Masonry elastic characteristics assessment by thermographic images

In the present paper, the elastic mechanical characteristics of masonry samples, whose texture is not visible due to plaster, are estimated by means of homogenization technique applied through thermographic images. In particular, three masonry samples with different textures have been purposely built. The chosen textures were periodic, quasi-periodic and random. The images, taken with a thermocamera, are analyzed in order to identify the texture. An homogenization technique, based on the application of appropriate boundary conditions, is used. The mechanical characteristics, obtained using the textures identified using photographic images and thermographic images, are compared. The influence of some parameters (such as the dimensions of the structural element used in morphological operator) are analyzed. The obtained results permit to point out the reliability of the masonry elastic characteristics assessment by the proposed procedure.