Review of InfraRed Thermography and Ground-Penetrating Radar Applications for Building Assessment

Table 1

Comparison between IRT and GPR techniques. Adapted from [18].

Advantages of IRT over GPR	Advantages of GPR over IRT	Common advantages
Non-contact tool although ground-coupled antennas can operate with a separation of 2–5 cm from the surface, and GPR antennas are operating in a non-contact mode (air-coupled antennas)	Lower dependence on the environmental conditions although it is highly influenced by the subsurface materials	Evaluation of the properties of the body without causing damage since they are NDTs
Ability to analyze any surface regardless of the type of material, since metal surfaces are not penetrated by the radar waves	Independence of the thermal condition of the surface under study and of surface parameters for a correct reading	Possibility to perform large-scale studies of materials in real time
More ability to cover more surface under study in less time	Long-range depth analysis (from 1 cm to 10 m depending on the frequency) over a couple of centimeters with active IRT	Repeatable and reliable tools, high maneuverability