Assessment and visualization of performance indicators of reinforced concrete beams by distributed optical fibre sensing

The implementation of structural health monitoring systems in civil engineering structures already in the construction phase could contribute to safer and more resilient infrastructure. Due to their lightweight, small size and high resistance to the environment, distributed optical fibre sensors sta...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Gil Berrocal, Carlos, Fernández Pérez, Ignacio, Bado, Mattia Francesco|||0000-0003-3446-261X, Casas Rius, Joan Ramon|||0000-0003-4473-4308, Rempling, Rasmus
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2021
País:España
Institución:Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC)
Repositorio:UPCommons. Portal del coneixement obert de la UPC
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:upcommons.upc.edu:2117/343270
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/2117/343270
https://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1475921720984431
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Optical fiber detectors
Concrete -- Cracking
Reinforced concrete
Distributed optical fibre sensing
Rayleigh backscattering
Performance indicators
Crack monitoring
Detectors de fibra òptica
Formigó -- Fissuració
Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Enginyeria civil::Materials i estructures::Materials i estructures de formigó
Descripción
Sumario:The implementation of structural health monitoring systems in civil engineering structures already in the construction phase could contribute to safer and more resilient infrastructure. Due to their lightweight, small size and high resistance to the environment, distributed optical fibre sensors stand out as a very promising technology for damage detection and quantification in reinforced concrete structures. In this article, the suitability of embedding robust distributed optical fibre sensors featuring a protective sheath to accurately assess the performance indicators, in terms of vertical deflection and crack width, of three reinforced concrete beams subjected to four-point bending is investigated. The results revealed that a certain strain attenuation occurs in embedded robust distributed optical fibre sensors compared to commonly used thin polyimide-coated distributed optical fibre sensors bonded to steel reinforcement bars. However, the presence of the protective sheath prevented the appearance of strain reading anomalies which has been a frequently reported issue. Performance wise, the robust distributed optical fibre sensors were able to provide a good estimate of the beam deflections with errors of between 12.3% and 6.5%. Similarly, crack widths computed based on distributed optical fibre sensor strain measurements differed by as little as ±20¿µm with results from digital image correlation, provided individual cracks could be successfully detected in the strain profiles. Finally, a post-processing procedure is presented to generate intuitive contour plots that can help delivering critical information about the element’s structural condition in a clear and straightforward manner.