Materials and Structures/Mat6riaux et Constructions,Vol.

35, November2002, pp 557-563

Investigation of strain transfer to a sensor protection system embedded in concrete using finite element analysis
A. Hameed, G. F. Fernando,J. G. Hetherington, R. D. Brown,J. Leng and R. A. Barnes
Engineering Systems Department, Cranfield University (RMCS), Shrivenham, Swindon, SN6 8LA, UK

Paper received:March 15, 2002; Paperaccepted:May 13, 2002

AB STRACT R E S U M I ~

Optical fibre-based sensor systems are being used increasingly in civil engineering applications where structural integrity monitoring is of interest or concern. This paper reports on an optimisation scheme for an optical fibre-based sensor protection system designed to protect and enhance the strain-transfer characteristic when it is embedded in concrete. The sensor protection system consisted of a stainless steel tube with specified flange designs. Three flange designs were considered: disc, cone and inverted cone. Non-linear finite element analysis incorporating contact logic was performed to select and optimise the shape and dimensions of the flange. The analysis showed high stress concentrations in the vicinity of the flanges. However, this effect was localised and was not transmitted to the intended location of the sensor. The results showed that all three flange designs were effective but the 5 m m diameter disc-shaped flange gave the best results in terms of the magnitude and symmetry of the shear stress at the tube-concrete interface.

Les syst~mes de capteurs a fibres optiques sont de plus en plus utilis& dans des applications de g&ie civil, oh la surveillance de l'int(grit( structurale est concern&. Cet article rend compte du proc~d( d'optimisation d'un syst~me de protection par capteurs a -fibres optiques corgu pour pro@er et mettre en valeur la caract~ristique du transfert de contrainte lorsqu'il est encastr( darts du b&on. Ce syst~me de protection par capteurs est compos( d'un tube en acier inoxydable avec des formes de brides d&rmir~es. Trois formes de brides ont (t( prises en consid&ation : disque, cane et cane inversZ Une analyse non line'airepar (l(ments finis incorporant une logique de contact a ~t~ r&lis& afin de choisir et d'optimiser la forme et les dimensions de la bride. Cette analyse a montr( de fortes concentrations de contraintes a proximit( des brides. Cependant, cet effet a (t8 localis~ et n'a pas ~t( transmis l'emplacement pr&u du capteur. Les r&ultats ont prouv( que chacune des troisformes de bride (tait pertinente mais que la bride enforme de disque de 5 millim~tres de diam~tre a donn( les meilleurs r&ultats en termes d'ampleur et de sym(trie de la contrainte de cisaillement a l'integface tube-b(ton.

1. INTRODUCTION
When a structure is subjected to an external load it experiences strains which can be measured experimentally using strain gauges. It is assumed that the strain parallel to the free surface of the concrete structure is faithfully recorded by the strain gauges. Fibre optic sensors systems offer the possibility of measuring strains inside the concrete structure. A number of previous publications have successfully demonstrated the deployment of embedded optical fibre sensors (OFS) for structural integrity monitoring of civil structures [1-4]. In general, two sensor designs dominate this field, namely, fibre Bragg gratings (FBG) and fibre Fabry-Perot (FFP) sensors [5, 6]. 1359-5997/02 9 RILEM

The use of embedded OFS in concrete structures dictates the need for a degree of protection to be provided for the fibres and the sensors for the following reasons: (i) the aggregates and the pouring of the concrete into the mould can fracture unprotected fibres and sensors; and (ii) the high alkalinity of the matrix can chemically degrade the integrity of silica-based fibres. As a result of the protection requirement for the OFS, the sensor is not in direct contact with the test specimen. It is therefore essential to ensure that there is effective "transduction" or strain transfer from the concrete to the protection system and on to the OFS. In order to facilitate good strain transfer, a good interfacial bond is required between the protection system and the

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Materials and Structures/Mat6riaux et Constructions,Vol. 35, November2002

1 fill

interface mr stress

preliminary analysis it is shown that the actual strain may not transfer to OFS due to slippage, as a result of debonding or separation. To ensure effective interlocking, a Sensor Protection System (SPS) with flanges is proposed and FE analysis is used to consider three basic designs involving the sensor protection system that could eventually house the fibre optic sensor. It is shown that the flange provides effective interlocking thus maintaining low shear stress along the concrete-SPS interface and an excellent strain transfer is noted at the SPS. Since the shear stress between the flanges along the SPS-concrete interface is of very low magnitude, &bonding will not occur. A study was carried out to investigate the effect of the shape and dimensions of the sensor protection and load-transfer characteristics as a function of applied load. The desired outcome of this current study is to select a geometric configuration for the sensor protection system that: (i) provides good anchorage or load-transfer characteristics; and (ii) results in interracial shear stresses that are within the specified limits.

Load transfer is due to shear

2. EXPERIMENTAL WORK 2.1 Sensor protection system and test specimens

A schematic illustration of the three sensor protection systems, investigated in this study is presented in Fig. 2 along with the relevant dimensions. The SPS was constructed from stainless steel. The relative dimensions and the location of the SPS within the concrete test specimens are shown in Fig. 1. Points A and B in Fig. i correspond to locations along the SPS surface where the FE analysis focused on shear stress and direct strain. A summary of the relevant material properties is given in Table 1. The concrete cylinder was subjected to a compressive load of 100 kN. The strain magnitude resulting

Fig. 1 - Schematic illustration o f the fibre protection system

(FPS) embedded in the concrete cylinder.

concrete matrix. One way to achieve this is to introduce a facility for enhancing the mechanical interlocking, for example, the introduction of lugs, ribs or flanges. Additionally, the selection of appropriate materials and associated properties for the sensor protection system can affect the magnitude of the applied strain that is transferred from the concrete structure to the OFS. Consider the structure shown in Fig. 1 which is subjected to a compressive loading. As a result, the structure will experience compressive strain. If the stiffness of the sensor protection system is equal to that of the concrete structure, interracial shear stresses will not be expected to develop at the interface. In this case, the material between the flanges would experience the same strain, as the surrounding structure and this will be transmitted to the fibre optic sensor. Therefore, the ideal situation would be where the design offers appropriate protection for the sensor whilst matching the overall stiffness of the concrete structure. If the stiffness of the protection system does not match that of the concrete component shear stress will develop at the interface. If this shear stress exceeds the bond stress between concrete and the protective system, debonding will occur and the sensor will not record the true deformation experienced by the structure. Detailed studies have previously been reported [4, 7] on the effect of coating stiffness and strain transfer for OFS embedded in concrete. However, comparatively few studies have been reported on the design criteria and optimisation of an embeddable sensor system in concrete [8]. In this paper, finite element (FE) analysis is used to show that debonding may occur along the protection system due to high shear stress at the interface. In the
558

I'

70

, I- ,"1 5

70

ID = 3.28

I"

70

ID = 3.28

(All dimensions in mm)

Fig. 2 Three different types of flange geometry (A Cone, C - Inverted cone).
-

Disc, B

I-able 1 - Materials data used in ANSYS (finite element analysis)

Material Steel tube Concrete Elastic Modulus (GPa) 207 32.4 Poisson's ratio 0.3 0.16

Hameed, Fernando,Hetherington,Brown,Leng,Barnes from this loading was measured through a strain gauge pasted on the outside surface of SPS. These results were then compared with the finite element analysis.

.oad is applie

3. FE MODELLING
/

Contact line

3.1 Finite element modelling and test specimens

The following assumptions were made in developing the FE model: i. the material is homogenous and isotropic in nature; ii. the test specimen is only subjected to elastic loading; iii. preliminary analysis were performed based on the following type of contact between the concrete-SPS interface: a. no separation (where the target and contact surfaces are tied but they are allowed to slide once the ultimate shear stress is achieved), b. rough (perfectly rough frictional contact corresponding to infinite friction and hence ignores MU), and c. bonded (contact integration points that are either initially inside the pinball region or that once involve contact always attach to the target surface along the normal and tangent directions to the contact surface so that sliding is permitted at the ultimate shear stress); iv. in all the above cases, debonding and slippage as shown in Fig. 3 will occur when shear stress at the SPSconcrete interface reaches the ultimate anchorage stress i.e. 2.2 MPa (see Annex 1);
Ultimate anchorage stress Slip occurs when shear stress surpasses ultimate anchorage stress

~'~-

Symmetric Boundary conditions are applied

Figs. 4 and 5 - Finite element mesh of protective tube with and without flange in a concrete cylinder block.

the ultimate anchorage stress causing slippage. The accuracy of the FE model was confirmed by mapping axial strain at random selected nodes. The strain magnitude corresponded to within 5% of the experimental values and within 2% of the theoretical values.

3.2 Finite element analysis of SPS without flanges

An initial FE analysis for a SPS without flanges but assuming perfect bond between concrete and SPS, was performed by applying a compressive load of 100 kN (12.73 MPa) to the concrete cylinder with an embedded stainless tube having a diameter of 2.04 ram. The results are shown in Fig. 6. This was found to generate an average shear stress of 2.22 k N / m m 2 at the tube-concrete interface. Since this value was higher than the interfacial bond or anchorage strength, debonding was likely to
Strain
A 9 A

(TMAX)

Cohesive _ stress

Slippage
Fig. 3 - The law governing d e b o n d i n g and slippage d u ~ l g the

contact analysis.

Axial Distance (mm) . 0 0 E 0 5 ~ 0

v. the SPS is placed in concrete matrix in such a way that there is no direct compressive load on the tube, the strain transfer is purely by shear as shown in Fig. 1. ANSYS, C O N T A C T 1 6 9 and TARGET172 elements were used to model the contact between the SPSconcrete interface. Model symmetry was exploited and a quarter section of the model was developed for the finite element analysis using ANSYS PLANE42 elements as shown in Fig. 4 (for SPS without the flanges) and Fig. 5 (SPS with flanges). The condition imposed for this analysis was a loading of 100 kN (12.73 MPa) on the concrete cylinder which in turn generated an interracial shear stress (at the concrete-SPS interface) that exceeded 559

-1.50E-04

\,
\

4.50E-04-[ --o- Low bond strength between concrete and SPS -5.50E-04 ' ~ High bond strength between concrete and SPS .-a- Nominal bond strength between concrete and SPS .-&- Perfect bondstrength between concrete and SPS --~--- Expedmental
Fig. 6 - Axial strain in an embedded steel tube without flange.

Materials and Structures/Mat6riaux et Constructions,

Vol.35, November 2002

take place. Analyses were repeated by modelling a bonded contact at the SPS-concrete interface. In bonded contact, it is assumed that there will be no &bonding until the shear stress at the interface exceeds the bond strength (TMAX). Hence for a high value of TMAX, less surface area will undergo debonding and a greater surface area will experience the same strain as that in the concrete. Fig. 6 shows that strain transfer is most effective when there is high bond strength and least effective when it is low. Results show that for low value of bond stress, significant slippage will occur and will yield negligible strain transfer across the interface. For a perfect bond, however, the interfacial strain transfer is good and quickly develops to the nominal magnitude. However, for rough bonding, which assumes a very high magnitude of bond strength, the magnitude of strain does not reach the nominal value until approximately 3/4 of the tube length. The relatively poor strain transfer achieved by expected levels of bonding indicate the need for mechanical interlocking.

Fig. 8 - A x i a l strain in an embedded steel tube with flange.

3.3 Finite element analysis of SPS with flange

In the next case, a disc type flange, having various bond types, was developed as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. A compressive load of 12.73 MPa was applied. The strain results along the SPS-concrete interface are shown in Figs. 7 and 8. The most important deduction from this analysis is that, between the flanges, the strain results are in good agreement with the experimental and theoretical values irrespective of the type of bonding. This shows that the true magnitude of strain will transmit across the SPS system. Fig. 8 maps the strain plot in the vicinity of the interface at which the optical sensor will be embedded; it shows that the maximum difference in strain magnitude is less than 3.5% compared to experimental and theoretical values. Interlocking also results in shear stress values along the interface which are well below the anchorage strength and results in perfect bond configuration as shown in Fig. 9. However a high mag-

Fig. 9 - Shear stress at the tube-concrete i n t e r f a c e .

Fig. 10 - Shear stress at the concrete-tube interface along the tube l e n g t h .

Fig. 7 - A x i a l strain in an embedded steel tube with flange.

nitude of shear stress develops at the flange root causing localised debonding at the flange. Fig. 10 also shows that, as a result of load transfer, some crushing will occur at the beginning of SPS. Based on the nature of the material, geometric configuration and the way load is being applied, the assump-

560

Hameed, Fernando, Hetherington, Brown, Leng, Barnes

Fig. 11 - Shear stress at the concrete-tube interface along the tube length.

Fig. 12 - Shear stress at the concrete-tube interface along the

tube length.

ANSYS parametric language was used to parameterise the flange dimensions (diameter) and sensitivity analyses were performed to obtain an anchorage stress (shear stress) and strain for a given flange at the concreteprotective tube interface. The results based on the three different flange shapes are shown in Figs. 10 to 13. It is evident from the above figures that the use of a flange has resulted in good anchorage and thereby effective strain transfer. It is noted that the shear stress near the flange increases significantly beyond the ultimate anchorage stress, suggesting that slippage and, to some extent, debonding or crushing will occur in the vicinity of the flange. However the shear stress between the two flanges is well within the limits along the concrete-SPS interface suggesting a good bond. The shear stress along the concrete-SPS interface is shown in Figs. 10 to 12 for the above three configurations. In all cases, the flange root (base) is under high shear and slippage is clearly occurring in the area before the flange as shown in Fig. 13. However shear stress between the flanges is well within the limits. From the results shown in Figs. 10 to 12 it is clear that the shear stress for the disc type flange having a 5 mm diameter gives best results, the overall slippage is least and a good anchorage is maintained. For the flanges having a diameter above 5 mm, shear stress exceeds the maximum anchorage stress suggesting localised debonding. The stress profile also agrees with the result previously reported by Quirion and Ballivy [9]. As the load transfer is purely due to the shear at the interface, no local buckling was observed along the length in the tube. The results of axial strain along the concrete-SPS interface is given in Fig. 13. The percentage error in axial strain at the concrete-SPS interface at the mid length of the protection tube, which is the presumed location for the embedded optic sensor, is given in Table 2. It is clear from the results that, for a given diameter the disc type flange yields more accurate results. Moreover as the diameter of the disc increases the percentage error in axial strain reduces i.e. disc having a 5 mm diameter gives 4.5% error while the error for a 10 mm disc flange is 3.8%. Percentage error for disc larger than 10 mm reduces further but the comparative improvement in accuracy beyond 10 mm disc is not significant. The localised &bonding at the flange increases significantly with the increase in flange diameter therefore negating any benefits of improved accuracy. Comparing the anchorage stress for the 5 mm disc flange it is clear that the shear stress is within the ultimate

Fig. 13 - Axial strain at the concrete-tube interface along the

tube length.

Table 2 - Percentage error in axial strain at the concrete-SPS interface at the mid length (presumed location of fibre optic sensor) FlangeType Cone Inverted-cone Disc 5mm 4.82% 4.54% 4.49% Flange Diameter 6mm 8mm 10mm 4.70% 4.67% 4.63% 4.37% 4.29% 4.21% 4.10% 4.21% 3.76% 12mm 4.59% 4.20% 3.57%

tion of rough, or bonded contact, is the most accurate representation of this analysis. However, irrespective of the type of contact, the strain transfer is nearly the same between the flanges. Hence, bonded contact will be assumed between the concrete and SPS during the subsequent analysis. 561

Materials and Structures/Mat6riaux et Constructions, Vol,35, November2002

anchorage shear stress limit as shown in Fig. 12 and no effect was observed at the presumed location of the fibre optic sensor. Hence based on axial strain and shear stress results, it is recommended that the 5 m m disc type flange will provide optimum anchorage and good strain transfer at the interface. With reference to the future deployment of the fibre optic strain sensors, these will be embedded at location B in Fig. 1: the outcome of this study will be reported in due course. As a result of parametric and sensitivity analysis, the following observations were made; a. a flange provides good interlocking. High shear stress develops in the vicinity of a flange, the magnitude of this shear stress is shown in Figs. 10 to12; b. there is no significant change in the shear stress magnitude at the concrete-SPS interface due to the flange shape for a given diameter i.e. disc, cone or inverted cone. Hence, shear stress near the flange is independent of the shape. Comparison of Figs. 10 to 12 shows that the shear stress profile is symmetric for the disc type flange; c. an optic sensor will be embedded approximately 35 m m away from the flanges, the stress and strain profile as shown in Figs. 10 to 13 show that the shear stress is well within the specified limit and strain transfer across the interface is good; d. The shear stress and the direct strain in the vicinity of sensor are only slightly affected by the change in flange configuration and diameter. It should be noted that this sensor and protection system have been developed to measure tensile and compressive strains in typical structural concrete. It may well need further development for use in other applications such as high strength concrete or in sections subjected to shear and/or flexural stresses.

lent strain transfer and aW of the three designs could be adopted. However, the disc type flange with 5 m m base diameter gave the best results.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors wish to thank Professor Geoff Mays, Dr. Gurdip Kalsi and Professor Brian Ralph for their valuable advice and technical assistance. The FE analysis reported here was funded by the Institution of Civil Engineers, Enabling Fund Ref: 9905. The contributions from colleagues at the University of Kent (Applied Optics Group) and City University (Civil Engineering and Electrical and Electronic Department) are gratefully acknowledged.

ANNEX 1

From a design point-of-view, compliance with BS8110 [10] is required for concrete slabs or beams that are reinforced with steel bars, ribs or lugs. The failure of the interracial bond is said to occur as a consequence of longitudinal splitting due to shear-compression [11]. BS 8110 [10] stipulates that the average stress between the flanges (see Figs. 1 and 2) be less than the ultimate anchorage stress and the relevant equations are:
~dl

(1)

4. CONCLUSIONS
Some means of protection is required when fibre optic sensors are embedded in concrete structures. A prerequisite is that the protection system should be able to transmit the strains effectively from the concrete structure to the sensor. This study shows that some form of mechanical interlocking is required for effective strain transfer. As a result of mechanical interlocking, a perfect bond relationship has been established at the S P S - c o n c r e t e interface. Because of this perfect bond relationship, elastic analysis can be used to determine stress and strain values satisfactorily. Three sensor configurations were considered as potential candidates for the sensor protection system. These consisted of a steel tube with a pair of flanges, with the latter design being a disc, cone and inverted cone. Finite element analysis was performed to optimise the shape and diameter of the flanges and to ensure that the anchorage strength was within the specified limits. The results showed that the introduction of a flange transduced the applied strain effectively from the concrete cylinder to the centre region of the sensor protection system. All flange geometries studied offered excel562

where: S b = anchorage bond stress F s = force acting on the bar d = diameter of the bar 1 = anchorage length. F s is defined as: ~d 2 F~ = S , - (2) 4 where: S s = stress acting on the steel bar along its length. BS8110 [10] defines the ultimate anchorage bond stress, Sbu, as:
Sb, = 13ff~~

(3)

Where 13 is a coefficient associated with the interfacial bond strength when the specimen is subjected to compression. This coefficient was assumed to be 0.35 for plain bars and 0.63 for deformed bars [10]. The ultimate failure stress for the concrete system used in this study was approximately 40 MPa. With reference to Equations (1)-(3), it is implied that the average stress between the flanges should be less than the ultimate anchorage bond stress Sbu. For a bar deformed in compression, Sbu is approximately 1.7 - 2.2 MPa.

Hameed, Fernando, Hetherington, Brown, Leng, Barnes

ABBREVIATIONS
force in steel bar Ss = stress in steel bar Sbu = ultimate anchorage bond stress So = ultimate concrete stress Sb= anchorage bond stress.
FS z

REFERENCES
[1] Choquet, P., Leroux, R. and Juneau, F., 'New Fabry-Perot Fibre Optic Sensors for Structural and Geotechnical Monitoring Applications', Transp. Res. Rec. 1596, Transportation Research Board, Washington DC, 1997, 39-44. [2] Melle, S. M., Liu, K. and Measures, R. M, 'Strain Sensing using a Fibre Optic Bragg Grating', SHE Proceedings, Vol. 1588, 1991, 255-263. [3] Mendez, A. and Morse, T. F., 'Overview of Optical Fibre Sensors Embedded in Concrete', Fibre Optic Smart Structures and Skins, SHE Vol. 1798, 1992, 205-216.

[4] Measures, R. M., 'Advances towards fibre optic based smart structures', OpticalEngineering31 (1992) 33-47. [5] De Vries, M., Aria, V., Meller, S., Masri, S. F. and Claus, R. O., 'Implementation of EFPI-based optical-fibre sensor instrumentation for the NDE of concrete structures', Cement and Concrete Composites(UK) (1997) 59-68. [6] Maaskant, R., Alavie, T. and Measures, R. M., 'Fibre-optic Bragg Grating sensors for bridge monitoring', Cement and Concrete Composites19 (1997) 21-33. [7] Leung, C. K. Y. and Wang, X., 'Debonding and calibration shift of optical fibre sensors in concrete',Journal of Engineering Mechanics126 (3) (2000) 300-307. [8] Hillemeier, B., Habel, W. R. and Hofinann, D., 'Deformation measurements of mortars at early ages and of large concrete components on site by means of embedded fibre-optic micro-strain sensors', Cementand ConcreteComposites(UK) 19 (1997) 81-102. [9] Quirion, M. and Ballivy, G., 'Concrete strain monitoring with Fabry-Perot fibre-optic sensor', Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering12 (3) (Aug 2000) 254-261. [i 0] British Standards Institute (BSI), 'Structural use of concrete, Part 1: Code of practice for design and construction', BS 8110: Part 1: BSI, London, 1985. [11] Kong, F. K. and Evans, R. H., 'Reinforced and Pre-stressed Concrete', Third Edition (Chapman and Hall, 1996, ISBN 0412 37760 8).

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