Passive thermographic detection of moisture problems in façades with adhered ceramic cladding

•Heat capacity variation was the stimulant in thermographic inspection of moisture.•Solar heat gain was used to create unsteady thermal conditions at the façade.•Moist areas showed up with increased surface temperature following solar heat gain.•Passive thermography using solar heat gain can be a preliminary inspection technique.

Adhered ceramic façade claddings are susceptible to defects, of which increasing moisture content is one of the causes, and infrared thermography can be used to detect this phenomenon before visible signs occur. Moisture detection procedures by thermography are not standardised. Research based on in situ inspections was undertaken to adapt present procedures for use on glazed ceramic claddings. In this article we discuss the findings of that research and the results of numerical simulations performed afterwards. Passive thermography using solar heat gain was found to have potential to detect moisture content change in adhered ceramic claddings as a preliminary inspection technique.