Novel applications of pulse pre-pump Brillouin Optical Time Domain Analysis for behavior evaluation of structures under thermal and mechanical loading

This study aims to: (1) develop an analytical model for the strain transfer effect of distributed fiber optic sensors in a uniform or non-uniform stress field; (2) develop a measurement approach to monitor strains in concrete and detect damage (e.g. crack and delamination) in bonded and unbonded concrete overlays; (3) characterize the strain and temperature sensitivities of distributed fiber optic sensors at elevated temperatures; (4) develop a thermal annealing approach to enhance the thermal stability and temperature sensitivity of the distributed sensors; and (5) apply the distributed sensors to assess structural behaviors of concrete and steel structures exposed to fire. The pulse pre-pump Brillouin Optical Time Domain Analysis (PPP-BOTDA) was employed to measure strain and temperature distributions along a fused silica single-mode optical fiber. Strain distributions in concrete were measured from the distributed fiber optic sensors embedded in bonded and unbonded concrete overlays. Peaks of the strain distributions represent the effect of concrete cracks and delamination. The strain sensitivity coefficient of distributed sensors was reduced from 0.054 MHz/µε to 0.042 MHz/µε when temperature increased from 22 ⁰C to 750 ⁰C. The temperature sensitivity coefficient of distributed sensors was reduced from 1.349x10-3 GHz/⁰C to 0.419x10-3 GHz/⁰C when temperature increased from 22 ⁰C to 1000 ⁰C. The distributed sensors embedded in concrete beams measured non-uniform temperature distributions with local peaks representing a sudden increase of temperature through concrete cracks. Temperature distributions measured from the distributed sensors attached on steel beams enabled an enhanced thermo-mechanical analysis to understand the structural behaviors of steel beams subjected to fire --Abstract, page iii

Quadratic behavior of fiber Bragg grating temperature coefficients

We describe the characterization of the temperature and strain responses of fiber Bragg grating sensors by use of an interferometric interrogation technique to provide an absolute measurement of the grating wavelength. The fiber Bragg grating temperature response was found to be nonlinear over the temperature range -70 degreesC to 80 degreesC. The nonlinearity was observed to be a quadratic function of temperature, arising from the linear dependence on temperature of the thermo-optic coefficient of silica glass over this range, and is in good agreement with a theoretical model. (C) 2004 Optical Society of America

Application of distributed optical fiber sensors for the health monitoring of two real structures in Barcelona

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis Group in Structure and Infrastructure Engineering on 2018, available online at: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/15732479.2018.1438479The versatility and ease of installation of Distributed Optical Fibre Sensors (DOFS) compared with traditional monitoring systems are important characteristics to consider when facing the Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) of real world structures. The DOFS used in this study provide continuous (in space) strain data along the optical fibre with high spatial resolution. The main issues and results of two different existing structures monitored with DOFS, are described in this paper. The main SHM results of the rehabilitation of an historical building used as hospital and the enlargement of a pre-stressed concrete bridge are presented. The results are obtained using a novel DOFS based on an Optical Backscattered Reflectometry (OBR) technique. The application of the optical fibre monitoring system to two different materials (masonry and concrete) provides also important insights on the great possibilities of this technique when monitoring existing structures. In fact, the influence of strain transfer between the DOFS and the bonding surface is one of the principal effects that should be considered in the application of the OBR technique to real structures. Moreover, and because structural surfaces generally present considerable roughness, the procedure to attach the optical fibre to the two monitored structures is described.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Minimization of Temperature Effects of High-Birefringent Elliptical Fibers for Polarmetric Optical-Fiber Sensors

The temperature dependence of polarization-maintaining fibers is a problem in polarimetric optical-fiber sensors. We report a novel method for making a temperature-insensitive, polarization-maintaining fiber, which may be used for the sensing part in a polarimetric strain sensor. The fiber has a double-clad elliptical core with built-in stresses in the core and cladding regions. To minimize the temperature sensitivity, the built-in stresses are balanced with the refractive-index differences and the core ellipticity properly chosen. The temperature and strain sensitivities of the fiber are calculated. A practical design and some potential applications of such a temperature-insensitive fiber with a high strain sensitivity are presented

Review: optical fiber sensors for civil engineering applications

Optical fiber sensor (OFS) technologies have developed rapidly over the last few decades, and various types of OFS have found practical applications in the field of civil engineering. In this paper, which is resulting from the work of the RILEM technical committee “Optical fiber sensors for civil engineering applications”, different kinds of sensing techniques, including change of light intensity, interferometry, fiber Bragg grating, adsorption measurement and distributed sensing, are briefly reviewed to introduce the basic sensing principles. Then, the applications of OFS in highway structures, building structures, geotechnical structures, pipelines as well as cables monitoring are described, with focus on sensor design, installation technique and sensor performance. It is believed that the State-of-the-Art review is helpful to engineers considering the use of OFS in their projects, and can facilitate the wider application of OFS technologies in construction industry

RTM production monitoring of the A380 hinge arm droop nose mechanism: a multi-sensor approach

his research presents a case study of production monitoring on an aerospace composite component: the hinge arm of the droop nose mechanism on the Airbus A380 wing leading edge. A sensor network composed of Fibre Bragg Gratings, capacitive sensors for cure monitoring and thermocouples was embedded in its fibre reinforced lay-up and measurements were acquired throughout its Resin Transfer Moulding production process. Two main challenges had to be overcome: first, the integration of the sensor lines in the existing Resin Transfer Moulding mould without modifying it; second, the demoulding of the component without damaging the sensor lines. The proposed embedding solution has proved successful. The wavelength shifts of the Fibre Bragg Gratings were observed from the initial production stages, over the resin injection, the complete curing of the resin and the cooling-down prior to demoulding. The sensors proved to be sensitive to detecting the resin flow front, vacuum and pressure increase into the mould and the temperature increase caused by the resin curing. Measurements were also acquired during the post-curing cycle. Residual strains during all steps of the process were derived from the sensors’ wavelength shift, showing values up to 0.2% in compression. Moreover, the capacitive sensors were able to follow-up the curing degree during the production process. The sensors proved able to detect the resin flow front, whereas thermocouples could not measure an appreciable increase of temperature due to the fact that the resin had the same temperature as the mould

Bridges Structural Health Monitoring and Deterioration Detection Synthesis of Knowledge and Technology

INE/AUTC 10.0

Nanoscale resolution interrogation scheme for simultaneous static and dynamic fiber Bragg grating strain sensing

A combined interrogation and signal processing technique which facilitates high-speed simultaneous static and dynamic strain demodulation of multiplexed fiber Bragg grating sensors is described. The scheme integrates passive, interferometric wavelength-demodulation and fast optical switching between wavelength division multiplexer channels with signal extraction via a software lock-in amplifier and fast Fourier transform. Static and dynamic strain measurements with noise floors of 1 nanostrain and 10 nanostrain/sqrt(Hz), between 5 mHz and 2 kHz were obtained. An inverse analysis applied to a cantilever beam set up was used to characterise and verify strain measurements using finite element modeling. By providing distributed measurements of both ultahigh-resolution static and dynamic strain, the proposed scheme will facilitate advanced structural health monitoring