Fatigue performance of distributed optical fiber sensors in reinforced concrete elements

Abstract In this paper, the authors present the results of a laboratory test where two reinforced concrete beams were instrumented with Distributed Optical Fiber Sensors (DOFS) to allow the monitoring g of strain in four different longitudinal segments bonded to their bottom surface. The test objective was to confirm the ability and good performance of the DOFS to monitor bridge structures in a long-term basis. To this end, the two specimens were submitted to a fatigue test up to 2 million load cycles. The amplitude of the stress range applied during the fatigue test was representative of what is expected on a standard highway bridge under vehicular traffic. Additionally, each of the four DOFS segments was bonded using a different adhesive to also investigate on the fatigue performance of the adhesive agents normally used. Finally, the collected data is checked against the data recorded with strain gauges also deployed on the beam specimens.