Fiber optics could monitor health of pipelines in earthquake zones (Structural Health Monitoring)

Earthquakes can damage pipelines with disastrous consequences to the environment and human health. Real-time monitoring of damage to pipelines after an earthquake can be obtained via fiber optic sensors, which are sensitive to strain at every point along their lengths. The sensors are both bonded to the pipeline and embedded in the soil near the pipeline. Two validation tests have now confirmed the ability of the method to reliably detect the location of damage to a pipeline.

Branko Glisic and Yao Yao. Fiber optic method for health assessment of pipelines subjected to earthquake-induced ground movement.  Structural Health Monitoring November 2012 vol. 11 no. 6 696-711 Published online before print August 15, 2012, doi: 10.1177/1475921712455683

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