Real-Time Weigh-In-Motion Measurement Using Fiber Bragg Grating Sensors

Overloading truck loads have long been one of the key reasons for accelerating road damage, especially in rural regions where the design loads are expected to be small and in the cold regions where the wet-and-dry cycle places a significant role. To control the designed traffic loads and further guide the road design in future, periodical weight stations have been implemented for double check of the truck loads. The weight stations give chances for missing measurement of overloaded vehicles, slow down the traffic, and require additional labors. Infrastructure weight-in-motion sensors, on the other hand, keep consistent traffic flow and monitor all types of vehicles on roads. However, traditional electrical weight-in-motion sensors showed high electromagnetic interference (EMI), high dependence on environmental conditions such as moisture, and relatively short life cycle, which are unreliable for long-term weigh-inmotion measurements. Fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensors, with unique advantages of compactness, immune to EMI and moisture, capability of quasi-distributed sensing, and long life cycle, will be a perfect candidate for long-term weigh-in-motion measurements. However, the FBG sensors also surfer from their frangible nature of glass materials for a good survive rate during sensor installation. In this study, the FBG based weight-in-motion sensors were packaged by fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) materials and further validated at MnROAD facility, Minnesota DOT (MnDOT). The design and layout of the FRP-FBG weight-in-motion sensors, their field test setup, data acquisition, and data analysis will be presented. Upon validation, the FRP-FBG sensors can be applied weigh-in-motion measurement to assistant road managements.