Monitoring the distributed impact wave on a concrete slab due to the traffic based on polarization dependence on stimulated Brillouin scattering

For the first time to our knowledge, distributed impact waves due to the highway traffic on concrete slabs reinforced with FRP bars are monitored in real time using stimulated Brillouin scattering. The impact wave is caused by the traffic passing on the highway pavement at high speed (>100kmh^-1), which induced pressure on the concrete slabs, and in turn created a local birefringence change, leading to variation of the local state of polarization change (SOP). The pump and probe waves of the stimulated Brillouin scattering 'see' the SOP change and react with a decrease of the Brillouin gain or loss signal, when the pump and probe waves have the same input polarization state. The frequency difference between the pump and probe waves are locked at the static-strain-related Brillouin frequency. Optical fiber was embedded throughout the concrete pavement continuously reinforced with FRP bars in Highway 40East, Montréal, Quebec to detect impact waves caused by cars and trucks passing on these pavements at a sampling rate of 10kHz. A spatial resolution of 2m was used over a sensing length of 300m.