Course content

This course covers basic topics and applications related to the use of non-destructive techniques (NDT) that can be used in laboratories or in situ to monitor the conditions of a building or its component. Fundamental concepts that will be reviewed before to introduce the no destructive techniques adopted in condition monitoring of the built environment are capillarity, electrical and dielectric properties, thermal radiation and heat transfer (infrared radiation, thermal mass and conduction), surface interactions (colorimetry and spectral reflection, hygric and thermal equilibrium), acoustic and wave physics (wave velocity and impedance, acoustic emission with its amplitude, frequency and number of hits), function and use of sensors, methods to carry on measurements.

During the lectures explanation of procedure to perform a condition monitoring of a building component or structure will be presented together with the focus on the use of the most common non-destructive methods. Examples of non-destructive techniques that will be presented: Ultrasound, Acoustic Emission, liquid penetrant inspection method, moisture meters as capacitive, resistive and microwave band inspection techniques, colorimeter, infrared thermography and hygrometers/thermometers for measuring environmental conditions at the building location.

Each NDT method will be presented by explaining the fundamental principles of the method, challenges in using it as well as its reliability. In addition, it will be discussed what are the most important parameters to monitor for assessing degradation and weathering on the built environment in relation to the selected inspection method.

The impact of climate change and the influence of climate on the weathering of buildings, or materials constituting the built environment, ie, damage mechanisms triggered by temperature, precipitation, humidity and/or frost, will be emphasized throughout the course. This focus extends beyond general decay to cover advanced climate-induced degradation mechanisms, including volumetric expansion/contraction, micro-crack initiation due to hygric change, and the mechanical effects of extreme weather events. Students will gain a deep understanding of the slow, cumulative damage from repeated daily cycles interacts with the rapid failure caused by infrequent, high-stress extremes. A core objective is to illustrate that the final level of material damage in a building is the sum of the entire historical sequence of these combined fatigue cycles, not just the isolated events. Therefore, the course structure is designed to teach students how to employ Non-Destructive Techniques (NDT) to quantify and detect this superficial/sub superficial, often invisible damage, and how to set up robust Condition Monitoring systems to translate real-time environmental data into effective, proactive strategies for long-term climate change adaptation and preservation of the built environment.

During the exercise/practical activity the students will learn how to elaborate data collected via NDTs and will learn how to recognize degradation and weathering mechanisms on buildings or their components.

During the course a case study will be analyzed giving the students the possibility to personally use some of the NDTs presented at the lesson. Students will take their own measurements with these techniques and will learn how to elaborate the data collected to carry their own evaluation of the condition monitoring of the case study building under examination. All this process of measuring, creating a database with its own collected measurements, information and metadata, of analyzing data, comparing them with other datasets openly available.

Learning outcome

Knowledge :

NDT Selection and Justification: Select and critically justify the most suitable Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) technique for inspecting specific building components, materials, or entire structures.

Material Sensitivity Analysis: Understand and interpret the inherent sensitivity of buildings or heritage materials (eg, wood, stone, paint layers) to various environmental stressors, including temperature, moisture, and radiation.

Degradation Mechanism Recognition: Recognize and classify various climate-induced degradation mechanisms, including signs of material fatigue (Low-Cycle and High-Cycle Fatigue) and the direct and indirect impacts of Climate Change on the built environment.

Field Condition Monitoring: Design, implement, and manage practical Condition Monitoring programs in real-world, field-based scenarios to effectively track structural health and environmental stressors over time

Skills: At the end of the course the student should be able to choose the most suitable non-destructive technique to inspect a building or a component or a specific material. The student should be able to understand the sensitivity of materials to various climate parameters such as temperature, moisture, radiation, as well as to recognize climate induced degradation mechanisms, here included signs of climate change impact. The student must be able to monitor condition monitoring in real cases in the field.

General competence: The student must have general competence related to fundamental and applied physics with a view to condition monitoring of structures and/or materials constituting the built environment. The student must have the prerequisites to be able to carry out fieldwork related to a generic condition monitoring.

Learning methods and activities

Lectures and exercises must be the central teaching methods and activities. Students will carry out self-studies to understand the main non-destructive techniques, their application and the physics behind them, presented in the lessons.

Recommended previous knowledge

Basic knowledge of environmental parameters, materials of the built environment, propagation of elastic and electromagnetic waves in materials, capillarity, thermal radiation and heat transfer, sensors and measures. In addition, knowledge of the damage functions could be an advantage.

Course materials

There is no text book covering all the topics of this course. Therefore the learning materials will be the following: lecture notes and powerpoint presentations, selected research papers and selected book chapters.