Investigation on low-temperature characteristics of FBG sensors and the technology to enhance sensitivity
The mode of FBG's temperature-sensing is analyzed to and the low temperature performance of FBG is experimental study. Three package technologies can be used for enhancing the sensitivity of FBG under low temperature; the technologies include capillary steel tube package, metallized package and organic polymer package. The results show that the temperature sensitivity of bare FBG under low temperature is 0.00998 nm /°C, the temperature sensitivity of FBG with capillary steel tube package, metallized package and organic polymer package are 0.0213 nm /°C, 0.0283 nm /°C and 0.1376 nm /°C separately, which are 2.02, 3.30, 10.23 times compared with the bare fiber. The temperature sensitivity of FBG sensor under low temperature could be increased effectively by using package technology.
Ionic Conductive Polyurethane-Graphene Nanocomposite for Performance Enhancement of Optical Fiber Bragg Grating Temperature Sensor
Polyurethane-graphene (PU-graphene) nanocomposite was utilized as the sensing material for a fiber Bragg grating (FBG) temperature sensor. The nanocomposite was characterized using a Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) to study the morphology and physical properties of the materials for FBG temperature sensing application. The physical, chemical, and conductivity of PU-graphene improve after graphene was introduced in pristine PU. The FTIR shows that the strong intermolecular interaction between–O–C = O (ester) and hydrogen in graphene in the PU-graphene was indicated by the shift to lower wavenumber of ether (C–O–C) peak at ~1220 cm<sup>−1</sup> to ~1218 cm<sup>−1</sup>. TGA shows the thermal stability of PU increases to 217 °C due to the strong intermolecular interaction with the presence of graphene flakes. EIS shows a good electrical conductivity of <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$1.39\times 10^{-9}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> Scm<sup>−1</sup> in the PU-graphene due to the electron transfer provided by the graphene. The SEM shows a rough and uneven texture on the surface of FBG coated by PU-graphene nanocomposite which shows that the graphene flakes are completely coated by polyurethane polymer. The PU-graphene was then dip-coated on the optical fiber-based Bragg grating, and the sensor performance for a temperature sensor was evaluated, where a good linearity with the sensitivity of 6 pm/°C was achieved.
Experimental study on bond behavior between high-strength grout and deformed steel bars
Abstract Engineers use high-strength grout to connect precast concrete members for its low shrinkage and good fluidity. This paper designed 87 central pull-out specimens using the control variable method to investigate the influence of factors on the rebar-grout bond property such as compressive strength, steel grade, bar diameter, transverse stirrups, and bond length. The test result showed that improving grout compressive strength (85.8 MPa–122.7 MPa) cannot improve the bond strength, which was different from the previous conclusions of concrete pull-out tests. Simplified formulas were presented for calculating the characteristic values of bond strength, residual strength, peak slip, and relative slip of load-holding platform based on parameter analysis. Then, a constitutive model was proposed to predict the full-range bond stress-slip curve of high-strength grout and steel bar specimens from bearing to failure. Finally, FEA models were established to evaluate the applicability and accuracy of the constitutive model.