Fiber Optic Sensors from Luna Innovations Help Monitor Structural Integrity of New Composite Bridge
05 Agosto 2020 - 9:30AM
Business Wire
Sensors Provide a Sustainable Solution for
Aging Infrastructure
Luna Innovations Incorporated (NASDAQ: LUNA) has partnered with
researchers at the University of Tennessee (UT) and the Institute
for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation (IACMI) to equip a
new fiber-reinforced polymer composite material (FRP) bridge deck
with integrated, high-density fiber optic sensors. The sensors will
be used to monitor the composite deck system over time to give
critical performance and safety data, thus providing a sustainable
solution for aging infrastructures such as bridges and tunnels.
The Morgan County demonstration bridge in north central
Tennessee will replace a damaged, decades-old concrete bridge.
County officials are partnering with private industry and
researchers on a bridge that can be installed faster and at a lower
cost than traditional methods. Luna’s fiber optic sensors will form
the key element of a structural health monitoring framework for the
bridge, allowing engineers to ensure that the bridge operates
safely and within established performance parameters for many years
to come.
“Luna’s sensing solutions deliver data and insight not available
with conventional data acquisition and monitoring systems,” said
Scott Graeff, President and Chief Executive Officer of Luna. “We
strive to enhance the safety of people and structures by leveraging
our expertise in fiber optic-based technology and the information
it provides. The Morgan County demonstration bridge is a great
example of how Luna is enabling the future with fiber by providing
advanced sensing solutions that address our nation’s aging
infrastructure.”
Due to the use of technologically advanced composites, the
bridge deck system has a 100-year lifespan and a low-maintenance
design. The system is equipped with Luna’s high-definition and
high-speed fiber optic sensors for real-time monitoring of the
composite deck system while in service. The sensors are easy to
install during the manufacturing process and become part of the
structural components, thus creating “smart” infrastructure and
enabling the constituent building materials to report their
structural health from within. A single 10-meter sensor can provide
strain from mechanical loading or thermal/hygroscopic loading from
thousands of locations simultaneously with exceptional precision.
In addition, wireless technology developed at UT will be utilized
for monitoring the response of the bridge system and traffic counts
remotely via cloud computing.
FRP materials will be used to create a durable, sustainable,
cost-effective lightweight bridge structure. By using composite
materials, the bridge replacement project will require less
equipment and less time for on-site preparation and on-site
installation. Quicker completion can result in significant savings
to safely meet transportation needs for this rural community.
“Lack of durability data is one of the major barriers of the
adoption of novel and advance materials including carbon, basalt,
or glass fiber reinforced polymeric composites in civil
infrastructure,” said Dayakar Penumadu, the Fred N. Peebles
Professor in the Tickle College of Engineering and Characterization
Fellow for Materials and Processing group for IACMI.
Penumadu added, “this is a major obstacle for integrating new
materials and structures quickly and thus require successful
demonstration as being done through this IACMI project. Bridge
decks are the most damage prone elements and we are integrating
smart sensors distributed throughout the composite bridge deck that
will provide us valuable performance data with time for years to
come.”
High-definition fiber optic sensing is ideally suited to monitor
and characterize composite structures. Using Luna’s ODiSI
measurement system, a single 10-meter sensor can provide strain
from mechanical loading or thermal/hygroscopic loading from
thousands of points simultaneously with exceptional precision. In
addition, fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensors combined with Luna’s
high-speed HYPERION interrogator can capture dynamic phenomena and
additional bridge response data. Together, these systems will
deliver the durability and performance data needed to facilitate
the integration of new, advanced materials in civil
infrastructure.
The installation of the composites bridge deck is expected to be
completed late 2020 or in early 2021. Luna Innovations is one of
the private industry partners on this project that have committed
to designing, fabricating, shipping, installing and monitoring the
16-by-25-foot bridge deck, all at no cost to Morgan County.
About Luna
Luna Innovations Incorporated (www.lunainc.com) is a leader in
optical technology, providing unique capabilities in
high-performance, fiber optic-based, test products for the
telecommunications industry and distributed fiber optic-based
sensing for the aerospace and automotive industries. Luna is
organized into two business segments, which work closely together
to turn ideas into products: Lightwave and Luna Labs. Luna’s
business model is designed to accelerate the process of bringing
new and innovative technologies to market.
Forward-Looking
Statements
The statements in this release that are not historical facts
constitute “forward-looking statements” made pursuant to the safe
harbor provision of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995 that involve risks and uncertainties. These statements include
Luna's expectations regarding its technical and product
capabilities and their long-term strategic value. Management
cautions the reader that these forward-looking statements are only
predictions and are subject to a number of both known and unknown
risks and uncertainties, and actual results, performance, and/or
achievements of Luna may differ materially from the future results,
performance, and/or achievements expressed or implied by these
forward-looking statements as a result of a number of factors.
These factors include, without limitation, technological and
strategic challenges and those risks and uncertainties set forth in
Luna’s Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2020, and Luna's
other periodic reports and filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission ("SEC"). Such filings are available on the SEC’s website
at www.sec.gov and on Luna’s website at www.lunainc.com. The
statements made in this release are based on information available
to Luna as of the date of this release and Luna undertakes no
obligation to update any of the forward-looking statements after
the date of this release.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200805005345/en/
Media: Allison Woody Phone:
540-769-8465 Email: IR@lunainc.com
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