Statistics for Spatial Data.

Nowadays, smart composite materials embed miniaturized sensors for structural health monitoring (SHM) in order to mitigate the risk of failure due to an overload or to unwanted inhomogeneity resulting from the fabrication process. Optical fiber sensors, and more particularly fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensors, outperform traditional sensor technologies, as they are lightweight, small in size and offer convenient multiplexing capabilities with remote operation. They have thus been extensively associated to composite materials to study their behavior for further SHM purposes. This paper reviews the main challenges arising from the use of FBGs in composite materials. The focus will be made on issues related to temperature-strain discrimination, demodulation of the amplitude spectrum during and after the curing process as well as connection between the embedded optical fibers and the surroundings. The main strategies developed in each of these three topics will be summarized and compared, demonstrating the large progress that has been made in this field in the past few years.

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Fiber Bragg grating sensors toward structural health monitoring in composite materials: challenges and solutions.

Distributed optical fiber sensors (DOFS) offer unprecedented features, the most unique one of which is the ability of monitoring variations of the physical and chemical parameters with spatial continuity along the fiber. Among all these distributed sensing techniques, optical frequency domain reflectometry (OFDR) has been given tremendous attention because of its high spatial resolution and large dynamic range. In addition, DOFS based on OFDR have been used to sense many parameters. In this review, we will survey the key technologies for improving sensing range, spatial resolution and sensing performance in DOFS based on OFDR. We also introduce the sensing mechanisms and the applications of DOFS based on OFDR including strain, stress, vibration, temperature, 3D shape, flow, refractive index, magnetic field, radiation, gas and so on.

Distributed Optical Fiber Sensors Based on Optical Frequency Domain Reflectometry: A review

Nowadays, the railway industry is in a position where it is able to exploit the opportunities created by the IIoT (Industrial Internet of Things) and enabling communication technologies under the paradigm of Internet of Trains. This review details the evolution of communication technologies since the deployment of GSM-R, describing the main alternatives and how railway requirements, specifications and recommendations have evolved over time. The advantages of the latest generation of broadband communication systems (e.g., LTE, 5G, IEEE 802.11ad) and the emergence of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) for the railway environment are also explained together with the strategic roadmap to ensure a smooth migration from GSM-R. Furthermore, this survey focuses on providing a holistic approach, identifying scenarios and architectures where railways could leverage better commercial IIoT capabilities. After reviewing the main industrial developments, short and medium-term IIoT-enabled services for smart railways are evaluated. Then, it is analyzed the latest research on predictive maintenance, smart infrastructure, advanced monitoring of assets, video surveillance systems, railway operations, Passenger and Freight Information Systems (PIS/FIS), train control systems, safety assurance, signaling systems, cyber security and energy efficiency. Overall, it can be stated that the aim of this article is to provide a detailed examination of the state-of-the-art of different technologies and services that will revolutionize the railway industry and will allow for confronting today challenges.

https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/17/6/1457/pdf

Towards the Internet of Smart Trains: A Review on Industrial IoT-Connected Railways

CrackNet is the result of an 18-month collaboration within a 10-person team to develop a deep learning–based pavement crack detection software that demonstrated successes in terms of consis...

Deep Learning–Based Fully Automated Pavement Crack Detection on 3D Asphalt Surfaces with an Improved CrackNet

Motivations, challenges and requirements of optical layer monitoring in PONs are discussed. An exhaustive review of monitoring systems is given considering both time-division multiplexed PON (TDM-PON) and wavelength-division multiplexed PON (WDM-PON) cases.

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Optical layer monitoring in Passive Optical Networks (PONs): A review

A review of recent research on structural monitoring in railway industry is proposed in this paper, with a special focus on stress-based solutions. After a brief analysis of the mechanical behaviour of ballasted railway tracks, an overview of the most common monitoring techniques is presented. A special attention is paid on strain gages and accelerometers for which the accurate mounting position on the track is requisite. These types of solution are then compared to another modern approach based on the use of optical fibres. Besides, an in-depth discussion is made on the evolution of numerical models that investigate the interaction between railway vehicles and tracks. These models are used to validate experimental devices and to predict the best location(s) of the sensors. It is hoped that this review article will stimulate further research activities in this continuously expanding field.

Review of Trackside Monitoring Solutions: From Strain Gages to Optical Fibre Sensors.

In this paper, we discuss the operation principles, challenges and application areas of optical frequency domain reflectometry technique. A review of OFDR systems is given considering both Incoherent-OFDR and Coherent-OFDR groups. Results obtained by different research groups are compared in terms of performance characteristics, and future perspectives. Recent progresses obtained within our laboratory are also presented.

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Optical frequency domain reflectometry: A review

We present the analysis of a quasi-distributed fiber sensor based on the concatenation of identical low-reflective fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) taking into account both multireflection and spectral-shadowing crosstalks. This allows obtaining more realistic values of the design parameters such as the maximum number of sensing points, the reflectivity of the gratings, and the distance between the sensing points.

Complete Analysis of Multireflection and Spectral-Shadowing Crosstalks in a Quasi-Distributed Fiber Sensor Interrogated by OFDR

Optimal operation, reduced energy consumption, longer service availability, and high safety level are the major concerns in today's railway transport systems. Smart monitoring systems should address these issues without interrupting railway operability. Many successful works have been carried out to provide railway monitoring functions using fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensors on rail. Most of them are based on strain measurement due to the train passage. This paper presents a highly sensitive means for railway monitoring based on vibration measurement. FBG accelerometers placed on sleeper have been employed as sensor heads, which significantly facilitated the field sensor installation work compared to the positioning on the foot of the rail. An optimized signal demodulation algorithm has been effectively used to extract from the accelerometer traces both the axle number and the average speed information. Excellent capability of the developed system to obtain both parameters has been demonstrated by the way of field trials carried out on a Belgian railway line, during its normal operation. Easy installation, multi-function diagnosis, good data integrity, and compatibility with fiber optic sensors make the proposed sensor a good candidate for railway monitoring applications.

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Veronique Moeyaert

Papers

Optical layer monitoring in Passive Optical Networks (PONs): A review

Review of Trackside Monitoring Solutions: From Strain Gages to Optical Fibre Sensors.

Optical frequency domain reflectometry: A review

Complete Analysis of Multireflection and Spectral-Shadowing Crosstalks in a Quasi-Distributed Fiber Sensor Interrogated by OFDR

Railway monitoring system using optical fiber grating accelerometers