Distributed Brillouin sensor for structural health monitoring

Abstract

The distributed Brillouin sensor (DBS) was used to monitor the structural changes in a steel pipe and a composite column subjected to heavy loads. The column was made of concrete reinforced with fibre-reinforced-polymer (FRP) rods and sheets. The test reproduced earthquake-like conditions. The pipe had a length of 2.58 m and diameter of 0.75 m. The DBS measured the strain distribution in both the concrete column and the pipe under various loads. The DBS provided detailed information on the structure's health at the local and global level, before any deformation, cracks, or buckling was visible. This work demonstrates that the DBS is capable of extracting critical information useful to engineers: the engineer's experience and judgement, in conjunction with appropriate data-processing methods, make it possible to anticipate structural failures. The DBS is a promising tool for structural health monitoring.