Experimental studies on fiber optic sensors embedded in concrete

Embedded fiber optic sensors are quite suitable for quantitative non-destructive long-term monitoring of concrete structures. Fiber optic sensors can be embedded in different types of structures, such as, buildings, roads, bridges, dams, etc. for monitoring different physical parameters like strain, temperature, deformation, etc. Bare fiber optic sensors are not suitable for directly embedding in concrete. Hence, some form of protective mechanism needs to be provided to the fragile fiber optic sensor for reliable performance. Suitable protective encapsulation to the bare sensor should ensure that there is no relative slip at the interface of the matrix concrete and the encapsulation. Investigations carried out to develop technique of embedding fiber optic sensor in concrete and performance evaluation of the developed embedment techniques are presented. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.