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Session: The Built Environment - I

Type: Oral

Date: 10/16/2026

Time: 03:40 PM

Room: Keauhou I- II

Bridge Monitoring Using Pre-existing Telecommunication Fiber-optic Networks

We introduce a scalable bridge health monitoring approach that uses pre-existing telecommunication fiber-optic cables for distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) to capture a broad range of bridge responses. This approach enables two capabilities previously difficult to achieve without dense sensor arrays: (i) extraction of guided wavefields across entire bridge superstructures and (ii) estimation of sub-millimeter quasi-static displacements using existing telecom fibers.

Aging infrastructure poses growing challenges for modern societies, not only because of physical deterioration but also because cost-effective and high-resolution structural condition data remain limited. Although conventional sensing technologies such as wireless sensor networks have proven effective, their widespread deployment is often constrained by installation cost, communication requirements, and maintenance burden. These limitations become increasingly significant as urban infrastructure systems grow in scale and complexity.

To address these challenges, our study integrates geophysical and structural monitoring approaches with the high spatial resolution of DAS. By repurposing ubiquitous telecom fibers, we measure guided wavefields, estimate modal parameters, and quantify quasi-static displacements. Field evaluations on multiple bridges of diverse structural types in South Korea and the United States show that these measurements remain robust despite noise caused by imperfect fiber–bridge coupling, an inherent limitation of using non-dedicated telecom fibers as sensors.

All capabilities are achieved through pre-existing telecom fibers, without installing additional on-site sensors. While fiber-optic sensing is established, the novelty of this work lies in redefining ordinary telecom fiber, originally deployed for communication, as a large-scale, maintenance-free, high-accuracy sensing network for bridges and road infrastructure. By addressing barriers related to sensor installation, maintenance, and durability, we show that existing telecom fibers can enable scalable and cost-effective structural monitoring at a previously unattainable level.

Presenting Author: Jingxiao

Additional Authors