Theoretical and Experimental Investigations into Crack Detection with BOTDR-Distributed Fiber Optic Sensors
Publication: Journal of Engineering Mechanics
Volume 139, Issue 12
Abstract
Development of a model for the analysis of strain transfer mechanism in Brillouin-based sensors with strain singularities is provided in this study. The main objective of the research pertained to the development of a method for accurate detection of cracks and their locations in sensing with Brillouin-based fiber optic distributed sensors. The work involved formulation of a shear lag–based model considering the elastic as well as elastoplastic stages of the fiber optic coating strains. Feasibility of the proposed approach is evaluated through an experimental program. The experimental program involved use of a Brillouin optical time domain reflectometer (BOTDR) for distributed measurement of strain and detection of simulated cracks in a 15-m-long beam. The results indicate that the discontinuities in the strain distribution based on the theoretical analysis provide the means to accurately pinpoint the location of simulated cracks. On the other hand, the distortion effect of the BOTDR system due to averaging of the strains over the spatial resolution of the system masked the influence of strain discontinuities. In contrast to the strains acquired through the averaging process in BOTDR, the theoretical computations pertain to the actual distribution of strain along the length of the beam. Optomechanical relationships were also used to simulate the effect of spatial resolution on the theoretical results. The apparent strains obtained in this way were compared with the BOTDR measured values. Because of the measurement noise, the apparent strains based on the theoretical computations provided better information about the location of the cracks.
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Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the National Science Foundation Partnerships for International Research and Education (PIRE) program under Grant No. 0730259; the U.S. Department of Commerce, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Technology Innovation Program; and grants from the State Key Development Program for Basic Research of China (No. 2011CB013702 and 2013CB035906). The authors gratefully thank the support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant No. 51121005 and 51078060.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Engineering Mechanics
Volume 139 • Issue 12 • December 2013
Pages: 1797 - 1807
Copyright
© 2013 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Aug 24, 2012
Accepted: Feb 28, 2013
Published online: Mar 4, 2013
Published in print: Dec 1, 2013
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