POF sensors integrated in technical textiles for monitoring of earthwork structures and masonry
(2009)
Polymer optical fiber (POF) sensors have the unique ability to measure high strain distributed along the fiber up to 40% using the optical time-domain reflectometry (OTDR) technique. Both, standard PMMA fibers and perfluorinated (PF) graded-index (GI) POF are introduced and evaluated in potential use and applicability. Further, distributed length change measurement based on cross-correlation analysis of the characteristic fiber signature of PF POF is introduced. We conclude the advances in distributed POF strain sensors technology with respect to application in structural health monitoring. Special focus is on the sensor integration into technical textiles for health monitoring of geotechnical structures and masonry structures. Measurement results of sensor-equipped textiles in different model tests are presented, displacement of soil and cracks in retrofitted masonry structures are detected and evaluated.
Recently, we have proposed, to our knowledge for
the first time, to use perfluorinated graded-index polymer
optical fiber (POF) for distributed measurement of strain.
Thanks to their low attenuation and low modal dispersion
compared to standard-POF, this fiber type allows to extend the
measurement length to more than 500 meters at increased
spatial resolution. In this paper, two mechanisms for strain
sensing are introduced. As in standard PMMA POF, strain in the
fiber can be detected by evaluating the local backscatter
increase occurring at strained fiber sections. Further, we
propose, to our knowledge for the first time, a true distributed
length change measurement in POF using cross-correlation
analysis of the fibers characteristic backscatter signature.
Using this technique, it is possible to measure relative
displacement between different fiber sections avoiding signal
fading failures that are inherent in other measurement
principles. Cross-sensitivities to the sensor signal, as fiber
bends and temperature, are investigated and quantified.