Defect Segmentation in Concrete Structures Combining Registered Infrared and Visible Images: A Comparative Experimental Study

Abstract

This study investigates the semantic segmentation of common concrete defects when using different imaging modalities. One pre-trained Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) model was trained via transfer learning and tested to detect concrete defect indications, such as cracks, spalling, and internal voids. The model’s performance was compared using datasets of visible, thermal, and fused images. The data were collected from four different concrete structures and built using four infrared cameras that have different sensitivities and resolutions, with imaging campaigns conducted during autumn, summer, and winter periods. Although specific defects can be detected in monomodal images, the results demonstrate that a larger number of defect classes can be accurately detected using multimodal fused images with the same viewpoint and resolution of the single-sensor image.