Infrared Imaging of Roof Systems for Moisture Detection

摘要

The cost of constructing roofing systems is high as they must be designed with water-proofing capability and must form thermal barriers for buildings. The traditional and inverted roof systems are typically used in Kuwait. Occasionally, due to faulty practices, incorrect materials and/or improper design, roofs fail to be watertight and let moisture penetrated into the roofing layers causing water leakage, degradation of the roofing materials and other damages. Moisture problems in roof systems require quick action and maintenance. It is prevalent to rip off the roofing layers to detect the location and extent of damage that has been caused by moisture penetration. This method could be very costly and impractical. This paper looks into the use of Infrared Thermography as a non-destructive technique for determining water leakage in roofing systems. An experimental building unit (EBU) was constructed with six different models of roof sections on the top. For each roof section, controlled injection of moisture was performed at certain points between the roof layers to simulate the leakage process. Infrared imaging studies have shown that the technique is reasonably successful in detecting roof moisture although further evaluation and improvement of the technique was deemed necessary due to the heavy roof construction types and weather conditions in Kuwait.