineers. However, WordCo is one of the few masonry contractors to offer this service. Utililizing thermal image cameras, infrared images are captured and used to determine the proper placement of grouted pilasters, lintels and bond beams in the wall.

Infrared images capture electromagnetic waves above the visible light spectrum.
Thermal energy is transmitted in the infrared wavelength ( 1 micron to 100 microns ). You can see by the image above that thermal energy is closely related to visible light in that it travels in a wave. The human eye can only see the narrow middle band of visible light that encompasses all the colors of light in the rainbow. Thermal infrared imagers effectively let you "see" heat. This system allows detailed images of heat variations in a CMU (concrete masonry unit).

The image to the left is a thermographic image of an actual wall on a jobsite. Note vertical columns indicated by the dark lines. These differences in temperature indicate the presence of concrete in the wall. How you ask?

During the day sunlight heats the wall. The grouted cells in the wall have more mass and are more dense than the concrete block, meaning it heats slower that the less dense, porous block (CMU). Thus you have a wall where grouted cells will be cooler than the rest of the wall. Our sensitive cameras can pick up this gradual temperature difference, making the grout placement visible.

These images are then analyzed for grout voids and proper placement of bond beams and door lintels in the walls according to the builders design plans.

Taking the burden of quality assurance on ourself, WordCo provides a more efficient and cost-effective building process for the general contractor and store owners. Whereas most operations either don't utilize thermal scanning or wait until the completion of a store for scanning to take place, Wordco utilizes thermography on every one of its jobsites multiple times during the building process. This does two things:

-Assures any mistakes are caught early on, meaning timely fixes.

-Compensates for thermographic anomalies in any one test.