Zhou Zhi, OU Jinping. A new kind of smart bridge cable based on FBG sensors SPIE v.

5502 2004: 196-199

A new kind of smart bridge cable based on FBG sensors

ZHOU Zhi*, ZHAO Xuefeng, WANG Chuan, ZHANG Zhichun, HU Qingli, OU Jinping School of Civil Engineering, Harbin Institute of Tech., Harbin, Haihe Road 202, China,150090
ABSTRACT
The feasibility and advantages of smart bridge cable based on FBGs are discussed. And the sensing properties of FBGs installed in the cables under dead load are tested. The experimental results and practical applications show that the smart bridge cable is proper to be used in bridge cables transfer, construction control and long-term health monitoring. Keywords: FBG sensor, smart bridge cable, structural health monitoring, strain

1. INTRODUCTION
Cables are the key components of cable-stayed bridges, suspension bridges, hanging bridges and so on. The bridge cables in service are easily damaged due to the factors of environment corrosion, fatigue, materials aging, stress redistribution, etc, which result in that the cables can not stand as long as designed. Nowadays, engineers depend on manometers and accelerometers, even electro-magnetic sensors to measure the cable stress. However, it is still difficult for engineers to evaluate the cables state of stress or damage and give decision-making of maintaining or rejection. Optical Fiber Bragg grating (FBG) is now developing very fast since 1989 [1~4], which show great advantages such as small, high accuracy, electro-magnetic resistance, quasi-distribution sensing, absolute measurement and so on. FBGs are now can be available to measure structural strain and temperature [5~9]. In this paper, we have developed a new kind of cables installed with FBGs during manufacture of the cables for Luoguo Bridge in Panzhihua, and Binzhou Yellow River Bridge in China, and their strain sensing properties are also studied.

2. FABRICATION OF SMART CABLES BASED ON FBGS

The main idea of smart cables based on FBGs is that FBGs sensors are installed in the cables during their fabrication course. The FBGs in the cable can be used to measure the stain state of steel wire, which can show the stress state of the cable. According the fact that whatever damage occurring on the cable will be revealled by the inner stress state, we can easily evaluate the safety of cable and take right action on it. Due to that FBGs diameter is very small, only 125 micrometer or so, it doesn t affect the cable s mechanical properties at all. Theoretically speaking, the feasibility of smart cables based on FBGs are assured by the facts that the strain resolution of FBG can reach 1~2 , and the stress error of each steel wire of the cable is blow 2%. The transaction of smart cables based on FBGs is depicted as Figure 1.
FBG sensors

Steel wire PE layer

Figure 1: Transection sketch of smart cable based on FBG sensors

zhouzhi@hit.edu.cn; phone 86-451-86282664; fax 86-451-86282209

Taken casting anchor cable as example, the manufacture procedure of smart cable based on FBGs sensors is depicted as figure 2, which doesn t change the basic fabrication procedure of common cables. The key procedure of smart cables fabrication is the installation technique of FBGs on the steel wire, which is depicted as figure 3~5. Steel wire tension PE protection Mould shape Adhesive tape wrap Anchor cast Adhesive tape unfold Anchor anneal FBG Installation Jumper protection

Transmission line protection

Figure 2 Manufacture techniques of Smart cable with FBGs sensors

Adhesive tape open Silica gel Cushion

Sand paper polish Transmission line

Acetone Clean Adhesive recover

Glue sticking PE protection

J39 cover Jumper protection

FBG

FBG

FBG
Figure 3 Techniques of FBGs installation on steel wire of cables

Figure 4 Smart hanger cable based on FBGs for Luoguo Bridge

Figure 5 Smart cables based on FBGs for Binzhou Yellow River Bridge

The FBGs in the smart cable are well protected, and the smart cable can show FBGs sensing properties. The fabrication technology depicted above can be easily realized, and the cost is very low. The authors have made 24 smart cables for Binzhou Yellow River Bridge and 4 for Luoguo Bridge, which are now in service.

3. SENSING PROPERTIES OF SMART CABLES

In order to test the strain sensing properties of smart cables, we make full use of the last procedure of the cables fabrication, excess extension of the cables, to assure the superiority of the FBGs sensors. Taken the cable, N26-3 embedded with 3 FBGs for Binzhou Yellow River Bridge as example, it consists of 287 7, and elastic module and original length are 1.95105MPa and 219.591m respectively. The final extension length of the cable is 86cm. The measurement results from the 3 FBGs are given as figure 6~9. Here due to that the time for experiment is very short, temperature effect is not considered.
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loading course of FBG1 Unloading course of FBG1

loading course of FBG2 unloading course of FBG2

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Figure 6 Strain sensing of FBG1 in N26-3

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FBG1 under loading FBG2 under loading FBG3 under loading FBG1 under unloading FBG2 under unloading FBG3 under unloading

Loading course of FBG3 unLoading course of FBG3

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Figure 8 Strain sensing of FBG3 in N26-3

Figure 9 Comparison of results from 3 FBGs

We can find that the strain sensing properties of the 3 FBGs are very inspiring, which show good linearity and repetition. When the load reaches the extra extension value of 8502kN, the strain gotten from FBG1 is 3800.8 , which agrees well with that from calculation, and the value is 3916.4. The error is only 2.9%. So it is a good way for FBGs installed in cables to monitor the inner strain state, and the smart cables based on FBGs can work well.

4. TEMPERATURE COMPENSATION OF SMART CABLES BASED ON FBGS

As the temperature for a bridge in service changes a lot, even to 60~80 during the 4 seasons in one year, and the theoretical and experimental results shows that it is essential to consider the temperature compensation when FBGs in service for strain sensing. Considering the operational convenience, we install another suspension FBG in a steel capillary along the FBG strain sensor to sense the temperature, which can not be affected by load, The basic sensing
principle can be interpreted as follows. Not considering the coupling effect of FBG under strain and temperature simultaneously, we can give the expression of FBG affected by strain and temperature at the same time and that of FBG affected only by temperature, which are given as (1) and (2) b1 / b1 = K + K T 1 T1 (1)

b 2 / b 2 = K T 2 T2 (2) where , , T and K mean central wavelength of FBGs, strain, temperature and coefficient respectively. Because the 2 FBGs are close enough, T1 equals T2 . Thus, we can get the strain with the consideration of temperature compensation: = (b1 / b1 K T 1 b 2 /( K T 2 b 2 )) / K (3)

5. CONCLUSIONS
Aiming at structural health monitoring of bridge cables, a new kind of smart cable based on FBGs is developed, and its fabrication techniques and temperature compensation in service are also brought forward. 24 smart cables for Binzhou Yellow River Bridge and 4 for Luoguo Bridge have been developed, which are now in service. From the results of cables under loading and unloading, the FBGs installed in the cables show inspiring strain sensing properties. With the FBGs in the cable, the stress state can be obtained during transfer and construction, especially for the cables long term monitoring in service. The cables with installed FBGs show the advantages of FBG sensors such as high accuracy, electro-magnetic resistance, quasi-distribution sensing, absolute measurement and so on.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Project Supported by China Postdoctoral Science Foundation, National Science Foundation of China (50308008)and 863 High Tech. Program.

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