Detection of grouting defects in prestressed tendon ducts using distributed fiber optic sensors

To compensate for the shortcomings of the existing point detection methods for grouting defects in prestressed tendon ducts, such as low detection efficiency, stringent detection environment, and easy omission of grouting defects, this article presents a distributed detection approach to detect the grouting defects in tendon ducts. The main objective of the research pertained to the development of a method for accurate identification and location of grouting defects and qualitative evaluation of the size of grouting defects using distributed fiber optic sensors with active heating. Using the thermal analysis of grouting defects in the tendon duct and the research on distributed fiber optic sensors measurement characteristics, our work proposed a method for identifying and locating grouting defects and explored the effect of the grouting defect length and the grouting compactness on the temperature rise of distributed fiber optic sensors. The feasibility of the proposed approach is evaluated through an experimental program. The experimental program involved use of heating distributed fiber optic sensors for the distributed measurement of temperature after the heating and detection of grouting defects in tendon ducts in a concrete beam. The results indicate that distributed fiber optic sensors can monitor the temperature distribution of the tendon duct during a temperature rise in real time. Grouting defects in the tendon duct can be quickly detected and located by identifying temperature anomalies in the temperature contour of the distributed fiber optic sensors. Furthermore, there is a linear relationship between the defect length and the abnormal temperature length on the distributed fiber optic sensors, and the defect length can be identified based on the abnormal temperature length obtained by the measurement. Plane-equivalent thermal conductivity can be used to evaluate the grouting compactness of the tendon duct. When the grouting compactness is greater than 70%, the smaller the plane-equivalent thermal conductivity is, the lower the grouting compactness is. The plane-equivalent thermal conductivity is basically the same when the grouting compactness is less than 70%.