Development and in situ application of actively heated fiber Bragg grating cable for soil water content measurement

The actively heated fiber-optic (AHFO) technology has emerged as a frontier and hotspot in soil water content measurement, offering advantages such as easy installation, large-scale distributed measurement capability, and resistance to electromagnetic interference. However, current AHFO water conten...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Mengya Sun, Jie Liu, Jin Liu, Xing Zheng, Xiaoyan Li, Junyi Guo, Yunqiang Wang, Yongping Tong, Bin Shi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-07-01
Series:Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1674775524004670
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849321044586790912
author Mengya Sun
Jie Liu
Jin Liu
Xing Zheng
Xiaoyan Li
Junyi Guo
Yunqiang Wang
Yongping Tong
Bin Shi
author_facet Mengya Sun
Jie Liu
Jin Liu
Xing Zheng
Xiaoyan Li
Junyi Guo
Yunqiang Wang
Yongping Tong
Bin Shi
author_sort Mengya Sun
collection DOAJ
description The actively heated fiber-optic (AHFO) technology has emerged as a frontier and hotspot in soil water content measurement, offering advantages such as easy installation, large-scale distributed measurement capability, and resistance to electromagnetic interference. However, current AHFO water content sensors fail to simultaneously achieve high precision, applicability for deep soil, and automated real-time monitoring, thereby limiting their development and application. Therefore, this study introduces a novel actively heated fiber Bragg grating (AH-FBG) cable. Laboratory tests were conducted to assess the heating uniformity of the AH-FBG cable and to establish the temperature characteristic value (Tt) – soil water content (θ) calibration formula for water content measurement. Subsequently, AH-FBG cables were deployed for in situ soil water content monitoring in a test pit on the Loess Plateau. Through two-year monitoring data verified the accuracy of the AH-FBG cable and elucidated the spatiotemporal distribution of in situ loess water content. Laboratory results demonstrated superior heating uniformity of AH-FBG cable, with a Tt standard deviation of approximately 0.3 °C. In the field, the AH-FBG cable exhibited excellent performance in soil water content measurement, achieving a high accuracy of 0.023 cm3/cm3. Further analysis revealed that the θ fluctuation predominantly occurred within a 10 m depth from the soil surface, with an overall upward trend over the two-year monitoring period; the response of shallow θ to precipitation was significant but exhibited increasing hysteresis with depth; frequent precipitation significantly enhanced water infiltration depth. This study provides technical guidance for high-precision, quasi-distributed, automated and real-time water content measurement of deep soil.
format Article
id doaj-art-e4d2c9f3fbfb4354a9dc3d3eedd7c8b3
institution Kabale University
issn 1674-7755
language English
publishDate 2025-07-01
publisher Elsevier
record_format Article
series Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering
spelling doaj-art-e4d2c9f3fbfb4354a9dc3d3eedd7c8b32025-08-20T03:49:54ZengElsevierJournal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering1674-77552025-07-011774579459010.1016/j.jrmge.2024.09.033Development and in situ application of actively heated fiber Bragg grating cable for soil water content measurementMengya Sun0Jie Liu1Jin Liu2Xing Zheng3Xiaoyan Li4Junyi Guo5Yunqiang Wang6Yongping Tong7Bin Shi8School of Earth Sciences and Engineering, Hohai University, Nanjing, 210098, ChinaSchool of Earth Sciences and Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210023, China; Corresponding author.School of Earth Sciences and Engineering, Hohai University, Nanjing, 210098, ChinaSchool of Civil Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400045, ChinaSchool of Earth Sciences and Engineering, Hohai University, Nanjing, 210098, ChinaSchool of Earth Sciences and Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210023, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi’an, 710061, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi’an, 710061, ChinaSchool of Earth Sciences and Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210023, China; Corresponding author.The actively heated fiber-optic (AHFO) technology has emerged as a frontier and hotspot in soil water content measurement, offering advantages such as easy installation, large-scale distributed measurement capability, and resistance to electromagnetic interference. However, current AHFO water content sensors fail to simultaneously achieve high precision, applicability for deep soil, and automated real-time monitoring, thereby limiting their development and application. Therefore, this study introduces a novel actively heated fiber Bragg grating (AH-FBG) cable. Laboratory tests were conducted to assess the heating uniformity of the AH-FBG cable and to establish the temperature characteristic value (Tt) – soil water content (θ) calibration formula for water content measurement. Subsequently, AH-FBG cables were deployed for in situ soil water content monitoring in a test pit on the Loess Plateau. Through two-year monitoring data verified the accuracy of the AH-FBG cable and elucidated the spatiotemporal distribution of in situ loess water content. Laboratory results demonstrated superior heating uniformity of AH-FBG cable, with a Tt standard deviation of approximately 0.3 °C. In the field, the AH-FBG cable exhibited excellent performance in soil water content measurement, achieving a high accuracy of 0.023 cm3/cm3. Further analysis revealed that the θ fluctuation predominantly occurred within a 10 m depth from the soil surface, with an overall upward trend over the two-year monitoring period; the response of shallow θ to precipitation was significant but exhibited increasing hysteresis with depth; frequent precipitation significantly enhanced water infiltration depth. This study provides technical guidance for high-precision, quasi-distributed, automated and real-time water content measurement of deep soil.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1674775524004670Soil water contentActively heated fiber Bragg grating (AH-FBG) cableSensing cableIn situ monitoringSpatiotemporal distributionApplicability
spellingShingle Mengya Sun
Jie Liu
Jin Liu
Xing Zheng
Xiaoyan Li
Junyi Guo
Yunqiang Wang
Yongping Tong
Bin Shi
Development and in situ application of actively heated fiber Bragg grating cable for soil water content measurement
Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering
Soil water content
Actively heated fiber Bragg grating (AH-FBG) cable
Sensing cable
In situ monitoring
Spatiotemporal distribution
Applicability
title Development and in situ application of actively heated fiber Bragg grating cable for soil water content measurement
title_full Development and in situ application of actively heated fiber Bragg grating cable for soil water content measurement
title_fullStr Development and in situ application of actively heated fiber Bragg grating cable for soil water content measurement
title_full_unstemmed Development and in situ application of actively heated fiber Bragg grating cable for soil water content measurement
title_short Development and in situ application of actively heated fiber Bragg grating cable for soil water content measurement
title_sort development and in situ application of actively heated fiber bragg grating cable for soil water content measurement
topic Soil water content
Actively heated fiber Bragg grating (AH-FBG) cable
Sensing cable
In situ monitoring
Spatiotemporal distribution
Applicability
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1674775524004670
work_keys_str_mv AT mengyasun developmentandinsituapplicationofactivelyheatedfiberbragggratingcableforsoilwatercontentmeasurement
AT jieliu developmentandinsituapplicationofactivelyheatedfiberbragggratingcableforsoilwatercontentmeasurement
AT jinliu developmentandinsituapplicationofactivelyheatedfiberbragggratingcableforsoilwatercontentmeasurement
AT xingzheng developmentandinsituapplicationofactivelyheatedfiberbragggratingcableforsoilwatercontentmeasurement
AT xiaoyanli developmentandinsituapplicationofactivelyheatedfiberbragggratingcableforsoilwatercontentmeasurement
AT junyiguo developmentandinsituapplicationofactivelyheatedfiberbragggratingcableforsoilwatercontentmeasurement
AT yunqiangwang developmentandinsituapplicationofactivelyheatedfiberbragggratingcableforsoilwatercontentmeasurement
AT yongpingtong developmentandinsituapplicationofactivelyheatedfiberbragggratingcableforsoilwatercontentmeasurement
AT binshi developmentandinsituapplicationofactivelyheatedfiberbragggratingcableforsoilwatercontentmeasurement