Monitoring of an all-composite bridge using Bragg grating sensors

Abstract This paper reports on the structural health monitoring of an all-composite road bridge called the West Mill Bridge using optical fibre Bragg grating sensors. The use of optical sensors was made possible by the development of bonding and protection strategies. The implementation of the sensors was successful as they all survived the construction and installation of the bridge. This paper focuses on the second controlled load test and the continuous monitoring of the bridge that were performed three years after its construction. The bridge structural integrity remained intact and real-time information about the traffic was extracted from the optical sensors.