Development of Large-Strain Macrobend Optical-Fiber Sensor with Helical-Bending Structure for Pavement Monitoring Application

Abstract

With the rapid development of optical-fiber sensing technology recent years, it has been widely used for various purposes in engineering fields. However, the strain concentration generated by different types of pavement damage may exceed the ultimate tensile strain of many types of optical-fiber sensors, resulting in a low survival rate. To solve this problem, in this paper, a macrobend optical-fiber sensor with a helical-bending structure is developed and tested. Theoretical calculations and laboratory experiments have been conducted to verify the applicability of this novel optical-fiber strain sensor for pavement strain monitoring. Results show that it has a greater strain measurement range with satisfactory accuracy and is a promising approach to monitor the mechanical response of pavement under actual loads.