Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Qualitative Assessments via Infrared Vision of Sub-surface Defects Present Beneath Decorative Surface Coatings

  • Published:
International Journal of Thermophysics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

In this work, the potentialities of the infrared vision to explore sub-superficial defects in polychromatic statues were investigated. In particular, it was possible to understand how the reflector effect of the exterior golden layers could be minimized, applying advanced statistical algorithms to thermal images. Since this noble metal is present as external coating in both artworks, an in-depth discussion concerning its physicochemical properties is also added. In this context, the principal component thermography technique and, the more recent, partial least squares thermography technique were used on three different datasets recorded, providing long thermal stimuli. The main images were compared both to phasegrams and to the thermographic signal reconstruction results in order to have a clear outline of the situation to be debated. The effects of view factors on the radiation transfer linked to the specular reflections from the surface did not falsely highlight certain features inadvertently. Indeed, the raw thermograms were analyzed one by one. Reflectograms were used to pinpoint emissivity variations due to, e.g., possible repainting. The paper concludes that, as it is possible to understand from a physical point of view, the near-infrared reflectography technique is able to examine the state of conservation of the upper layers in cultural heritage objects, while the infrared thermography technique explores them more in-depth. The thesis statement is based on the thermal and nonthermal parts of the infrared region, therefore, indicating what can be detected by heating the surface and what can be visualized by illuminating the surface, bearing in mind the nature of the external coating.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Fig. 10
Fig. 11

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. I. Crina Anca Sandu, M.H. de Sá, M.C. Pereira, Surf. Interface Anal. 43, 1134 (2011)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. E. Hecht, A. Zając, Optics, 4th edn. (Pearson Education Limited, Hoboken, 2001)

    Google Scholar 

  3. R.L. Feller, Artists Pigments: A Handbook of Their History and Characteristics, vol. 1 (Cambridge University Press, London, 1987)

    Google Scholar 

  4. H.A. Gardner, G.G. Sward, Paint Testing Manual, 13th edn. (ASTM International, Philadelphia, 1972)

    Google Scholar 

  5. R.J. Gettens, G.L. Stout, Painting Materials: A Short Encyclopedia (Dover Publications, London, 2011)

    Google Scholar 

  6. A.P. Laurie, The Painters Methods and Materials (Dover Publications, New York, 1988)

    Google Scholar 

  7. S.A. Humphrey, P.J. Laden, Gold Bronze Pigment in Pigments Handbook. Properties and Economics, vol. 1 (Wiley, New York, 1988), pp. 803–810

    Google Scholar 

  8. J.V. Koleske, Paint and Coating Testing Manual (Fourteenth Edition of the Gardner-Sward Handbook), ASTM Manual Series: MLN 17, Philadelphia (PA) (1995)

  9. H.S. Carslaw, J.C. Jaeger, Conduction of Heat in Solids, 2nd edn. (Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1959)

    MATH  Google Scholar 

  10. Y.V. Petrov, N.A. Inogamov, K.P. Migdal, Two-temperature heat conductivity of gold, in Proceedings of Progress in Electromagnetics Research Symposium, Prague, Czech Republic (2015)

  11. J.R.J. Van Asperen de Boer, Appl. Opt. 7, 1711 (1968)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  12. X.P.V. Maldague, Theory and Practice of Infrared Technology for Nondestructive Testing (Wiley, New York, 2001)

    Google Scholar 

  13. A.M. Reggiani, Recuperata statua Terracotta attribuita a Saturnino Gatti, L’Editoriale online (2009). http://www.leditoriale.com/index.php?page=turismo& turismo=803. Accessed 21 Apr 2016

  14. E. Santilli, Silvestro di Giacomo da Sulmona, detto Silvestro Aquilano (ca. 1450–1504). Scultore, pittore, figulo, architetto, Regione Abruzzo—Assessorato alla Cultura (2012). file:///C:/Users/Utente/Downloads/SILVESTRObiografia1.pdf. Accessed 21 Apr 2016

  15. P. Conti, La Madonna scampata al sisma perde pezzi alla mostra ‘per’ il sisma, Corriere della sera.it (2009). http://www.corriere.it/cronache/09_settembre_24/conti-madonna-500-sisma_61df05cc-a8e1-11de-aaa2-00144f02aabc.shtml. Accessed 21 Apr 2016

  16. M. Corridore, Statua della Madonna di Saturnino Gatti ritrovata a Londra, Il Centro (2016). http://ilcentro.gelocal.it/laquila/cronaca/2016/04/09/news/statua-della-madonna-di-saturnino-gatti-ritrovata-a-londra-1.13270211. Accessed 21 Apr 2016

  17. F. Verlengia, Pompeo Cesura. Pittore aquilano del ‘500, Stabilimento Poligrafico Editoriale Amoroso, Pescara (1958)

  18. F. Mercuri, N. Orazi, U. Zammit, S. Paoloni, M. Marinelli, P.P. Valentini, e-PS 9, 84 (2012)

  19. S. Sfarra, C. Ibarra-Castanedo, S. Ridolfi, G. Cerichelli, D. Ambrosini, D. Paoletti, X. Maldague, Appl. Phys. A. Mater. 115, 1041 (2014)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  20. B.-H. Mevik, R. Wehrens, J. Stat. Softw. 18, 1 (2007)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. N. Rajic, Compos. Struct. 58, 521 (2002)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. P. Bison, A. Bortolin, G. Cadelano, G. Ferrarini, F. López, X. Maldague, Evaluation of frescoes detachments by partial least squares thermography, in Proceedings of the International Conference on Quantitative Infrared Thermography (QIRT) (2014)

  23. P. Bison, A. Bortolin, G. Cadelano, G. Ferrarini, F. López, X. Maldague, Comparison of image processing techniques for the on-site evaluation of damaged frescoes, in Proceedings of SPIE—The International Society for Optical Engineering, Thermosense XXXVI (2014)

  24. F. López, C. Ibarra-Castanedo, V. de Paulo Nicolau, X. Maldague, NDT&E Int. 66, 128 (2014)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. X. Maldague, S. Marinetti, J. Appl. Phys. 79, 2694 (1996)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  26. S.M. Shepard, J.R. Lhota, B.A. Rubadeux, D. Wang, T. Ahmed, Opt. Eng. 42, 1337 (2003)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  27. S.M. Shepard, Mater. Eval. 65, 690 (2007)

    Google Scholar 

  28. D.L. Balageas, J.M. Roche, F.-H. Leroy, W.-M. Liu, A.M. Gorbach, Biocybern. Biomed. Eng. 35, 1–9 (2015)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. M.T. Klein, C. Ibarra-Castanedo, X. Maldague, A. Bendada, A straightforward graphical user interface for basic and advanced signal processing of thermographic infrared sequences, in Proceedings of SPIE—The International Society for Optical Engineering, Thermosense XXX (2008)

  30. S. Sfarra, C. Ibarra-Castanedo, D. Paoletti, X. Maldague, Mater. Eval. 71, 561 (2013)

    Google Scholar 

  31. A. Bayler, A. Schier, G.A. Bowmaker, H. Schmidbaur, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 188, 7006 (1996)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. P.K. Mehrotra, R. Hoffmann, Inorganic Chem. 17, 2187 (1978)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  33. H.E. Merwin, Optical properties and theory of color of pigments and paints, in Proceedings of the American Society for Testing Materials XVII (1917)

  34. A.D. Rakiḉ, A.B. Djurišic, J.M. Elazar, M.L. Majewski, Appl. Opt. 37, 5271 (1998)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  35. C. Chiojdeanu, D. Cristea Stan, B. Constantinescu, Roman. Rep. Phys. 63, 685 (2011)

    Google Scholar 

  36. G. Hanlon, Why some paints are transparent and others opaque. Natural Pigments (2013). http://www.naturalpigments.com/art-supply-education/transparent-opaque-paints/. Accessed 21 April 2016

  37. M. Gimeno Concepción, The chemistry of gold, in Modern Supramolecular Gold Chemistry: Gold-Metal Interactions and Applications, ed. by A. Laguna (Wiley-VCH, New York, 2008), pp. 1–64

    Google Scholar 

  38. F. López, X. Maldague, C. Ibarra-Castanedo, Opto-Electron. Rev. 22, 245 (2014)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  39. S. Sfarra, C. Ibarra-Castanedo, D. Ambrosini, D. Paoletti, A. Bendada, X. Maldague, Arab. J. Sci. Eng. 39, 3461 (2014)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  40. P. Kubelka, F. Munk, Zeits. f. Techn. Physik 12, 593 (1931)

    Google Scholar 

  41. P. Miracola, Il restauro di due opera in terracotta dipinta: Il presepe di Santa Maria del Ponte e la Madonna di Collemaggio, Gangemi Ed., Italy (2015)

  42. N. Penni, The Materials of Sculpture (Yale University Press, London, 1993)

    Google Scholar 

  43. R. Mayer, The Artist’s Handbook of Materials and Techniques, 5th edn. (Faber & Faber, London, 1991)

    Google Scholar 

  44. C. Ibarra-Castanedo, Ph.D. thesis, Laval University, Quebec City, QC, Canada (2005). http://www.theses.ulaval.ca/cocoon/meta/2005/23016.xml. Accessed 1 June 2017

  45. S. Sfarra, P. Theodorakeas, C. Ibarra-Castanedo, N.P. Avdelidis, D. Ambrosini, E. Cheilakou, D. Paoletti, M. Koui, A. Bendada, X. Maldague, Int. J. Thermophys. 36, 3051 (2015)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  46. C. Ibarra-Castanedo, S. Sfarra, D. Ambrosini, D. Paoletti, A. Bendada, X. Maldague, QIRT J. 5, 131 (2008)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  47. C. Ibarra-Castanedo, S. Sfarra, D. Ambrosini, D. Paoletti, A. Bendada, X. Maldague, QIRT J. 7, 85 (2010)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  48. C. Ibarra-Castanedo, S. Sfarra, D. Paoletti, A. Bendada, X. Maldague, Nondestructive testing of externally reinforced structures for seismic retrofitting using flax fiber reinforced polymer (FFRP) composites, in Proceedings of SPIE—The International Society for Optical Engineering, Thermosense XXXV (2013)

  49. F. López, V.P. Nicolau, C. Ibarra-Castanedo, S. Sfarra, X. Maldague, Comparative study of thermographic signal reconstruction and partial least squares thermography for the detection and evaluation of subsurface defects, in Proceedings of the International Conference on Quantitative Infrared Thermography (QIRT) (2014)

  50. S. Sfarra, C. Ibarra-Castanedo, D. Ambrosini, D. Paoletti, A. Bendada, X. Maldague, J. Nondestruct. Eval. 33, 358 (2014)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  51. M. Tortora, S. Sfarra, M. Chiarini, V. Daniele, G. Taglieri, G. Cerichelli, Appl. Surf. Sci. 387, 971 (2016)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  52. Y. Duan, S. Huebner, U. Hassler, A. Osman, C. Ibarra-Castanedo, X.P.V. Maldague, Infr. Phys. Technol. 60, 275 (2013)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  53. R. Yang, Y. He, B. Gao, G.Y. Tian, Appl. Phys. Lett. 105, 184103 (2014)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  54. G. Taglieri, V. Daniele, G. Rosatelli, S. Sfarra, M.C. Mascolo, C. Mondelli, J. Cult. Herit. 25, 135 (2017)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  55. R. Cesareo, G. Buccolieri, A. Castellano, R.T. Lopes, J.T. De Assis, S. Ridolfi, A. Brunetti, A. Bustamante, X-Ray Spectrom. 44, 233 (2015)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  56. H. Zhang, S. Sfarra, K. Saluja, J. Peeters, J. Fleuret, Y. Duan, H. Fernandes, N. Avdelidis, C. Ibarra-Castanedo, X. Maldague, J. Nondestruct. Eval. 36, 1 (2017)

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Ms. Annette Schwerdtfeger from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Laval University (Canada) for her constructive revision of the English language. The authors wish also to thank Dr. Geltrude Di Matteo (director) and Mr. Alessandro Verrocchia (chief restorer), of the Musé “Il Museo delle Paludi di Celano,” Italy, for their kind cooperation in this work. The authors are also in debt with Mr. Giovanni Pasqualoni of the Las.E.R. Laboratory (L’Aquila, Italy), for the technical support during the thermographic acquisitions. This study was supported by Russian Foundation Grant #17-19-01047 and in part by Tomsk Polytechnic University Competitiveness Enhancement Program grant.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Las.E.R. Laboratory, Department of Industrial and Information Engineering and Economics, University of L’Aquila, Piazzale E. Pontieri no. 1, 67100, Monteluco di Roio, L’Aquila (AQ), Italy

    Stefano Sfarra

  2. Tomsk Polytechnic University, Lenin Av., 30, Tomsk, Russia, 634050

    Stefano Sfarra

  3. Department of Computer Science, Federal University of Uberlândia, 2121 Av. Joao Naves de Avila, Uberlândia, 38400-902, Brazil

    Henrique C. Fernandes

  4. Computer Vision and Systems Laboratory, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Laval University, 1065, av. de la Médecine, Quebec City, G1V 0A6, Canada

    Stefano Sfarra, Fernando López, Clemente Ibarra-Castanedo, Hai Zhang & Xavier Maldague

  5. INFN CHNet, Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso, Via G. Acitelli 22, 67100, Assergi, L’Aquila (AQ), Italy

    Stefano Sfarra

Authors
  1. Stefano Sfarra
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Henrique C. Fernandes
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Fernando López
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Clemente Ibarra-Castanedo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Hai Zhang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Xavier Maldague
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Stefano Sfarra.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Sfarra, S., Fernandes, H.C., López, F. et al. Qualitative Assessments via Infrared Vision of Sub-surface Defects Present Beneath Decorative Surface Coatings. Int J Thermophys 39, 13 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10765-017-2333-4

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10765-017-2333-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation