Application of FBG Sensors to the Monitoring of Railway Bridges

철도교량 모니터링을 위한 FBG 센서의 응용

FBG sensors are able to measure the strain of structures more easily and durable than electronic resistance gages and thus many researches are on the way to apply the FBG sensor for response monitering of infrastructures. This study investigates the deflection estimation technique using FBG sensors. Several FBG sensors are multiplexed in single optical fiber and installed. in parallel pairs along the length of the structure. The measured strains at the top and bottom of a cross section can be transferred to the curvature of the section which can be used to calculate its displacement. It has been demonstrated that the estimated deflections using the FBG sensor are compared well with the readings from displacement transducers. The results show that the proposed instrumentation technique is capable of estimating the vertical deflection of the structures for various loading conditions including impact and dynamic loads, which is crucial in the structural health monitoring.