Multiplexed Bragg grating optical fiber sensors for damage evaluation in highway bridges

A multiplexed Bragg grating optical fiber monitoring system is designed and integrated at the construction stage in an experimental full scale laboratory bridge. The test bridge is a 40 ft span non-composite steel girder concrete deck bridge. The network of sensors is used to measure the strain throughout the bridge, with sensors bonded to the tension steel in the slab and attached to the bottom flange of the girders. Resistive strain gages and Bragg grating sensors are placed side by side to compare results. The strain data are obtained for the pristine structure, then damage is introduced at midspan for an exterior girder. Several levels of damage in the form of cuts in one of the girders are imposed with the final cut resulting in a half depth fracture of the girder. The load path in the structure is obtained using the built in sensor system.