Thermography Fundamentals and First Principals of Natural Sciences and

Engineering Sciences
Natural science is a branch of science concerned with the description, prediction, and
understanding of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation,
experimentation and engineering science is a broad discipline that enclose many different
scientific principles and associated mathematics that underlie engineering. Engineering science
make a relation between thermography scientific principles and mathematics equation which is
the Stefan–Boltzmann equation for a black body radiation.

Another part, natural science can be divided into two main branches: life science and physical
science. Life science is alternatively known as biology` and physical science is subdivided into
branches: physics, chemistry, astronomy and Earth science. Now we can relate thermography
with the natural science. In life science, which is another part of natural sciences, thermal
imaging techniques support safe and non-invasive measurements and the acquisition of results
that cannot be obtained by any other method. Infrared thermography also creates a wide range
of applications for human and veterinary medicine, ecology, zoology etc. In physical science,
thermography is the process of using an infrared camera to look for abnormally hot or cold
areas on a component operating under normal conditions. It is a viable nondestructive
evaluation technique for the characterization of corrosion in metallic materials and is the
simplest of all thermal inspection techniques. The thermography has some fundamentals which
can be correlated with the principals of natural sciences and engineering sciences. The
fundamentals are given below:

• Frequency
The rate of a wave's repetition over a given period is called frequency. Frequency refers to the
process of how much an event occurs. After every second of 'T,' a periodic wave repeats itself
(time period). Periodic wave frequency is nothing more than a reciprocal time period (T).
f=1/T
The unit of frequency is Hertz, abbreviated as Hz.

• Wavelength
The wavelength is defined as the distance between two consecutive maximum points (crests),
or between two consecutive minimum points (troughs). Stated, the difference between two
immediate positive peaks or two immediate negative peaks is only the wave's duration. It can
be termed as wavelength.
λ=c/f
The wavelength λ is expressed in the units of length, such as meters, feet, or inches. The
commonly used term is meters.

• Bandwidth
A band of wavelength frequencies defined for the specific communication is known as
bandwidth. The signal is achieved over a spectrum of frequencies when transmitted or
received. A specific signal is assigned to this specific range of frequencies so that other signals
cannot interfere with its transmission. Bandwidth is the frequency band between the higher
and the lower frequencies where a signal is transmitted. If reserved, the bandwidth cannot be
used by anyone. The entire spectrum is divided into bandwidths for allocation to various
transmitters.

• Radiation Intensity
Radiation intensity is the amount of energy passing through a given area that is perpendicular
to the direction of radiation travel in a given unit of time. The intensity of an X-ray or gamma-
ray source can easily be measured with the thermal imaging system (thermography).

• Emissivity
Emissivity is a term representing a material's ability to emit thermal radiation.

The relevance of Thermography in the field of Electromagnetic Waves

The electromagnetic spectrum is the distribution of electromagnetic radiation according to

energy. It is the range of all possible frequencies of electromagnetic radiation. The
electromagnetic spectrum extends from below the low frequencies used for modern radio
communication to gamma radiation at the short wavelength (high-frequency) end, thereby
covering wavelengths from thousands of kilometers down to a fraction of the size of an atom.
Since infrared radiation is emitted by all objects based on their temperatures, according to the
black body radiation law, thermography makes it possible to “see” one’s environment with or
without visible illumination. The amount of radiation emitted by an object increases with
temperature; therefore, thermography allows one to see variations in temperature. All objects
emit a certain amount of black body radiation as a function of their temperatures. The higher
an object’s temperature is the more infrared radiation as black-body radiation it emits. A
special camera can detect this radiation in a way similar to an ordinary camera does visible
light. It works even in total darkness because ambient light level does not matter . Thermal
images or Thermography are actually visual displays of the amount of infrared energy emitted,
transmitted, and reflected by an object.
Incident Energy = Emitted Energy + Transmitted Energy + Reflected Energy

It is the second law of thermodynamics and Emissivity.

Any object that is above zero degrees Kelvin will radiate energy in the form of electromagnetic
photons. The German physicist, Max Planck (1858–1947), deduced that the radiation spectral
density (ρ) given off from a hot object depended on the wavelength of interest and the
temperature of the object. This spectral density can be described by:
where h is Planck’s constant (6.6256 × 10−34 J s), c is the speed of light, λ is the electromagnetic
wavelength of interest, k is Boltzmann’s constant (1.38054 × 10−23 J K−1), and T is the temperature in
Kelvin. A typical set of spectral distributions for different temperatures is shown in Figure:

The wavelength at which peak radiation intensity occurs can be found by differentiating
Planck’s equation and setting the derivative equal to zero. Therefore, the wavelength of peak
radiation is determined by:

λ p≈hc/5kT
where λp is the peak radiation wavelength (m). At room temperature, or above, the wavelength
of peak radiation will be in the micrometer range (∼10 μm), which is in the long-wavelength
infrared band (Table 3). The penetration of electromagnetic energy into materials is limited by
the wavelength and the dielectric properties of the material. The penetration depth of any
radiation from objects at room temperature, or above, will be in the nanometer range;
therefore, this form of radiative energy transfer must be regarded as a surface phenomenon,
where further energy transfer from the surface into the material occurs via internal conduction
and convection.
 Division name Abbreviation Wavelength (μm) Temperature (K)
Near infrared NIR 0.75–1.4 3964–2070
Short-wavelength SWIR 1.4–3.0 2070–966
Infrared
Mid-wavelength MWIR 3.0–8.0 966–362
Infrared
Long-wavelength LWIR 8.0–15.0 362–193
Infrared
Far infrared FIR 15.0–1000

Table 3.
A commonly used sub-division scheme for the infrared part of the electromagnetic spectrum.
The total radiated power can be determined by integrating Planck’s equation across all
wavelengths for a temperature to yield the Stefan-Boltzmann equation. The power transferred
from an object at one temperature to another object at a lower temperature is given by:

where q is the radiation power transferred (W); ε is the surface emissivity of the radiator
material; σ is the Stefan-Boltzmann constant (5.6704 × 10−8 J s−1 m−2 K−4); A is the surface area of
the heated object (m2); TA is the temperature of the infrared source (K); and Tp is the
temperature of the material being heated (K). In the case of a normal object the power transfer
is reduced by a factor ε, which depends on the properties of the object’s surface. This factor is
referred to as the emissivity of the surface. Brightness temperature is the temperature that a
black body, in thermal equilibrium with its surroundings, would need to have in order to
duplicate the observed electromagnetic wave intensity, at a known wavelength. The brightness
temperature of a body can be determined by rearranging Planck’s equation to find Tb for a
given spectral density value, at a wavelength λ:
The real surface temperature of an object can be determined by dividing the brightness
temperature by the surface emissivity of the object being assessed. Since the emissivity is a
value between 0 and 1, the real temperature will be greater than or equal to the brightness
temperature. This is effectively how remote thermal sensors and thermal imaging systems
operate.

Visual Image Thermal image

These two glasses visually appear the same Thermal Imaging with an infrared

camera. “Paints a different picture.

Electromagnetic Conduction
When an electromagnetic (EM) field is applied to a conductive material, the temperature
increases owing to resistive heating from the induced electric current which is known as Joule
heating. Joule heating is the coupling of the electromagnetic and thermal fields. According to
Joule’s Law:
where QH is the sum of the generated heat, I represent electric current, R is electrical
resistance and t is time. According to the definition of electrical resistance:

where L is the length of the conductor, S is the cross-sectional area of conductor, σ is

the electrical conductivity which dependent on temperature T and σ0 is the
conductivity at the reference temperature T0 and α is the temperature coefficient of
resistivity, which describes how resistivity varies with temperature. Since the
relationship between the current and the induced current density is:

The Equation (2) and (3) are substituted into Eq. (1) to obtain Eq. (4):

Consider the unit volume per unit time, thus Eq. (4) can be reduced to
Following the energy conservation and Fourier heat conduction, the inductive heat conduction
equation can be expressed as:

where T = T(x, y, z, t) is the temperature distribution, k is the thermal conductivity of the

material (W/m K), which is dependent on temperature, ρ is the density (kg/m3), Cp is specific
heat (J/kg K) and QH(x, y, z, t) is the internal heat generation function per unit volume, which is
the result of the eddy current excitation. The variation of temporal temperature depends on
the spatial temperature variation for heat conduction. According to Eq. (5), heat conduction is
influenced by T(x, y, z, t), ξ, υ, σ, μ and l. Here ξ denotes the sensor geometry factor; υ denotes
the parameter of the excitation (frequency, amplitude, etc.) and l denotes the lift-off (distance
between the sensor and sample). From the above analysis, it becomes clear that the variation
of temperature spatially and its transient response recorded from the IR camera directly reveals
the intrinsic properties variation of the conductive material. In addition, variation of surface
emissivity introduces spurious temperature inhomogeneity, according to Stefan-Boltzmann
law28 the energy emitted by a black body per second per unit of area is proportional to the
fourth power of its absolute temperature. This can be described as

where σsb = 5.67 × 10 − 8W/(m2·k4) is the Stefan-

Boltzmann constant and T is the absolute temperature. This difference can be described by the
emissivity 0 ≤ ε ≤ 1 which denotes the ratio of radiation of actual object with respect to the
black body. When the temperature of the material changes slightly, the radiation power will
cause a large change. The radiance of the actual object depends on the properties of the
material and the surface preparation besides the temperature.

Wide-Ranging

Thermography is used in a variety of fields. In certain areas, thermal imaging system is used
almost exclusively for its characteristics. Thermography is an infrared scanning method, that
has been very developed in this last few year, due to the new powerful integrated chips as well
as high level digital systems. So, we have in our days a very easy and powerful tool that can
provide us with a very accurate thermal image of an object or surface. With this thermal image,
it is very easy to see and measure the temperature distribution of a surface, as well as to find
the location of specific temperatures, that can characterize the process under observation.
Inspection of Machinery
Thermographic images of machinery during operation often reveals problems which cause
elevated temperatures. For example, faulty electrical contacts may substantially heat up, and
the same holds for moving parts experiencing increased friction. One may also use thermal
imaging for locating other defects of a wide range of parts. One sometimes uses active
thermography, where some artificial heat source is applied. For example, one may apply an
intense heat pulse by short-term irradiation with intense lamps and then monitor the evolution
of temperatures with an infrared camera. That temperature evolution is often significantly
modified e.g. by hidden cracks or other sub-surface features.
Fire Detection and Fire Fighting
Infrared imaging can be used to quickly and reliably identify fires based on their intense
infrared radiation. Compared with using visible light, the use of infrared light is very favorable,
because it is much less likely to produce false alarms, and because the infrared radiation can
even penetrate thick smoke. Thermal imaging cameras are also very useful for firefighters. They
can adequately assess details of fires and also locate persons even through thick smoke.
Medical and Veterinary Applications
Measurements of skin temperatures can reveal various conditions. For example, thermal
imaging cameras are used at airports to identify persons with fever, revealed by elevated skin
temperatures. That is particularly of interest at times where the spread of dangerous infections
must be limited. However, demographic measurements can also be used for doctors and
veterinaries. For example, increased temperatures may indicate inflammations.
Military Applications
Thermal imaging is also important for various military applications. For example, one can easily
locate persons and vehicles in a colder environment based on their thermal radiation. Anti-
aircraft rockets are often guided with an infrared camera.

Solar Panel
This is a thermographic image of a solar module. Many individual solar cells make up one solar
module. The solar cells are the squares within the grid of dots on the module. You can see the
cells that are giving off a much higher heat signature. The hotter cells are not supplying energy
to the grid system because they are locally dissipating their energy as heat. As new renewable
energy technology advances, new uses are found for the thermographic camera. Viewing the
thermographic image needs to be combined with the wisdom of a seasoned thermographer to
properly interpret and diagnose conditions.

Power Plant
This power plant has multiple problems with overheating terminations on the network. A single
thermographic image can see all of the hot spots in one viewing and at a safe distance away
from the medium- or high-voltage equipment. The criticality of any system is based on the
consequences of a failure. In a manufacturing plant failure and outage, only one customer is
typically affected. On the other hand, when a utility electrical connection fails, entire
geographic areas can be affected by the resulting outage.

Conflicting Factor
While thermography has many great advantages, it’s not a perfect or complete solution for
every situation. This is why Infiniti believes in multi-sensor systems that can benefit from the
multiple advantages of thermal while still providing a visible imaging system that covers its
drawbacks. Here are some limitations you should be aware of with thermal technology.
Doesn’t Show Visible Contrast
Thermal imaging relies on contrasting temperatures to clearly define objects, whereas humans
are used to using contrasting colors and shadows to see definition in objects. This can make
thermal imaging less effective in situations where definition is expected but the surface
temperatures of objects are very uniform, such as printed text and images.
Can’t See Through Glass
Since glass emits its own heat and is also partially reflective of thermal energy, thermal imaging
is unable to see through glass, which means thermal cameras cannot see into building or
vehicle windows and cannot be installed behind a window looking out.
Limited Resolution

Thermal sensors for security purposes are often limited to a resolution of 640×480, which is
much lower than most current visible sensors. However, it’s important to know that the types
of details detected by thermal and visible cameras are very different; a high level of detail isn’t
as critical with thermal cameras.

Preparing an area for proper use of thermography system

 Room temperature should be 68-76 °F (20-24 °C) and relative humidity 10-50 percent.
 Try to control other items that could impact the temperature measurement:
o Avoid reflective backgrounds (for example, glass, mirrors, metallic surfaces) to
minimize reflected infrared radiation.
o Use in a room with no draft (movement of air), out of direct sunlight and away
from radiant heat (for example, portable heaters, electrical sources).
o Avoid strong lighting (for example, incandescent, halogen and quartz tungsten
halogen light bulbs).

Figure 2 demonstrates the proper thermal imaging room setup .