Experimental study on strain and deformation monitoring of asphalt structures using embedded fiber optic sensor

True strain distribution measurement has been accomplished with the use of Brillouin scattering in optical fibers. Therefore, the application of fiber optic sensors in civil engineering has recently increased, especially in concrete and earth structures. Asphalt structures have unique advantages in terms of flexibility and water sealing, but they present difficulties in embedding sensors because of the temperature- and time-sensitive behavior of asphalt mixtures. Over the transition temperature, the transferred stress from a loaded asphalt structure to an embedded sensor is drastically decreased, leading to inferior sensitivity of the sensor due to the low elastic modulus of asphalt. This paper presents experimental evidence that a flexible fiber optic sensor can contribute to strain and deformation monitoring for an asphalt structure even if the elastic modulus of asphalt is varied by temperature. Based on investigations on both prism specimens and a paved cantilever with the developed sensor coated with polyethylene, it can be stated that the sensor directly monitors asphalt behavior over a wide range of temperatures. According to the results of another test on a full-sized asphalt-layered slope constructed with heavy machinery, the sensor survived and successfully detected the change in strain caused by the force on the surface of the structure. Furthermore, a post-processing method of measurement to stabilize data fluctuations derived from skewed initial pre-tensioning on the sensor is proposed and evaluated.

• Record URL:
  https://doi.org/10.1007/s13349-014-0077-4
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/21905452
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Copyright © 2014, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.
• Authors:
  • Imai, Michio
  • Igarashi, Yoshiichi
  • Shibata, Masanori
  • Miura, Satoru
• Publication Date: 2014-7

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Web
• Pagination: pp 209-220
• Serial:
  • Journal of Civil Structural Health Monitoring
  • Volume: 4
  • Issue Number: 3
  • Publisher: Springer Verlag
  • ISSN: 2190-5452
  • EISSN: 2190-5479
  • Serial URL: http://link.springer.com/journal/13349

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Asphalt pavements; Deformation; Fiber optics; Modulus of elasticity; Sensors; Strain (Mechanics)
• Subject Areas: Highways; Maintenance and Preservation; Pavements; I22: Design of Pavements, Railways and Guideways; I60: Maintenance;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01545368
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Nov 26 2014 3:05PM