Feasibility of Deformation Monitoring for Acrylate Polymer Blended with Poly Resin Pipes (ABR) under External Load and Soil Collapse Using FBG Strain Sensing Technology

Buried PVC water pipeline is prone to deformation due to the influence of unfavorable factors such as external load and soil collapse. Once the deformation exceeds the critical threshold, serious consequences such as leakage and pipeline burst may occur. In response to the crucial issue of monitoring PVC pipeline deformation, the feasibility of utilizing FBG (fiber Bragg grating) sensing technology to monitor the deformation of acrylate polymer blended with poly resin (ABR) pipe subjected to external pressure and soil collapse is explored in this study. To assess the monitoring performance of FBG on the ABR pipe’s surface, an analysis method for package failure and pasted failure of FBG is introduced, along with the calculation formula for strain attenuation based on the Goodman model and the method for calculating the minimum adhesion length. A total of 20 ABR pipes with two cross-sectional forms and different calibers are arranged with external pressure tests or soil collapse tests in this investigation. In the two tests, the circumferential strain measured by FBG is used to analyze the deformation of the ABR pipe and the bending strength. To validate the precision of FBG, a comparison between the strain curve measured by the strain gauge and that measured by the FBG sensors is conducted. The results of the two tests indicate that the deformation of the ABR pipe can be well monitored and the method can be applied to the field applications.