Monitoring the Internal Conditions of Road Structures by Smart Sensing and In Situ Monitoring Technology: A Review

Internal-condition sensing for road structures is crucial for road service safety, performance assessments, and maintenance. In recent years, new technologies for monitoring structural conditions of roads have been updated, significantly improving road-sensing capabilities. Most of these techniques...

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Main Authors: Xue Xin, Junyao Hui, Lin Chen, Ming Liang, Zhanyong Yao
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-04-01
Series:Applied Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/7/3945
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author Xue Xin
Junyao Hui
Lin Chen
Ming Liang
Zhanyong Yao
author_facet Xue Xin
Junyao Hui
Lin Chen
Ming Liang
Zhanyong Yao
author_sort Xue Xin
collection DOAJ
description Internal-condition sensing for road structures is crucial for road service safety, performance assessments, and maintenance. In recent years, new technologies for monitoring structural conditions of roads have been updated, significantly improving road-sensing capabilities. Most of these techniques use a new generation of sensors and monitoring systems by means of buried sensors in roads to obtain the accurate mechanical status of road-internal structures. This paper presents an exhaustive and systematic literature review of in situ sensing technology for the internal-structure conditions of pavements in the past 20 years. The principles, advantages, and disadvantages of existing monitoring sensors, such as fiber-optic grating sensors and resistive strain gauges, and their applicability in pavement monitoring are reviewed. Meanwhile, sensing technology based on conductive sensitive materials (CSMs) are shown to have broad application prospects, and the details of conductive polymer compositions, preparation processes, and sensing performance factors are discussed. Lastly, further opportunities and challenges for using polymer CSMs for in situ road monitoring are highlighted.
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spelling doaj-art-d408ecd673554df9b1941b79666b9a032025-08-20T03:08:44ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172025-04-01157394510.3390/app15073945Monitoring the Internal Conditions of Road Structures by Smart Sensing and In Situ Monitoring Technology: A ReviewXue Xin0Junyao Hui1Lin Chen2Ming Liang3Zhanyong Yao4School of Civil Engineering and Architecture, University of Jinan, Jinan 250022, ChinaSchool of Qilu Transportation, Shandong University, Jinan 250002, ChinaSchool of Qilu Transportation, Shandong University, Jinan 250002, ChinaSchool of Qilu Transportation, Shandong University, Jinan 250002, ChinaSchool of Qilu Transportation, Shandong University, Jinan 250002, ChinaInternal-condition sensing for road structures is crucial for road service safety, performance assessments, and maintenance. In recent years, new technologies for monitoring structural conditions of roads have been updated, significantly improving road-sensing capabilities. Most of these techniques use a new generation of sensors and monitoring systems by means of buried sensors in roads to obtain the accurate mechanical status of road-internal structures. This paper presents an exhaustive and systematic literature review of in situ sensing technology for the internal-structure conditions of pavements in the past 20 years. The principles, advantages, and disadvantages of existing monitoring sensors, such as fiber-optic grating sensors and resistive strain gauges, and their applicability in pavement monitoring are reviewed. Meanwhile, sensing technology based on conductive sensitive materials (CSMs) are shown to have broad application prospects, and the details of conductive polymer compositions, preparation processes, and sensing performance factors are discussed. Lastly, further opportunities and challenges for using polymer CSMs for in situ road monitoring are highlighted.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/7/3945smart roadroad internal-condition sensingin situ monitoringsensorsconductive sensitive material
spellingShingle Xue Xin
Junyao Hui
Lin Chen
Ming Liang
Zhanyong Yao
Monitoring the Internal Conditions of Road Structures by Smart Sensing and In Situ Monitoring Technology: A Review
Applied Sciences
smart road
road internal-condition sensing
in situ monitoring
sensors
conductive sensitive material
title Monitoring the Internal Conditions of Road Structures by Smart Sensing and In Situ Monitoring Technology: A Review
title_full Monitoring the Internal Conditions of Road Structures by Smart Sensing and In Situ Monitoring Technology: A Review
title_fullStr Monitoring the Internal Conditions of Road Structures by Smart Sensing and In Situ Monitoring Technology: A Review
title_full_unstemmed Monitoring the Internal Conditions of Road Structures by Smart Sensing and In Situ Monitoring Technology: A Review
title_short Monitoring the Internal Conditions of Road Structures by Smart Sensing and In Situ Monitoring Technology: A Review
title_sort monitoring the internal conditions of road structures by smart sensing and in situ monitoring technology a review
topic smart road
road internal-condition sensing
in situ monitoring
sensors
conductive sensitive material
url https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/7/3945
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