Abstract
Following the significant improvement in their properties during the last decade, Distributed Fiber Optics sensing (DFOs) techniques are nowadays implemented for industrial use in the context of Structural Health Monitoring (SHM). While these techniques have formed an undeniable asset for the health monitoring of concrete structures, their performance should be validated for novel structural materials including Ultra High Performance Fiber Reinforced Cementitious composites (UHPFRC). In this study, a full scale UHPFRC beam was instrumented with DFOs, Digital Image Correlation (DIC) and extensometers. The performances of these three measurement techniques in terms of strain measurement as well as crack detection and localization are compared. A method for the measurement of opening and closing of localized fictitious cracks in UHPFRC using the Optical Backscattering Reflectometry (OBR) technique is verified. Moreover, the use of correct combination of DFO sensors allows precise detection of microcracks as well as monitoring of fictitious cracks’ opening. The recommendations regarding use of various SHM methods for UHPFRC structures are given.
Highlights
IntroductionTo tackle the challenges that are in front of civil engineering—such as reduction in carbon footprint with optimized design, proper allocation of scarce resources through the use of engineered structural materials or extension of service duration thanks to deeper understanding of performance of structures—up-to-date methods should be used
To tackle the challenges that are in front of civil engineering—such as reduction in carbon footprint with optimized design, proper allocation of scarce resources through the use of engineered structural materials or extension of service duration thanks to deeper understanding of performance of structures—up-to-date methods should be used.From the construction material point of view, such a developing technology is the Ultra HighPerformance Fiber Reinforced Cementitious composite (UHPFRC)
This paper presents results of an experimental validation of the use of Distributed Fiber Optics sensing (DFOs) to detect and measure discontinuities in Ultra High Performance Fiber Reinforced Cementitious composites (UHPFRC) structures
Summary
To tackle the challenges that are in front of civil engineering—such as reduction in carbon footprint with optimized design, proper allocation of scarce resources through the use of engineered structural materials or extension of service duration thanks to deeper understanding of performance of structures—up-to-date methods should be used. It allows for design of refined and more slender structures as well as reinforcing and upgrading existing ones. To fully master its performance on both micro- and macroscopic levels, new measurement techniques are needed. Such a possibility is given through the development of Distributed Fiber Optics (DFO) sensing techniques. Fiber Optics (FO) sensors became increasingly popular in Structural Health Monitoring (SHM), and they are the second most used
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