Damped fiber optic low-frequency tiltmeter for real-time monitoring of structural displacements

Abstract

This study reports on the design, development and testing of a fiber optic Bragg grating (FBG)-based tiltmeter. The tiltmeter design is based on the correlation between the bending strains and rotations of a lumped mass ended cantilever beam. The design of the system includes incorporation of a damping fluid to control the dynamic response. Temperature compensation for the sensor was achieved by using two symmetrically placed FBGs for cancellation of thermal effects. The tiltmeter is designed to exhibit linearity over the range of measurements common in low-frequency vibrations in bridges and exhibits measurement resolution of 0.005°. The study reports on the static calibration tests, correlations with the theoretical relationships, and dynamic characterization and response.