Investigation on packages of fiber Bragg grating for use as embeddable strain sensor in concrete structure

The paper covers detailed investigation on encapsulation and packaging of fiber Bragg grating (FBG) for strain sensing of concrete structures in embeddable form. Non-uniform strain distribution due to imperfect curing of the epoxy and its effect on the FBG spectrum has been studied experimentally and correlated with theoretical simulation. For a specific package, an optimal curing condition has been found and shown to have good repeatability. The successfully packaged sensor has been embedded in a concrete structure and the response has been found to be linear. Response of the sensor under static loading condition is compared with surface mountable electrical resistance strain gauge (ERSG) and embeddable type EFPI (extrinsic Fabry Perot interferometer) fiber optic sensor. The sensor has also been tested under dynamic loading of the structure.