Reinforced concrete is the most widely used construction material and thus effective condition assessment of reinforced concrete elements forms a significant part of structural health monitoring. An effective structural health monitoring system should be able to give the owner prior warning that structural elements are reaching conditions approaching either serviceability or ultimate limit states. The aim of this investigation is to compare strain data recorded during load testing of a reinforced concrete beam using Fibre optic Bragg Gratings (FBG) and a photographic technique to determine circumstances most suitable for the use of each of the techniques. The test results indicate that FBG sensors can be used to detect small strains as well as large strains in uncracked concrete elements, while optical images can be used to accurately map crack development over the surface area of the structure.
Ultra-Thin Continuously Reinforced Concrete Pavement (UTCRCP) is an innovative pavement type that has the potential to fulfil South Africa’s pavement repair strategy requirements. It consists of a thin high strength concrete ...
Prestress losses in precast concrete beams include the short-term effects of elastic shortening and the long-term effects of concrete shrinkage, concrete creep and steel relaxation. Temperature effects are, however, excluded. ...
