Effects of Temperatures on Mortar Quantified by Surface Color Changes

Abstract

Abstract The purpose of this study is to explore the potential use of a digital image analysis method to quantify fire-related damages. Temperature regimes, durations of firing temperatures, and changes to color components are investigated. This research involves testing mortar specimens under different elevated temperatures, using a digital camera to capture images of the tested specimens, and applying the “image color intensity analyzer” to the images in order to obtain different intensities of color components in both the RGB and hue-saturation-intensity (HSI) color spaces. The study demonstrates that, as a result of elevated temperatures, red is the most dominant component in the color change, followed by green and blue. Parameters affecting the color change include maximum temperatures and duration of firing. This study also shows that hue and saturation correlate very well with temperatures, which implies that the HSI color space can be applied to study the behavior of fire-damaged concrete.