Executive Summary : | Objective: To develop a niche technology for the producing long gauge distributed optical strain and deformation sensors using fiber Bragg grating (FBG) devices for application in SHM; To monitor the most significant parameters that are needed to better understand deterioration processes and optimizing the sensing parameters using FBG based long gauge sensors; To develop robust/smart Structural Health Monitoring methodology for global and local damage assessment Summary: Globally the present trend shows that FBG based sensor technology capable of producing accurate strain, temperature, acceleration and finds most application in areas where electronic sensors like foil based strain gauges, thermocouples or piezo based accelerometers cannot compete or cannot be used. The sensors have been successfully adopted for a multitude of different sensing applications and implemented in different fields and industries. However, FBG sensors, as in the case of their electrical counterparts, are point sensors which limits to obtain a distributed information for the overall structure particularly when the structures in consideration are large like bridges, buildings, dams etc.. The concept of developing FBG sensors with long gauge lengths allow measurement of deformations over larger areas on the. |