SPIE Conference on Smart Structures and Materials, 5-6.03.

1997, San Diego, USA

Embedded and surface mounted fiber optic sensors for civil structural monitoring
Daniele Inaudi 1,2, Nicoletta Casanova 1,2,3, Pascal Kronenberg 1, Silvio Marazzi 4, Samuel Vurpillot 1 IMAC - Stress Analysis Laboratory Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Department of Civil Engineering CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland SMARTEC SA via al Molino 6 CH-6916 Grancia, Switzerland IMM SA via al Molino 6 CH-6916 Grancia, Switzerland DIAMOND SA via dei Patrizi CH-6616 Losone, Switzerland
1. ABSTRACT
Civil structural monitoring by optical fiber sensors, requires the development of reliable sensors that can be embedded or surface mounted in concrete, mortars, steel, timber and other construction materials as well as in rocks, soils and road pavements. The se sensors should be rapid and simple to install in order to avoid any interference with the building site schedule and not to require specialized operators to accomplish the task. The sensors have to be rugged enough to withstand the harsh conditions typically found in civil engineering including, dust, moisture, shocks, EM disturbances and unskilled workman. It is also desirable that the instrumentation survives for tens of years in order to allow a constant monitoring of the structure aging. This contribution presents the results of a four-year effort to develop, test and industrially produce a palette of sensors responding to the above requirements and adapted to different applications and host materials. These sensors include a small version (length up to 2 m) adapted for embedding in mortars, grout and glues, an intermediate version of length between 20 cm and 6 m adapted to direct concrete embedding or surface installation and a long version adapted to measure large deformations (up to 2%) over length up to 30 m and especially adapted for geostructures monitoring. Keywords: Deformation sensor, Strain sensor, Structural monitoring, Fiber optic sensors.
4 3 2 1

2. INTRODUCTION: DEFORMATION SENSORS

The importance of monitoring all structures of some significance is an evidence [1,2]. Monitoring is fundamental in order to guarantee the safety of a structure and its users (think of a dam, a bridge or a tunnel). It also helps in the planning of maintenance intervention and to increase the knowledge of its real behavior, permitting the optimization of future similar structures.

SPIE Conference on Smart Structures and Materials, 5-6.03.1997, San Diego, USA

The monitoring of a new or existing structure can be approached either from the material or from the structural point of view. In the first case, monitoring will concentrate on the local propertie s of the materials used (e.g. concrete, steel, timber, composite materials,) and observe their behavior under load, temperature variations or aging. Short base length strain sensors are the ideal transducers for this type of monitoring approach. If a very large number of these sensors are installed at different points, it is possible to extrapolate information about the behavior of the whole structure from these local measurements. In the structural approach, the structure is observed from a geometrical point of view. By using long gage length deformation sensors with measurement bases much larger than the characteristic dimensions of the materials (for example a few meter for a concrete bridge), it is possible to gain information about the deformations of the whole structure and extrapolate on the global behavior of the construction materials. The structural monitoring approach will detect material degradation like cracking or flow only if they have an impact on the form of the structure. This approach usually requires a reduced number of sensors when compared to the material monitoring approach. The availability of reliable strain sensors like resistance strain gages or, more recently, fiber Bragg gratings [ 3] have historically concentrated most research efforts in the direction of material monitoring rather than structural monitoring. This latter has usually been realized using external measuring methods like triangulation, dial gages and invar wires. Interferometric fiber optic sensors offer an interesting means of implementing structural monitoring with internal or embedded sensors. The SOFO system (French acronym of Surveillance dOuvrages par Fibres Optiques or Structural monitoring by optical fiber sensors) is an example of long-gage length sensor adapted to structural monitoring. It is based on lowcoherence interferometry [4] and is composed by a portable reading unit [5,6,7] adapted to building yard conditions, different types of sensors adapted to installation in or on most construction materials [8,9] as well as a number of software packages allowing the storage and the computer aided analysis of a large number of measurements [10]. All these components are now commercially available through the company SMARTEC SA. The SOFO measurement setup is based on a double, all-fiber, Michelson interferometer in tandem configuration as shown in Figu re 1. The 1.3 micron radiation of a Light Emi tting Diode (LED) with a rated power of 0.2 mW and a coherence length of 30 m is launched into a monomode fiber and split, by means of a monomode coupler, into a pair of fibers called respectively the reference and the measurement fibers. The reference fiber is mechanically coupled to the structure and follows its

Structure

Sensor chain with partial reflectors Portable Reading Unit

Coupler Mobile Mirror

Portable PC
Internal PC

A/D

Filter

Ampli Photo- LED Diode 1300nm

Figure 1 SOFO system Setup.

SPIE Conference on Smart Structures and Materials, 5-6.03.1997, San Diego, USA

deformations, while the reference fiber is installed freely inside a neighboring pipe and acts as temperature reference. The light is reflected by mirrors at the end of the fibers or by a series of partial reflector pairs installed at different fiber locations which allows the sensors to be multiplexed in-line [5]. The analyzer is a Michelson interferometer with one of the arms terminated with a mobile mirror. It allows the introduction of an accurately-known path difference between its two arms. The signal detected by the photodiode is pre-amplified and demodulated by a band-pass filter and a digital envelope filter. For each pair of partial reflectors a triple coherence peak is observed. The central peak is obtained when the Michelson analyzer is balanced, whereas the side peaks correspond to the mirror positions where the path unbalance between the analyzer arms corresponds to the length difference between two twin partial reflectors or the end mirrors. The central peaks from all partial reflectors will thus overlap to a peak of higher intensity, while the lateral peaks will in general appear at different locations. By following the position of the side peaks it is possible to determine the total deformation undergone by the measurement fiber between the corresponding partial reflectors and the coupler. The position of the peaks can be determined with a precision of about 2 m by computing the center of gravity of the peaks themselves. Only the reference and measurement fibers (an in some cases the first coupler) need to be installed permanently in the structure, while a single reading unit can be used to monitor a large number of sensors and structures. The absolute and non-incremental nature of low-coherence interferometry guarantees an excellent long-term stability of the measurements. In order to guarantee an high precision of the deformation measurement, it is important that the sensor responds to the following requirements: a) Excellent mechanical coupling between the measurement fiber and the structure. The measurement fiber should follow the structures deformation without creeping or slippage. b) No mechanical coupling between the reference fiber and the structure. The reference fiber should not change its length when the structure deforms. c) Good thermal coupling between the measurement and the reference fiber. The two fibers should have same local temperature. This guarantees that the temperature dependence of the index of refraction of the fiber will act in the same way on the two fibers and therefore cancel. Requirement b) and c) can be easily satisfied if the reference fiber can be freely installed in a pipe neighboring or containing the measurement fiber [9]. To satisfy requirement a), two installation approaches can be followed to couple the measurement fiber to the structure: local and distributed (or full-length) coupling. In the first case the measurement fiber is attached to the host structure at two points and free inside a pipe in-between. In order to follow both elongation and shortening, the fiber must be pre-strained. The two attachment points will define the limits of the measurement zone. In this case the quality of the coupling betwee n the fiber and the structure at the two attachment points will play an important role in the response of the sensor to the structure deformations. In the case of distributed coupling the measurement fiber is attached to the structure along the whole active region. In this case the characteristics of the fiber coatings will have a strong influence on the sensitivity of the sensor. Although the distributed coupling approach seems simpler at first, it turned out that it is much easier to design a good local-coupling sensor. The reliability of a distributed coupling sensor depends on many parameter (like the adherence of coatings to building materials) that are difficult to control and to test in laboratory conditions. On the other hand, local coupling sensor can be tested more easily even without embedding them. The main challenge resides in this case in ensuring that the deformations will transfer from the structure to the fiber. This is usually obtained by cementing the fiber to a metallic piece that is in t urn attached or embedded in the structure under test.

3. SENSOR TYPES
After a number of different laboratory and field experiments, we have concluded that most applications can be subdivided into categories that require only three basic types of sensors that we call short, standard and long sensors. 3.1 Short sensors Short sensor are typically 0.1 to 2 m long and are used to monitor relatively smooth materials like mortars, grout or glues. They do not have to be particularly rugged (compared to the other two types of sensors) and usually measure deformations well below 1. This allow to build sensors with a reduced cross -section, which is ideal to monitor thin layers to material like the ones typically found in the case of structural refurbishing. Short sensor can be based on the distributed or on the local coupling principle. We are currently developing and testing this type of sensors and preliminary results indicate that it is

SPIE Conference on Smart Structures and Materials, 5-6.03.1997, San Diego, USA

indeed possible to obtain a reliable sensor with a cross-section of only a few millimeters. These sensors have been successfully embedded into mortars used for structural refurbishing and into shotcrete. 3.2 Standard sensors Standard sensor satisfy the requirements for most civil engineering applications. They are 0.2 to 6 m long and can measure deformations of up to 5 in both elongation and shortening. Standard sensors are based on the local coupling principle and can be directly embedded into concrete, mortars and grout or can be surface mounted on existing and metallic structures. These sensors are especially adapted to the monitoring of concrete structures allowing the measurement of deformation during concrete setting starting right after the concrete pouring. Standard sensors have attracted considerable research efforts in our project [8] and are now available as a commercial product. Figure 2 shows a standard sensor and a detail of the anchorage points used to couple the measurement fiber to the structure (in this case the four sensors are intended for direct concrete embedding). The maximal cross -section at the anchorage points is of 18 mm while the active region has a diameter of 8 mm. These sensors are very rugged and can be installed rapidly without delay to the building yard schedule. 3.3 Long sensors Long sensors can have active length up to 40 m. These sensors are also based on the local coupling principle and are intended as rep lacement of the conventional extensometers. Long sensors are especially useful for geo-mechanical

Anchorage point

Anchorage point

Active region

Passive region

Connectors

Figure 2 Standard sensor and detail of the anchorage points.

SPIE Conference on Smart Structures and Materials, 5-6.03.1997, San Diego, USA

monitoring, for example in foundations, dams, anchored walls, piles and other similar geostructures. The main challenge for such long sensors resides in guara nteeing the mechanical independence of the reference fiber. Sensors with active length up to 40 m have been realized and installed in real structures including a 20 m long concrete slab [11] and a dam foundation [12]. These long sensors are often time-consuming and difficult to fabricate. When possible, it is usually much easier to build a long sensor by chaining a number of standard sensors one after the other [7]. This also allows to measure subsections of the structure independently. A single chained sensor will therefore replace a number of extensometers with different length.

4. TESTING
The standard sensors have been tested in a large number of laboratory and field applications for their optical, mechanical and chemical properties. 4.1 Resolution and precision The standard sensor can be tested on a test bench by chan ging the distance between the two anchorage points and comparing the imposed deformation to the SOFO reading. These tests confirmed a resolution of 2 microns and a precision of better than 1% of the measured deformation. The sensor were also compared to other standard measuring devices like mechanical extensometers, inductive sensors and

(a)

(b) Figure 3 Standard sensor installation and concreting.

vibrating wire sensors after embedding into concrete [13]. In all tests the obtained results where compatible with the above specifications. 4.2 Mechanical properties More than 200 standard-type sensors have been embedded into concrete structures. In most cases the sensors were attached before concreting to the reinforcement bars (see Figure 3a) in order to keep them relatively straight but giving the freedom to follow the concrete deformations (especially before setting). The standard sensor is rugged enough to withstand direct concrete pour (see Figure 3b) and vibration. The concreting team can work as usual and does not need to be aware of

SPIE Conference on Smart Structures and Materials, 5-6.03.1997, San Diego, USA

the presence of the sensors. Even in these conditions, more than 90% of the sensors always survive installation and concreting. The passive region connecting the sensor to the reading unit is partially inside and partially outside concrete and is terminated with an E2000 connector with an integrated dust-cap protecting the ferule from dust and contact with objects that could damage it. The connectors of different sensors are reunited in a connection box placed in a easily accessible part of the structure (see Figure 4). The passive region can be up to 1 km long without reduction of the sensors performance.

Figure 4 Connection box reuniting the connectors from different sensors. 4.3 Fatigue tests To test the fatigue performance of the sensors in a typical use conditions, four sensors were embedded in a concrete slab subject to four-point bending. The sensor were placed at different heights in the slab. The slab was loaded and unloaded 17 million times with a frequency of 4Hz to simulate 20 to 100 years in the lifetime of a typical bridges slab. Each cycle corresponds to the passing of a heavy truck on the bridge. After 17 million cycles one of the reinforcement bars broke while all the sensors were still working perfectly. The sensors were measured each one to ten millions cycles and their readings were compared to the ones obtained with surface mounted removable mechanical gages. The results from the two measurement methods were consistent throughout the experiment showing that the SOFO sensors were not subject to any noticeable creeping effect. Figure 5 show the results obtained by the SOFO sensors as a function of the number of cycles undergone by the slab. These curves characterize the degradation of the slab in the course of the experiment.

SPIE Conference on Smart Structures and Materials, 5-6.03.1997, San Diego, USA

4.4 Chemical compatibility, temperature resistance The sensors were tested for their water-tightening and resistance to corrosion in a salt-saturated water solution. No water ingress of any sign of corrosion were detected after 2 weeks of immersion. The sensors are built from materials that can also resist the alkaline environment of concrete. The sensors were also able to undergo 5 cycles from room temperature up to 180 C and back without any noticeable creep or

18/1.8 0.20%

20/2.0

22/2.2

24/2.4

32/10.

0.15%

1 2 3 4

(-) (-) (-) (-)

0.10%

Mean Strain

0.05%

0.00%

-0.05%

-0.10% 0 2'000'000 4'000'000 6'000'000 8'000'000 10'000'000 12'000'000 14'000'000 16'000'000 18'000'000

Number of cycles [#]

Figure 5 Deformations measured by the four SOFO sensors as a function of the number of cycles. The values indicated above the graphic indicate the mean charge and the charge variation amplitude in kN. This graph characterizes the degradation of the concrete slab. signals degradation and were still working reliably thereafter.

5. APPLICATION EXAMPLES
The SOFO sensor were tested in laboratory and field tests including 8 highway, road and railway bridges [14], two tunnels, a dam, a full-scale model of a nuclear power plant and a number of beams, slabs and tendons. They were embedded in concrete, grout, mortars and laminated timber as well as surface mounted on concrete, steel and timber. Most of these applications are described in the references.

6. CONCLUSIONS
Long gage -length sensor can give invaluable information about the behavior of many civil engineering structures and particularly about those made of relatively inhomogeneous materials like concrete and timber. The SOFO system allows the monitoring of small deformations (of the order of the micron) over measurement bases between a few centimeters and up to 50 m or even more. The system is based on low-coherence interferometry and is particularly well adapted for the long-term monitoring of the structures thanks to its excellent stability. One of the main challenges to bring a fiber optic deformation monitoring system to field applications, is the development of reliable sensors that can be easily embedded or installed on the surface of may different types of civil engineering structures.

SPIE Conference on Smart Structures and Materials, 5-6.03.1997, San Diego, USA

In the framework to the SOFO project, our team has designed, developed, fabricated and tested a large number of such sensors. The standard SOFO sensors are now available commercially and respond to the needs encountered in most civil engineering applications. Smaller sensors, adapted to the embedding in mortars and glues are still in the development phase but show promising results. Sensors with active length up to 40 m were also build. It is however believed that a chain of shorter sensors will in most cases prove to be more practical and give more interesting information than a single longer sensor. The sensors have been tested successfully in a number of laboratory and field experiment as well as in commercial applications.

7. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors are indebted to Prof. L. Pflug, M. Pedretti, R. Passera, P. Colombo, S. Bassi, R. Iten, V. Kalas, H. Uboldi, F. Guinzani, F. Volpi, M. Schlfli and the whole IMAC, DIAMOND and IMM teams for their help and useful discussion. This research program is conducted under the financial support of the Swiss CTI ( Commission pour la Technologie et lInnovation) and of the Board of the Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology.

8. REFERENCES
For further information on the SOFO project look at the following WWW home page: http://imacwww.epfl.ch [1] Intelligent Structures 2, Monitoring and control, Y.K. Wen, International Workshop on Intelligent Systems, Perugia, Italy, 27-29 June 1991 [2] Distributed sensing for intelligent civil engineering structures, W. C. Michie, Third international conference on intelligent materials, Lyon, June 1996, pp.932-941 [3] "Fiber Optic Bragg grating sensor network installed in a concrete road bridge", R. Maaskant, T. Alavie, R.M. Measures, M. Ohn, S. Karr, D. Glennie, C. Wade, G. Tadros and S. Rizkalla., Proc. SPIE Vol. 2191, p. 457-465, Smart Structures and Materials 1994: Smart Sensing, Processing, and Instrumentation, April 1994 [4] "Low-coherence deformation sensors for the monitoring of civil-engineering structures", D. Inaudi, A. Elamari, L. Pflug, N. Gisin, J. Breguet, S. Vurpillot, Sensor and Actuators A, 44 (1994), 125-130. [5] "Coherence multiplexing of in-line displacement and temperature sensors", D. Inaudi, Opt. Eng., Vol. 34, Nr. 7, July 1995 [6] "Low-coherence interferometry for the monitoring of underground works", D. Inaudi, L. Vulliet, L. Pflug, S. Vurpillot, A. Wyser, 1995 North American Conference on Smart Structures and Materials, San Diego February 1995, Volume 2444, 171-178 [7] In-line coherence multiplexing of displacement sensors: a fiber optic extensometer, D. Inaudi, S. Vurpillot , S. Lloret, Smart Structures and materials, San Diego February 1996, SPIE Volume 2718-28. [8] Development and field test of deformation sensors for concrete embedding, D. Inaudi, S. Vurpillot, Nicoletta Casanova, Annette Osa-Wyser, Smart Structures and materials, San Diego February 1996, SPIE Volume 2721-16. [9] "Development and laboratory tests of deformation fiber optic sensors for civil engineering applications", L. Vuillet, N. Casanova, D. Inaudi, A. Osa-Wyser, S. Vurpillot, International Symposium on Lasers, Optics and Vision for Productivity in Manufacturing, Europto Series, Besanon, 10-14 June 1996. [10] Mathematical model for the determination of the vertical displacement from internal horizontal measurements of a bridge S. Vurpillot, D. Inaudi, A. Scano, Smart Structures and materials, San Diego February 1996, SPIE Volume 2719-05. [11] "Low-coherence deformation sensors for the monitoring of civil-engineering structures", D. Inaudi, A. Elamari, L. Pflug, N. Gisin, J. Breguet, S. Vurpillot, Sensor and Actuators A, 44 (1994), 125 -130. [12] Dam monitoring with fiber optic sensors, P. Kronenberg, N. Casanova, D. Inaudi, S. Vurpillot, Smart Structures and Materials, Smart systems for bridges, structures and highways, San Diego 97. [13] "Low-coherence interferometry for the monitoring of concrete structures", S. Vurpillot, D. Inaudi, P. Mivelaz, European Symposium on Optics for Environmental and Public Safety, Munich June 1995, SPIE Volume 2507, 35-44. [14] "Bridge Monitoring by Interferometric Deformation Sensors", D. Inaudi, S. Vurpillot, N. Casanova, Laser Optoelectronics and Microphotonics: Fiber Optics Sensors, SPIE, Beijing November 1996.