Structural Large Strain Monitoring Based on FBG Sensor

Being important civil engineering structural members, cable and steel strand usually bear large strain in construction and operation stage. By means of directly testing structural strain to master mechanical performance of cable force and steel strand stress is a great challenge for civil engineers. In this paper, a monitoring strategy based on fiber optical sensor was elicited. In order to make the most of the advantages of FBG and avoid harsh engineering environmental effects, a new FBG sensor for large strain testing with novelty encapsulating structure was developed. The experimental results showed that the FBG sensor had good sensing properties and satisfied the testing range based on proposed monitoring strategy. Finally, some unavoidable problems relating to the successful application in actual engineering were also indicated.