Vehicle flow indication and identification using FBG sensors

Abstract

Abstract This paper proposes a vehicle flow monitoring system utilizing fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensor technology. The system comprises a prototype road model along with a car with varying loads. The FBG sensor is embedded in the road surface for sensing the strain induced by the vehicle movement. The laboratory experiments were conducted using an embankment model equipped with FBG sensor to identify vehicle movement under static and movable loads. Under static condition, different loads were applied on the car and the corresponding wavelength shifts have been measured using FBG-interrogator. Under dynamic condition, the vehicle was moved with certain speed and the corresponding wavelength shifts were recorded over time. The sensitivity of FBG for vehicle load sensing has been obtained as 0.3 pm/N. The proposed vehicle flow sensor system offers good accuracy and sensitivity and has potential applications for real-time vehicle flow monitoring. The proposed sensor system can be used to analyze road surface irregularities, crucial for assessing heavy-vehicle fatigue.