Intelligent Distributed Optical Fiber Sensing in Transportation Infrastructures: Research Progress, Applications, and Challenges

TL;DR

This paper reviews the latest developments in distributed optical fiber sensing (DOFS) for monitoring transportation infrastructures, highlighting its applications, technical challenges, and future research directions in structural health monitoring.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of DOFS applications in transportation, covering system design, sensing algorithms, and addressing current challenges and future research needs.

Findings

DOFS enables long-range, multi-parameter monitoring of infrastructure.

Various sensing principles and signal processing techniques are discussed.

Applications include SHM of bridges, highways, and railways.

Abstract

Distributed optical fiber sensing (DOFS), along with its capabilities of long-range coverage, multi-parameter monitoring, and completely passive detection, emerges as one of the most promising non-destructive detection techniques for structural health monitoring (SHM) and operational assessment of linear transportation infrastructures. In this paper, we provide a state-of-the-art review on DOFS applications across typical linear infrastructure systems, encompassing highways, long-span bridges, rail transit networks, airport runways, and analogous linear structures. The comprehensive discussion consists of four critical research dimensions: 1) optical fiber selection for multi-parameter sensing and robust cable packaging techniques, 2) distributed sensing principles and signal processing algorithms, 3) diverse application scenarios in SHM and related fields, and 4) anomaly detection and event classification methodologies. Building upon the foundational introduction of DOFS technical principles and monitoring solutions for intelligent transportation infrastructure, this paper elaborates on system design approaches, sensing data analytics algorithms, and future research directions.