SensIT - Shedding light on internal damage: fibre optic-driven condition assessment of corroded concrete structures

Ensuring the integrity and serviceability of our transport infrastructure is vital for the development and welfare of society. Consequently, guaranteeing the serviceability of our infrastructure by condition assessment and proper maintenance is imperative. Yet today, condition assessment strategies rely on labour-intensive on-site inspections, providing limited and subjective data. Particularly, the detection of corrosion processes in a structure is one of the degradation mechanisms where largest uncertainties exist. In this project, we will develop novel sensor-driven supported strategies based on distributed optical fiber sensing (DOFS) to promote a digital upgrade of the current condition assessment methods. By combining experimental data from cutting-edge DOFS and the latest advancements in modelling techniques, we will provide autonomous real-time damage detection through thorough and accurate descriptions of the internal damage due to corrosion. This information is the backbone for the current state-of-the-art assessment models. This will lead to a better planning of resources, the possibility to study optimal repair solutions and the application of timely preventive measures. As a result, the service-life of our infrastructure will be effectively extended while on-site inspections will be minimized, thereby enabling a better use of our limited resources while causing a lower impact to the users, with the consequent environmental and economic savings for society.