Use of Fiber Brag Gating Sensors in civil engineering applications

This research presents an overview of development and application of Fiber Bragg Grating sensors (FBG) technology in civil engineering applications. The primary focus of this research is the use of FBGs to investigate two most important time-dependent properties of concrete namely: creep strain and shrinkage strain. The first phase of this investigation is focused on using FBG sensors to measure the concrete strains in unreinforced concrete beams and cylinders to determine modulus of elasticity, the modulus of rapture and fracture energy of concrete. The second phase of this research is designed to investigate the creep and shrinkage using FBG sensors. Normal strength concrete (NC), High performance concrete (HPC) and ultra-high performance (UHPC) specimens’ are used to measure creep and shrinkage strains and to compare the values with typical prediction models. The measured creep and shrinkage strains are compared to four different models to determine which model is the most accurate.