Measuring Three-Dimensional Temperature Distributions in Steel-Concrete Composite Slabs Subjected to Fire Using Distributed Fiber Optic Sensors

Published

September 26, 2020

Author(s)

Yi Bao, Matthew Hoehler, Christopher M. Smith, Matthew Bundy, Genda Chen

Abstract

Detailed information about temperature distribution can be important to understand structural behavior in fire. This study develops a method to image three-dimensional temperature distributions in steel- concrete composite slabs using distributed fiber optic sensors. The feasibility of the method is explored using six 1.2 by 0.9 m steel-concrete composite slabs instrumented with distributed sensors and thermocouples subjected to fire for over 3 h. Dense point clouds of temperature in the slabs were measured using the distributed sensors. The results show that the distributed sensors operated at material temperatures up to 960 C with acceptable accuracy for many structural fire applications. The measured non-uniform temperature distributions indicate a spatially distributed thermal response in steel-concrete composite slabs, which can only be adequately captured using approaches that provide a high density of through-depth data points.

Citation

Sensors

Volume

20

Issue

19

Pub Type

Journals

Download Paper

https://doi.org/10.3390/s20195518

Local Download

Keywords

composite structure, distributed fiber optic sensors, fiber optic sensors, fire, high temperature, temperature distribution

Citation

Bao, Y. , Hoehler, M. , Smith, C. , Bundy, M. and Chen, G. (2020), Measuring Three-Dimensional Temperature Distributions in Steel–Concrete Composite Slabs Subjected to Fire Using Distributed Fiber Optic Sensors, Sensors, [online], https://doi.org/10.3390/s20195518, https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=925912 (Accessed October 21, 2025)