Use of Thermovision for the Survey of a Timber Vault in Torino

In order to study the building technology of an old 19th century timber vault in the Palace of the Academy of Sciences in Torino, authors performed several diagnostic tests to detect the construction technique and the damages to this structure. The vault has the peculiarity of being a timber structure, made with a specific technology that is not easily visible from intrados and extrados. For this reason the interpretation of its mechanical behaviour must be based on the knowledge of its construction technology. The non destructive technique that provided the most interesting information was IR thermography. This technique provided valuable data about the timbering used to build the shell of the vault and enabled correct execution of other minor destructive tests, such as light sampling and stratigraphic investigation on the painted plast.