Application of Fiber Bragg Grating Sensing in Bidirectional Tests of Pile Foundations

Abstract

Abstract The fiber Bragg grating (FBG) technique has emerged as a new strain monitoring technique in civil engineering applications. In this paper, based on the principle of the FBG technique and the bidirectional test method, FBG sensors and conventional vibrating wire strain gauges (VWSGs) were employed to monitor the strain variation law of a pile under different loads and analyze the relationship between the side resistance and pile-soil relative displacement of soil layers in bidirectional field testing of a large-diameter cast in situ pile. Four field bidirectional test cases of cast in situ piles, prestressed high-strength concrete (PHC) and steel pipe pile, and pile-base post-grouting pile are presented. The applicability and stability of the FBG sensing technique were verified by analyzing the side resistance distribution and bearing capacity. The results showed that FBG sensors can remove the influence because of residual force and the effect of temperature change and concrete expansion photosensitive material provides an improved sensitivity to the external environment compared with a VWSG. The strain and side resistance variation tendency of the cast in situ pile were consistent between the two kinds of sensors. The FBG sensing technique had high test accuracy in the four bidirectional O-cell field test cases of the cast in situ pile, PHC and steel pipe pile, and pile-base post-grouting pile. The pile-base post-grouting technique is an effective procedure that was implemented to increase the ultimate bearing capacity. The research results of this paper reveal a new strain monitoring technique for the bidirectional test method of pile foundations and represent a new test method for measuring the bearing capacity of PHC and steel pipe piles that has a remarkable application value in practical engineering.