Contribution to the improvement of heritage mural painting non-destructive testing by stimulated infrared thermography

Non-destructive testing of heritage mural paintings by means of stimulated infrared thermography has now become rather efficient [1-14]. However, pigments, which form a pictorial layer, have contrasting radiative properties possibly leading to artifact detection. In this paper, attempts to alleviate this difficulty are presented. Based on the spectroscopic study of different paint layers, one can argue that, in the medium infrared field, this radiative disparity decreases significantly. Then, with similar settings, it can be shown that ceramic radiative sources allow reaching this wavelength band. Finally, on the basis of a study carried out on an academic sample and a partial copy of a fresco from the cathedral of Angers, combining ceramic heat sources with a laboratory SAMMTHIR experimental setup enables to make real headway in terms of defects' detection.