Structural monitoring of composite marine piles using multiplexed fiber Bragg grating sensors: In-field applications

摘要

The goal of this project is to obtain structural health monitoring data using optical fiber Bragg grating sensors embedded in the filament-wound composite tube of a load carrying pile. This technology has applications for structural health monitoring of bridges, piers, and other post-supported infrastructure. These sensors provide strain data for the life history of the pile including pre-installation, installation, residual strains due to the installation process, and health monitoring for the lifetime of the pile. This paper describes the embedding process for the multiplexed fiber Bragg grating sensors into a 2-ft diameter, 60-ft long composite shell including composite manufacturing lay-up, sensor orientation, and ingress/egress of the optical fiber lead from the composite shell. The paper then discusses in-field tests of the monitoring system. Results from the sensor system will provide civil engineers with a greater understanding of load transfer in the composite pile system. Long term structural monitoring of the composite piles will also be demonstrated with this technology. The purposes of these tests are to: 1) determine the survivability of the sensor arrays during a pile driving process, 2) measure strains on the filament wound composite shell following the pile driving process, and 3) determine if structural integrity issues are observed from the strain data.