This work reports on the application of a distributed fiber-optic strain sensor for long-term monitoring of a railway tunnel affected by an active earthflow. The sensor has been applied to detect the strain distribution along an optical fiber attached along the two walls of the tunnel. The experimental results, relative to a two-year monitoring campaign, demonstrate that the sensor is able to detect localized strains, identify their location along the tunnel walls, and follow their temporal evolution.
12 June 2007 in Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering