Abstract

In order to explore novel method for structural cracks detection in reinforced concrete structures, this paper proposed a fiber optical ribbon package structure for weak fiber optic Bragg grating (FBG), which further enhanced the mechanical strength and spatial resolution of distributed fiber optic sensing. Then a load simulation test of crack damage based on scale-down simple support beam model was designed and carried out. The results showed that the responses of weak FBG sensors packaged with proposed structure were consistent with that of traditional strain gauges. Moreover, there was an explicit explanative relationship between the weak FBG-based strain time-history curves and the structural cracks, which can clearly reflect the transition of the structure from elastic to elastic-plastic state, and can be used to detect crack emergence and development.

© 2018 The Author(s)