Fiber optical Bragg grating sensors embedded in CFRP wires

Based on the example application of Emmenbridge, a newly built steel-concrete-composite bridge in Switzerland with 47 m long built-in carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) prestressing cables, we will present and analyze the process chain leading to a reliable surveillance of modern civil engineering structures with embedded fiber optical Bragg gratings. This consists first in the embedding of optical fibers and in-fiber Bragg gratings in long CFRP wires in an industrial environment, including fiber optical monitoring of the curing process. Then, various qualifying tests were done: annealing experiments for determining optical lifetime of the Bragg gratings used, dynamic and static tensile tests for estimating their mechanical lifetime under operation, push-out experiments to check adhesion of fiber/coating/matrix interfaces, and performance tests to determine strain and temperature sensitivity of the embedded Bragg gratings. Finally, the prestressing cables were equipped with the CFRP sensor wires and built into the bridge.