Structural performance monitoring for concrete girder bridges with distributed fiber optic sensors

The alarming frequency of bridge collapses in recent years underscores the critical need for advanced monitoring strategies tailored to existing infrastructure. Many concrete bridges, built decades ago, now face increasing traffic demands and environmental stressors that threaten their structural integrity.
This study investigates the use of distributed fiber optic sensors (DFOSs) with high spatial resolution (independent strain measurements every 2.6 mm) during static load tests to assess the structural performance of concrete girder bridges. The goal is to gain a deeper understanding of their condition using data-driven approaches. The fiber optic technology provides detailed strain profile information that gives insights into global bridge behavior, such as stress distributions, support conditions and static responses. It also allows the detection of cracks along the fiber path and other localized effects that may remain undetected without a calibrated numerical model.
This method of structural performance monitoring is applied to a prestressed concrete bridge in Switzerland. Static load tests have been performed on a full-scale bridge in Switzerland and the resulting distributed strain datasets allow the accurate understanding of bridge behavior, including deflection extrapolation and crack detection. The results underline the potential of DFOS to develop novel data-driven solutions for extending the service life of structures.