Improving Distributed Fiber-Optic Sensor Measures by Digital Image Correlation: Two-Stage Structural Health Monitoring

This paper deals with the integrated use of distributed fiber-optic sensors and digital image correlation techniques to develop a two-stage monitoring method for damage detection, localization, and quantification. The proposed methodology was applied in the laboratory on reinforced concrete beam specimens and is suitable for further field developments in concrete structures of large dimensions. The first stage is based on distributed strain monitoring through Brillouin scattering-based fiber-optic sensors to detect and locate potential damage zones within the entire structure, while the second focuses on verification of the critical regions identified by the optical-fiber sensor using the digital image correlation technique. Keywords: cracks; digital image correlation (DIC); fiber-optic sensors (FOSs); reinforced concrete (RC) elements; structural health monitoring (SHM).