Simulation of IR-Heating and IR-Scanning for the Prediction of Internal Structures of Walls

M. Penzel[1], F. Müller[1], M. Zinecker[1], A. Schubert[1], O. Wuttke[2], M. Gläser[3]
[1]Technische Universität Chemnitz, Germany
[2]Wuttke Ingenieure GmbH, Germany
[3]IFU GmbH Privates Institut für Umweltanalysen, Germany
Veröffentlicht in 2019

3D-scanning of rooms and entire buildings is state of the art and commonly used to obtain and save the digital building structure. This information simplifies appropriate planning for modifications, to equip rooms, for interior design, etc.

With a new approach of IR-heating and IR-scanning the entire internal structure of walls, floors and ceilings could be captured and saved in a digital model. Plumbing, piping, electrical work and refurbishing would now become easier and safer than ever. Searching and looking for old construction plans could now become a part of the past. 3D-models show the exact internal structure of the walls and help to save time and money in planning and the enforcement of construction. To make this possible, a study is carried out to combine research and investigation of experiments of 3D-wall-scanning and the evaluation of simulation results to predict the possibilities and boundaries of the new scanning method. This paper will describe the setup of simulations, done in COMSOL Multiphysics®. For modelling radiation from wall to wall and the heat transfer in the wall, the Heat Transfer in Solids interface is used. Radiation is applied perpendicular to the diffuse wall surface with the boundary condition Prescribed Radiosity. This procedure is done with the help of a second wall, that can be varied in distance. The Prescribed Radiosity is defined accordingly to the wave length of the radiator material and is varied as well. With the help of the models, it will be possible to make an assumption about the IR-source in terms of power, wavelength and required distance to the wall for the IR-heating and IR-scanning in reality. Modelling of walls with an entire structure for the supply of water and electricity is done in 3D and time dependent. The results of the simulations have been analyzed and compared to experimental results. This approach is intended to prove the modelling strategy and the method for analyzing the data.