Measuring Residual Concrete Strength After Penetration and Blast

Intelligent Fiber Optic Systems (IFOS) proposes to investigate the feasibility of developing an innovative high-speed low-cost real-time monitoring solution based on embedding a Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) sensor network in reinforced concrete. The concrete condition can be directly measured and remotely monitored in real time through a fiber link. The primary objective in Phase I is to determine the feasibility of employing embedded FBG sensor network for monitoring the breakup of reinforced concrete (RC) during weapon impacts and for monitoring the real time progression of target penetrators within slabs during strikes. IFOS will also demonstrate that these FBG sensors can survive through initial impact while yielding meaningful information up to the very last microsecond before total destruction. This final capability will allow proper data analysis to predict the residual strength of target structures in relation to strain measurements during and after impact. Even when the slab is heavily damaged, the broken fiber sensor array can be separately spliced and reconnected to yield useful information cost-effectively. IFOS proposes to develop smart algorithms to be programmed into the monitoring process making for corrections and determining given penetration depths for varying structure densities according to real-time data.