Structural Shape Estimation by Mode Shapes Using Fiber Bragg Grating Sensors: A Genetic Algorithm Approach

Structural shape estimation is of great interest in many engineering fields. During operation, however, the monitoring of structural displacements is often difficult. This article discuss structural shape estimation using a minimal number of fiber Bragg grating sensors. A strain to displacement transformation matrix is derived using mode shapes, to estimate the global displacement of a structure from measured discrete strain data. The number of sensors and sensor layout for the shape estimation is optimized using genetic algorithm. Static and dynamic displacement experiments are conducted to verify the algorithm. The results show that the estimated displacements match well with those measured displacements.