Your 3 Step Cheat Sheet on How to Get a Job

Your 3 Step Cheat Sheet on How to Get a Job If you’ve been on the job hunt before, you know that a stellar resume and solid-gold experience are really only part of the process. Everything else hinges on how you present yourself in writing and in person. Hiring managers aren’t shy about sharing tips for job-seekers- after all, they have a huge interest in finding the best person available, and they want you to be that person. It’s a win all around when you get hired, so it’s in your best interest to take their recommendations to heart. So what do you need to know? Let’s walk through some of the most important strategies on how to get a job. . 1. Before You Apply2. The Interview3.  After the InterviewBefore You ApplyDon’t just dive in without a plan–disorganization will make both you and your job search process scattered and messy.Be focused (and realistic) in your search.If you’re looking to move up in your field, don’t apply for jobs that are a total reach for yo u, experience-wise. Make sure you’re applying for jobs that you can plausibly do with your experience level and skills. (The Muse recommends having 80% of the job requirements if you’re reaching.) If you’ve only had one three-year job out of school, applying for a CEO position because it came up in a keyword search is not going to be a productive use of anyone’s time. If a job calls for five years of experience when you have four years plus the requisite skills, that’s more reasonable. Just prepare to emphasize the skills and qualities that qualify you to do the job. Don’t apply indiscriminately for jobs in your industry and wait for something to stick.Know the job and the company.If you get stumped by a basic question like, â€Å"So what attracts you to this company?† in the interview, things are not going to go great from there. Doing some super-basic research ahead of time is the bare minimum of the prep you need to do when you app ly for a job opening. Not only can it help you form your interview talking points, but it could also set off any red flags early in the process. If you’re really interested in a marketing position at GiantCorp, but find out that you’d be marketing baby seal poison, that might not jive very well with your longtime ASPCA volunteering. It’s a waste of your time (and the hiring manager’s) if you go far down the path for a position or a company you’re really not interested in.Also know the company’s culture.If you’re looking for a company where you can wear jeans a few times a week and have a strong work-life balance, then you’re not going to be very happy if you accept a job at a place where you’re expected to wear formal business attire for your 75-hour work week. This can be tough to scope out ahead of an interview, but if you poke around the company website and check sites like Glassdoor, it can give you a glimpse into wh at it’s like to work for the company.Tailor your resume.This goes back to the first point, about not taking a one-size-fits-all approach. The recruiter or hiring manager is looking for The One, the Candidate to Rule Them All- not a vague outline of a person. Your job is to make them see how well you fit into this role, not every possible job opening. Before you apply, make sure your resume is massaged to match the job description, and you’ve played up your skills and experience accordingly.List job-specific skills on your resume, especially software.This is kind of an extension of the tailoring, but it also works even if the job description doesn’t ask for specific software proficiency. This is a quick, easy way to convey very specific information to the hiring manager. If you decide to hold out until the interview to talk about your Excel ninja skills for a job that lives and dies on spreadsheet analysis, it might already be too late, with your resume in the â €Å"nope† pile. It’s also an easy way to get past automated resume readers and keyword searches.The InterviewCongrats! You’ve made it to the next step. The prep work is done, right? Not so much. This just opens up a whole new set of expectations.Be confident- and show it.There’s always a chance that the interviewer will see past any nerves and decide that you’re supremely qualified, despite your nervous rambling or lack of eye contact. (I say this with love and respect, as a fellow introvert who has always struggled with interview confidence.) But you can’t really bet on that- you need to be as confident and clear as you can be in the interview. Practice your talking points (skills, experience) ahead of time, so that pauses can’t be misconstrued as â€Å"stalling for time† or its insidious cousin, â€Å"making stuff up.† Practice your interview handshake and eye contact, as well as your body language. And try to relax. T he stakes may feel high, but you want the interviewer to see as much of the real you (awesome professional edition) as possible.Be early(ish).The interview arrival sweet spot is 10-15 minutes ahead of your scheduled time. That gives you time to check in with someone (a receptionist, building security, etc.) and sit quietly for a minute to collect your thoughts. Being late is a no-no, but so is being too early. It’s awkward to sit around, and it’s awkward for your interviewer if he or she knows you’re just sitting around for 20 minutes while they wrap up another interview or try to get something done before your meeting. If you find you’re about to arrive at the place really early, kill time outside. If there’s a coffee place nearby, grab a small cup of your preferred beverage (maybe even a lucky scone). Catch up on headlines. Review your interview prep notes. Then, when you’re down to ten minutes ahead of game time, head into the building.Dr ess the part.Even if your pre-interview research tells you that everyone wears fashionably ripped jeans and concert tees to work at this place, dress up for your interview. Going too casual telegraphs that you don’t take this very seriously. You will never go wrong wearing with a clean, ironed, well-fitting suit for your interview.Don’t be snarky or inappropriate.Tone is super-important in your interview. You want to be approachable, and light jokes are fine- especially in the small talk phase at the beginning, or later in the congeniality competition. However, keep it light, and never make jokes at the expense of the interviewer, or the company.Don’t lie.Just don’t. Don’t exaggerate your Spanish skills on your resume, because you might walk into an interview with someone who spent three years living in Barcelona. Don’t suggest that you practically ran the place at your old job, because a quick call to someone at your old company could contr adict that right quick. It’s okay to play up skills and experiences, but always be sure you can back them up with specifics and references. If you get caught lying, that’s pretty much an automatic dealbreaker. Even if it’s a little fib, it throws your whole resume in doubt.Ask questions.If you don’t have any questions about the job, the day-to-day, or the people you’d be working with, the interviewer may get suspicious that you don’t care, or that you don’t really see yourself in the role. Up to now, it’s likely that you’ve only seen the posted job description- and those are usually bare bones at best. This is your chance to learn more about what the job is actually like, and figure out how you see yourself fitting in.RELATED:  The Best Questions to Ask During A Job InterviewAfter the InterviewYour job isn’t done when you walk out of your interview. For better or worse, you’re being judged on your post-in terview behavior–stay on your best and classiest behavior all the while.Send a thank you note.Even if the interview went terribly. Even if you said a lovely and poignant â€Å"thank you† to the interviewer as you left the room. Send the thank you note. It’s a nice touch, and lets the interviewer know that you’re still engaged and vested in this process. If you can drop a quick handwritten note in the mail, great- people appreciate that personal touch. At a bare minimum, send an email that same day.RELATED:  6 Steps to Writing a Great Thank You NoteDon’t pester anyone for a response.Whether you’re a kid or you’re a grown professional anxious to get word about your future, â€Å"Are we there yet? How about now? Okay, how about†¦now?† is not a good look. After the interview, give the company room to breathe. They might be meeting with other candidates, or going through an internal review/approval process. You won’t w in any bonus â€Å"hire me† points by checking in with HR (or the interviewer) every single day. Before you leave the interview, ask the interviewer if there’s a time frame for next steps. If that time passes and you’re anxious, you can send a brief email asking if there’s anything further they need from you. If you don’t hear back after a month, especially if your check-in email went unanswered, it’s safe to assume this just wasn’t to be.Remember: even when this job hunt feels like an impersonal process, there are always humans behind it reading your resume, and trying to get a sense of who you are. They see the good, the bad, and the ugly come across their desks when it’s time to hire someone new, and have a vested interest in making sure you fall into the â€Å"good† category and become an asset to their team. It may feel like a bit of a chore to have a checklist of actions to make yourself more appealing, but it†™s totally worth it in the long run.

The Main Engineering Branches

The Main Engineering Branches Engineers apply scientific principles to design or develop structures, equipment, or processes. Engineering encompasses several disciplines. Traditionally, the main branches of engineering are chemical engineering, civil engineering, electrical engineering, and mechanical engineering, but there are many other areas of specialization. Key Takeaways: Branches of Engineering Engineering is a huge discipline. In general, an engineer applies scientific knowledge to solve practical problems and design equipment and processes.Engineering students typically study one of the main branches of engineering: chemical, electrical, civil, and mechanical.Many more disciplines are available, with more described over time. Examples include aerospace engineering and computer engineering. Here is a summary of the main branches of engineering: Acoustical Engineering Engineering concerned with the analysis and control of vibration, particularly sound vibrations. Aerospace Engineering Aerospace engineering deals with aeronautics and astronautic engineering, including the design and analysis of aircraft, satellites,  and spacecraft. Agricultural Engineering This branch of engineering deals with farm machinery and structures, natural resources, bioenergy and farm power systems. Sub-disciplines include food engineering, aquaculture, and bioprocess engineering. Automotive Engineering Automotive engineers are involved in the design, manufacture, and performance of cars and trucks. Biological Engineering Biological engineering is applied biology and medicine. It includes biomedical engineering, biochemical engineering, protein engineering, genetic engineering, and tissue engineering. Biomedical Engineering Biomedical engineering is an interdisciplinary specialty that applies engineering principles to medical and biological problems and systems. This discipline commonly deals with medical therapies, monitoring devices, and diagnostic tools. Chemical Engineering Chemical engineering (CE) applies chemistry to develop new materials and processes to convert materials into useful products. Civil Engineering Civil engineering (CE) is one of the oldest forms of engineering. Civil engineering pertains to the discipline pertaining to the design, construction, analysis, and maintenance of structures, both natural and man-made, including bridge, roads, dams, and buildings. Sub-disciplines of civil engineering may include construction engineering, materials engineering, control engineering, structural engineering, urban engineering, municipal engineering, biomechanics, and surveying. Computer Engineering Computer engineering integrates computer science with electrical engineering to develop and analyze circuits, microprocessors, and computers. Computer engineers tend to focus more on hardware while software engineers traditionally focus on programming and software design. Electrical Engineering Electrical engineering (EE) involves the study and application of electricity and electronics. Some consider computer engineering and software engineering to be subdisciplines of electrical engineering. Electronic engineering, optical engineering, power engineering, control engineering, and telecommunications engineering are EE specialities. Energy Engineering Energy engineering is a multidisciplinary engineering field that integrates aspects of mechanical, chemical, and electrical engineering to address alternative energy, energy efficiency, plant engineering, environmental compliance, and related technologies. Engineering Management Engineering management combines engineering and management principles to develop and assess business practices. These engineers help plan and administrate businesses from their inception through operation. They are involved in product development, design engineering, construction, manufacturing, and marketing. Environmental Engineering Environmental engineering works to prevent or remediate pollution or to maintain or improve the natural environment. This includes water, land, and air resources. Related disciplines are industrial hygiene and environmental engineering law. Industrial Engineering Industrial engineering pertains to the design and study of logistics and industrial resources. Types of industrial engineering include safety engineering, construction engineering, manufacturing engineering, textile engineering, reliability engineering, component engineering, and systems engineering. Manufacturing Engineering Manufacturing engineering designs, studies and develops machines, tool, manufacturing processes, and equipment. Mechanical Engineering Mechanical engineering (ME) may be considered the mother of all engineering branches. Mechanical engineering applies physical principles and materials science to the design, manufacture, and analysis of mechanical systems. Mechatronics Mechatronics combines mechanical engineering and electrical engineering, frequently in the analysis of automated systems. Robotics, avionics, and instrumentation engineering may be considered types of mechatronics. Nanoengineering Nanoengineering is the application of engineering on the vastly miniaturized or nanoscopic scale. Nuclear Engineering Nuclear engineering is the practical application of nuclear processes, such as those used to produce and harness nuclear power. Petroleum Engineering Petroleum engineers apply scientific principles to detect, drill and extract crude oil and natural gas. Types of petroleum engineering includes drilling engineering, reservoir engineering, and production engineering. Structural Engineering Structural engineering pertains to the design and analysis of load-bearing structures and supports. In many cases, this is a subdiscipline of civil engineering, but structural engineering also applies to other structures, such as vehicles and machinery. Vehicle Engineering Engineering pertaining to design, manufacture, and operation of vehicles and their components. Branches of vehicle engineering include naval architecture, automotive engineering, and aerospace engineering. There are many more engineering branches, with more being developed all the time as new technologies develop. Many undergraduates start out seeking degrees in mechanical, chemical, civil, or electrical engineering and develop specializations through internships, employment, and advanced education.

Humanities-week 2 Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Humanities-week 2 - Term Paper Example I believe that he is someone who has the capacity to lead a nation without fear of dying. He also showed how loyal he is to his friends and companions when he fought back for Patroclus. Even if he refused to fight anymore, he begged his mother to make him new armour ended his refusal to fight. Discussion 2: Greek Legacy †¢ Describe one way that you see a particular tenet of Greek philosophy reflected in the modern Western worldview One of the most influential principles of Greek philosophy came from Plato. In the modern Western worldview, we continuously strive how to live a good life. In Plato’s famous dialogue named The Republic, he talked about the central problem of how to live a good life. He also tackled about the ideal state, state with justice and the just individual. In our world today, we all know that we are still in the midst of finding the answers to these questions. Our state is still striving hard to become a just and ideal state that could serve the best t o the people. Individuals also struggle to become good to others. Modern Western worldview still reflects the quest to ideal republic and justice. Discussion 3: Roman Legacy †¢ Describe a specific example of life in Ancient Rome that is found in contemporary life in the U.S. One of the most prominent lifestyle in Ancient Rome is their desire for innovation and love for gadget.

International human resources management 'Hilton Hotel' Essay

International human resources management 'Hilton Hotel' - Essay Example They use a number of mixed models in their management, which include: - 1. Harvard model developed by David Guest (1987,1989,1986b, 1991) this model four policies are defined and are applied in this hotel they include; - a) Strategic integration - Hilton hotel integrates human resource management issues into its various strategic plans that are aimed at more developed and improved services. b) High commitment to pursue agreed goals- the hotel demonstrates very high commitment to its effort of achieving set goals this are shown by both the employees and the management itself. c) High quality of goods and services provided which include management of employees and investment in high quality employees. d) Functional flexibility with capacity to manage various innovations. 2. The matching model of Human Resource Management Fiedler (1964) asserted that the human resource systems and the organization structure should be managed in a way that is congruent with organizational Strategy and that the strategic human resource concepts and tools needed are fundamentally different from the stock in the trade of the traditional personnel administrator. This is exactly what Hilton hotel practice; its managers are committed in weighing human resource issues with the same level of attention as they give to other functions, for example, finance marketing and production. The model is highly achieved in this London branch of the Hilton hotels (Fox, 1973) The hotel integrates business and human resource strategies which yield better results, set business targets are thus achieved and the best human resource strategies applied It has adopted a very coherent approach for provision of mutually supporting and integrated human resource policies and... The employees of Conrad hotel undergo training regularly, their own training manager conducts this in their boardroom and at times they attend various seminars and workshops in the neighboring cities, countriesÐ ± and continents. Besides, they invite expatriates to come and train their employees. To meet the daily recruitment needs at Conrad hotel the personnel and Training manager uses Hcareers a site that offers the excellent tool for attracting the right candidates. The website recruitment ensures speed in recruitment. The manager normally uses the external recruitment sources for supervisory and management positions. The approach in customer skills is applied and candidates from reputable sources are recruited. These give a perfect solution to everyday recruitment needs at the Conrad HotelÃ'Ž The mode of recruiting workers at this hotel is purely through merit where applications are invited from any potential applicant in the nay corner of the globe. A panel of officials goes t hrough the application letters who later shortlist the successful candidates for the interview. Selection is based on the interview results where the best candidate is picked. He goes through massive training until he becomes well equipped in laying out duties. The current staffing trend is not geographically well spread because most of the employees of the senior management level i.e. Accountants, Marketing managers, human resource manager, and personnel manager among others are from a given particular region. (Thomas & Walker, 1993)

Sexual Harassment in the Workplace Essay -- Sexual Harassment in the Wo

Obviously, it is a very natural thing for men and women to be attracted to each other in sexual ways. Men, more than women, have been historically known to be far more aggressive in their advances toward women sexually and it varies from each woman as to how these aggressive advances make them feel. Advances such as whistling, bottom pinching and glaring are the types of things some men do to women in an attempt to show they are sexually attracted to them. These types of advances can be attempted just about anywhere; the beach, the mall, in night clubs, walking down the street, or even in their place of employment. Where should the line be drawn as to where these advancements are appropriate and what can a woman do to protect herself from feeling uncomfortable while trying to make a living? Women experiencing this type of treatment is a real problem in the workplace today and has been for many years. It has become to be known as sexual harassment and was given a widely used definition by Michael Rubenstein as 'unwanted conduct of a sexual nature or conduct based on sex which is offensive to the recipient'(Collier 3). However, the term often has a very unclear definition in the legal since. Harassment is only harassment if it is felt to be so by the recipient(3). With that said, there is a very large range as to what could be felt as sexual harassment and that creates a great concern for men in the workplace and a need to be extremely careful as to what is said, the way you look, as well as what and where fellow employees are touched. A small, innocent touch on the shoulder could be seen as harassment just as a crude sexual pinch on the bottom by some women. Because of that, sexual harassment, rightfully so, is appro... ...others and I think that new and improved programs should always be implemented because many people find ways around the system. In order to learn more about sexual harassment and prevent fraud, detailed reports should continue to be kept for every case filed and each one should be investigated thoroughly. There are some women who will file false sexual harassment charges against someone for personal reasons. If this does happen, the male usually never comes out on the good end and the women remains employed at the company. Complete investigations will attempt this from happening and will assure that justice be kept in the workforce as well. Again, sexual harassment is always going to be a part of our world, but the companies that research and address the problem properly will remain on top while those who ignore it will loose more than they can imagine.

Health Risks of Energy Drink Essay

Introduction People want immediate results in the middle of the busy day, after exercise, or any other activity which requires them to recharge themselves. So, instead of focusing on key natural ways such as sleep habits, improving diets we used to go for certain energy drinks available in the market without knowing the pros and cons of these drinks related to our health. Recent researches on the consumption of energy drinks have proved that the excessive use of these types of drinks can cause severe health risk including increase in systolic pressure, insomnia, and various other discussed later in the paper. It is the common phenomena that energy drink used to rebuild the energy lost during the exercise, which is not right. Similarly, it does not help burn calories, neither it speed ups the metabolism nor it provides long lasting energy to our body. Energy drinks are the fastest growing beverages market (Bornstein, 2011). Youth is reportedly consumers more energy drinks than other demographic variable. There are various energy drinks available in the market targeting the same type of crowd with different slogan and appeals. Some have focused on athletes, some on teenagers and students etc. Excessive caffeine can cause various health problems such as insomnia, jitters, nervousness, gastrointestinal problems, and heart palpitations. Background Statement We see various TV ads focusing on red bull, 5-hour ENERGY, monster etc so are these drinks shelved at the supermarkets. However, American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and UK drug inspecting agencies has reported severe health related issues on the consumption of energy drinks. The sales of energy drinks in UK and other parts of the world is increasing so are the concerns after the researches made on this particular subject. Hence, the need is to review the myth surrounding energy drinks consumption. What are energy drinks? According to UK soft drink report (2012), soft drinks are â€Å"traditional glucose based energy drinks; functional or stimulation energy drinks which claim a particular energy boost from caffeine, Guarani, turbine and ginseng or other herbs or some combination of these ingredients†. The ingredients used in these energy drinks act as a stimulant to the central nervous system of our brain. These include caffeine or Guarani and vitamins etc. Health Risk There are various serious health risks associated with the consumption of energy drinks. Some of these health risks are discussed in this section. Drinking energy drinks in moderation is not necessarily harmful. Excessive consumption of energy drinks containing caffeine, however, can result in the same health effects related to consuming too much caffeine, such as insomnia, jitters, nervousness, gastrointestinal problems, and heart palpitations. Like sodas, the amount of sugar and empty calories (calories that do not contain nutrients) in energy drinks contribute to poor dietary health when consumed regularly. Hence, the affects of these drinks are short term as well long term. These affects are categorized below: Short term affects †¢ Hurts performance †¢ Increased heart rate †¢ Abnormal heart rhythm and other problems †¢ Crabby †¢ Trouble Concentrating †¢ Negative interactions with medications †¢ Increased Blood Pressure Long term affects †¢ Caffeine Addiction †¢ Liver Failure †¢ Sleep Apnea †¢ Kidney Failure †¢ Cardiovascular Disease So, it is better to be aware of these health issues and do not use more than 100mg/day of the caffeine as per health official recommendation. Conclusion After reviewing the ingredients, myths, and other factors surrounding the energy drinks it can be concluded that excessive use of caffeine i.e. by consuming more energy drink will certainly lead us to the several health risks which might be short term as well as long term. So, the need for the people is to get educate themselves, so is the responsibility of the energy drink manufacturers to warn the customers of the potential health hazards associated with the particular drink. References Roy-Bornstein, C. (2011). Just Say No to Energy Drinks. Pediatrics For Parents, 27(7/8), 11. UK soft drink report (2012) Available at: http://www. britishsoftdrinks. com/PDF/UK%20soft%20drinks%20report%202012. pdf.

Comparative Study on Optical Fiber Sensors and Conventional Sensors in Context with Monitoring of Civil Engineering Structures - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 28 Words: 8313 Downloads: 2 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Statistics Essay Did you like this example? ABSTRACT This study deals with the comparison of the two types of sensors which are widely used in civil engineering, namely, conventional sensors and optical fiber sensors. Temperature and displacement are the two principal parameters which are measured with the aid of Fiber optic sensors. Bragg Grating, Interferometric, Intensity Sensors, and optical time domain reflectometry (OTDR) are some of the techniques which are used for sensing. In this study, various case studies have been undertaken and have been analyzed. With the aid of these case studies, a detailed analysis and comparison of the sensors is carried out. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Comparative Study on Optical Fiber Sensors and Conventional Sensors in Context with Monitoring of Civil Engineering Structures" essay for you Create order Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION In the last two decades, the world has witnessed a revolution in the sectors of optoelectronics and fiber optic communications. Various products such as laser printers and bar code scanners which have become a part of our daily usage, are a result of this technical revolution only. The reasons for the phenomenal growth of the fiber optics are many. The most conspicuous reason being the ability of the fiber optics to provide high performance and highly reliable communication links and that too at a very low bandwidth cost. As we see that optoelectronic and fiber communications industry has progressed a lot, and along with these industries fiber optic sensors have also benefited a lot from these developments. Due to the mass production in these industries, availability of fiber optic sensors at a low cost has been made possible in recent years. With their availability at affordable costs, fiber optic sensors have been able to enter the domain which was otherwise being ruled by the trad itional sensors. In recent years, the demand for the development of new materials to strengthen, upgrade and retrofit existing aged and deteriorated concrete structures has increased rapidly. The continuing deterioration and functional deficiency of existing civil infrastructure elements represents one of the most significance challenges facing the worlds construction and civil engineers. Deficiencies in existing concrete structures caused by initial flawed design due to insufficient detailing at the time of construction, aggressive chemical attacks and ageing of structural elements enhance an urgent need of finding an effective means to improve the performance of these structures without additionally increasing the overall weight, maintenance cost and time. In the last 50 years, a large number of civil concrete structures have been built; many of these structures, particularly in off-shore regions have now deteriorated and require repair in a short period of time. Moreover, the increase of traffic volume and population in many developing countries is causing the demand to upgrade existing concrete structures to increase. The damage of reinforced concrete (RC) structures through reinforcement corrosion and residual capacity are the most important issues that concern engineers. These problems occur not only in constructed concrete structures but also in structures strengthened by externally bonded steel reinforcements. In the past, the external steel plate bonding method has been used to improve strength in the tensile region of concrete structures with an epoxy adhesive and has proved to be successful over a period of 20 years. However, the use of steel reinforced plates and bars has its disadvantages including high corrosion rates, which could adversely affect the bond strength and cause surface spalling of the concrete, due to volumetric change in the corroded steel reinforcements. Since the early 1980s, fibre-reinforced plastic (FRP) materials have been used as a replacement for conventional steel materials for concrete strengthening applications. In recent years, the interest in utilizing FRP materials in the civil concrete industry in forms of rods, plates, grid and jacket has grown increasingly. When an FRP plate with high tensile strength properties bonds on the concrete surface, it can strengthen the structure with minimum changes to its weight and dimensions. FRP offers substantial improvement in solving many practical problems that conventional materials cannot solve to provide a satisfactory service life of the structure. Unlike the conventional steel materials, FRP is corrosion resistant. The beneficial characteristics of using the FRP in concrete construction include its high strength-to-weight ratio, low labour requirement, ease of application, reduced traffic interruption during repair, cost reductions in both transportation and in situ maintenance for a long-term strategy. Its high damping characteristic also attracts more structural engineers to use these materials for seismic retrofitting. Due to the increasing use of FRP-plate bonding techniques in strengthening civil concrete structures, the interest in finding a suitable means of monitoring the structural health conditions of these strengthened structures has therefore increased substantially. Since strengthened structures are covered by the FRP plates, the mechani cal properties of the concrete may not be measured or detected easily through conventional nondestructive evaluation (NDE) methods, such as strain measurements using surface mounted strain gauges or extensometers, radiography, thermography and acoustic emission methods, particularly in areas with microcracks and debonds underneath the externally-bonded plate. Besides, these structural inspection technologies, in certain cases, require special surface preparations or a high degree of flatness in the concrete surface. These requirements may be hard to achieve, particularly for an area that is exposed to a harsh environment. During the 1990s, a multi-disciplinary field of engineering known as Smart Structures has developed as one of the most important research topics in the field.The structure is formed by a marriage of engineering materials with structurally-integrated sensor systems. The system is capable of assessing damage and warning of impending weakness in the structural integrity of the structure. Fibre-optic sensor technology is a most attractive device currently used in the aerospace and aircraft industry for on-line monitoring of large-scale FRP structures. The development of distributed fibreoptic sensors, which provides information on a large number of continuously distribution parameters such as strain and temperature is of great interest in most engineering applications.11,12 The sensors are embedded into a structure to form a novel self-strainmonitoring system, i.e. the system can self-detect its health status and send response signals to operators during any marginal situation during service. The embedding sensor, due to its extremely small physical size, can provide the information to a high accuracy and resolution without influencing the dimension and mechanical properties of the structure. Fibre-optic sensors present a number of advantages over the conventional strain measuring devices: (a) providing an absolute measurement that is sensitive to fluctuation in irradiance of the illuminating source; (b) enabling the measurement of the strain in different locations in only one single optical fibre by using multiplexing techniques;(c) having a low manufacturing cost for mass production; and (d) its ability to be embedded inside a structure without influencing the mechanical properties of the host material. A new development of Smart materials and structures was driven by a strong demand for high performance over recent years. A system integrated into structures and being able to monitor its hosts physical and mechanical properties such as temperature and strain, during service is appreciated as a Smart structural health monitoring system. The term smart material and structure is widely used to describe the unique marriage of material and structural engineering by using fibre-optic sensors and actuation control technology. The smart structure is constructed of materials that can continuously monitor their own mechanical and physical properties, and thereby, be capable of assessing damage and warning of impending weakness in structural integrity. This design concept results in improved safety and economic concerns regarding the weight saving and avoidance of over-designing of the structure in the long run. In Fig. 1, a schematic illustration of the structures possibilities created by the confluence of the four disciplines is shown. In the figure, a structure invested with actuating, sensing and neutral networking systems to form a new class of adaptive structures is shown. A structure with integrated sensor or actuator systems is able to provide a self-structural health monitoring or actuating response, respectively. If both systems are integrated together into a structure, the sensor and actuators can act as nervous and muscular systems, like a human body, to sense the conditions such as mechanical strain and temperature of the structure (a smart structure) and to provide control of such changes of stiffness, shape and vibration mode (a controlled structure). The combination of these two systems into one structure is called a Smart adaptive structure. This structure with a built-in neural networking system, like a brain, is then able to self evaluate the conditions, which are based on changes of structural parameters, thermal conditions and ambient environments to give an appropriate mechanical adjustment. This structure is commonly called an Intelligent adaptive structure. 1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY There has been an unprecedented development in the fields of optoelectronics and fiber optic communications. This in turn, has brought about a revolution in the sectors of telecommunication and various other industries. This has been made possible with the aid of high performance and reliable telecommunication links which have low bandwidth cost. Optical fibers have numerous advantages and some disadvantages. The advantages include their small size, resistance to electromagnetic interference and high sensitivity. On the other hand, some of its disadvantages are their high cost and unfamiliarity to the end user. But its great advantages completely overshadow its minor disadvantages. So, in this study an attempt is being made to compare the modern age fiber optic sensors with the conventional sensors. Also, with the aid of the case studies, the impact of fiber optic sensor technology on monitoring of civil structures is studied (McKinley and Boswell 2002). 1.2 PROBLEM STATEMENT In the past various kinds of sensors have been used in civil engineering for measuring temperature, pressure, stress, strain etc. And as the optical fiber sensors spread their wings, the civil engineering is bound to gain a lot from these modern sensors. Presently, there exist a number of problems with the existing civil infrastructures. These civil infrastructures such as bridges etc. have a pretty long service period which may amount to several decades or maybe even hundred years. Thus, during this time period, these structures suffer from corrosion, fatigue and extreme loading. Since concrete is used mostly in these civil infrastructures, it degradation is a major issue all over the world. The amount of degradation and the time when the degradation starts depends on various factors and is inevitable and unavoidable. Thus, in order to keep these civil structures in good condition, it becomes necessary that their condition be monitored and adequate steps be taken. Thus, we need sensors which can monitor these structures throughout the life of these structures. Thus, in this study the impact of fiber optic sensors is studied on civil structures. 1.3 OBJECTIVES There are a few objectives that are planned to be achieved at the end of this project, these are: A general discussion on the present state of structural monitoring and the need of fiber optic sensors in this field A general study on Comparison between Conventional Sensors and Optical Fiber Sensors Review of Case Studies on Fiber Optic Sensors application in Civil Engineering Structures 1.4 WORK PLAN Discussion, reading and observation Problem identification through reading, discussion and observation of the area studied Understand and identify the background of problem Studying feasibility and needs to carry out the investigation Identification of the Title for the project Identify the aim, objective and scope of the project Literature Review Understanding the background of the problem Understanding the history of the sensor technology in structural monitoring Carrying out literature survey on generic technologies of sensors for concrete structures Identify the types of sensor involved in monitoring the structural in civil engineering Identify the technique used and the working principle for each type of sensors (in particular optical fiber sensors) Case Study Choose the relevant and related case study for discussion Describe important aspects of case study Analyze the use of sensors in the case study Discussion, Conclusion and Recommendations Discuss the similarities and differences Discuss the technical facets of sensor application Draw the overall conclusion for this project Give some recommendation for future Chapter 2: APPLICATIONS These days the fiber optic sensors are being used for a variety of applications, the most prominent of them being: Measurement of rotation and acceleration of bodies Measurement of electric and magnetic fields Measurement of temperature and pressure of bodies Measurement of acoustics and vibrations of various bodies Measurement of strain, viscosity and chemical properties of materials Measurement of surface condition and tactile sensing Measurement of sound , speed and proximity of bodies Determination of color and weight of different objects Measurement of linear and angular positions and this is widely utilized in civil engineering structures 2.1 ADVANTAGES OF FIBER OPTIC SENSORS Like with any other technology, there are both advantages and disadvantages using fiber optic sensors. The prominent advantages being: Fiber optic sensors are lightweight and this is of great importance in case of engineered structures Fiber optic sensors are of smaller size as compared to the traditional sensors Also, fiber optic sensors consume less power as compared to the traditional sensors Along with this, these sensors show high resistance to electromagnetic interference as compared to the traditional sensors On top of this, fiber optic sensors have enjoy high bandwidth and high sensitivity as compared to their traditional counterparts Fiber optic sensors are usually embedded in objects and due to this, these sensors can gain access to areas which till date remain inaccessible with the aid of traditional sensors Also, these sensors are accurate over a greater dynamic range as compared to the traditional sensors Fiber optic sensors are also capable of being multiplexed which again is a further advantage over their traditional counterparts Also, fiber optic sensors are capable of distributed measurements which gives them an edge over and above the traditional sensors Last but not the least, they also show greater environmental ruggedness as compared to the traditional sensors 2.2 DISADVANTAGES OF FIBER OPTIC SENSORS But all this is just one side of the coin. Though on seeing these advantages, it might appear that fiber optic sensors are way too advanced as compared to the traditional ones, but it is not exactly true. These fiber optic sensors also have some disadvantages due to which their advancement in todays world has been somewhat curtailed. The major disadvantages of fiber optic sensors are: Fiber optic sensors are quite costly as compared to the traditional sensors. Due to this, many people still consider traditional sensors to be a better option in cases where cost is a major consideration. Secondly, these sensors have come into prominence only in the last two decades. Due to this, people appear to be somewhat less educated regarding their usage and operations. And this unfamiliarity with the usage of these sensors, has proved to be a major hurdle in being able to capture the whole market. Also, these sensors are considered to be more fragile as compared to the traditional sensors which raises a question over their adaptability in extreme conditions Also with the fiber optic sensors there exists the inherit ingress/egress difficulty Fiber optic sensors usually have a non-linear output which is a cause for concern in some applications From the above discussion, we can see that as is the case with any other new technology, there are both merits and demerits of fiber optic sensors. But, what is worth considering here is that the advantages of this technology are much more than its disadvantages and are able to outweigh them. Also, from the demerits which are mentioned here, it is clear that these demerits are bound to wither away as this technology develops and gains more prominence. 2.3 APPLICATIONS IN CIVIL ENGINEERING Now we come to the discussion of the need and applications of the fiber optic sensors in the field of civil engineering structures. The monitoring of civil structures has a great significance in todays world. Today, we not only need to construct reliable and strong civil structures, but we also need to monitor these structures in order to ensure their proper functioning and their safety. Also, with the aid of the monitoring of various parameters of the structures, we can get knowledge about state of the building and by using this data, we can in turn plan the maintenance schedule for the structure (Mckinley, 2000). Also, this data can give us an insight into the real behavior of the structure and can thus take make important decisions regarding the optimization of similar structures which are to b e constructed in future. The maintenance of the structures can be approached in one of the two ways, namely: Material point of view- In this approach, monitoring is concentrated on local properties of the materials which are used in the construction. In this approach, we observe the behavior of the construction materials under the conditions of load, temperature etc. In this approach, short base length sensors are usually utilized. Also, it is possible to get the information about the whole structure with the aid of extrapolation of the data obtained from these sensors. Structural point of view- In this approach of measurement, the structure is viewed from a geometrical point of view. In this approach, long gauge length sensors appear to be the ideal choice. In this approach, we will be able to detect material degradation only if this material degradation has an impact on the form of the structure. In the recent years most of the research work which has been carried out in field of optic sensors has been in the field of material monitoring rather than structural monitoring. It is also worth mentioning here that, more sensors are required in the case of material monitoring as compared to structural monitoring. We know that civil engineering requires sensors that can be embedded in the concrete, mortars, steel, rocks, soil, road pavements etc. and can measure various parameters reliably. Also what should be taken into account is that these sensors should be easy to install and should not hamper the construction work or the properties of the structure in any derogatory manner. Also, it is common knowledge that at the sites of civil engineering, there exist the unavoidable conditions of dust, pollution, electromagnetic disturbances and of unskilled labor. Thus, the sensors to be used in these cases need to be rugged, should be inert to harsh environment conditions and should be easy to install and their installation could be carried out by unskilled labor. Along with all these things, it is imperative that these sensors are able to survive a period of at least ten years so that they can allow for a constant monitoring of the aging of the structure. Thus, we see that the fiber optic sensors ca n prove to be quite handful in civil engineering applications and structures. In the past various kinds of sensors have been used in civil engineering for measuring temperature, pressure, stress, strain etc. And as the optical fiber sensors spread their wings, the civil engineering is bound to gain a lot from these modern sensors (Vurpillot et al., 1998). Chapter 3: LITERATURE REVIEW ON FIBER OPTIC SENSORS Fiber optic sensors are of many kinds, but they can be broadly classified into two types, namely, extrinsic fiber optic sensors and intrinsic fiber optic sensors. There is a great deal of difference between these two types of fiber optic sensors and this difference is discussed in detail below. 3.1 EXTRINSIC FIBER OPTIC SENSORS This type of fiber optic sensor is also known as hybrid fiber optic sensor. As we can see in the figure above that there is a black box and an input fiber enters into this black box. And from this input fiber, information is impressed upon light beam. There can be various ways by which the information can be impressed upon. Usually this information is impressed upon the light beam in terms of frequency or polarization. This light which then posses the information is carried away by the optical fiber. The optical fiber now goes to an electronic processor. (Vurpillot et al., 1998) Here, in the electronic processor the information which is brought along by the fiber is processed. Though we can have separate input fiber and output fiber, but in some cases it is preferred to have the same fiber as the input fiber and the output fiber. 3.2 INTRINSIC FIBER OPTIC SENSORS Intrinsic fiber optic sensors Extrinsic fiber optic sensors In this sensor, the fiber itself acts as the sensor medium In this sensor, the fiber does not act as the sensor medium. It merely acts as a light delivery and collection system In this fiber optic sensor, the light never leaves the medium and always stays inside the medium In this fiber optic sensor, the light leaves the medium, then it is altered in some way and is collected by another fiber. 3.3 INTENSITY BASED FIBER OPTIC SENSORS While there exist various kinds of fiber optic sensors today, but the most common of these sensors is the hybrid type fiber optic sensor which depends upon intensity modulation in order to carry out the measurements (Zako et al., 1995) The functioning of this fiber optic sensor is quite simple. In this fiber optic sensor, light enters from one side. And when this light exits from the other side, it exits in the form of a cone and the angle of this cone depends on two parameters. The two parameters upon which the angle of this cone depends are: Firstly, it depends on the index of refraction of the core Secondly, it depends on the cladding of the optical fiber Also, the amount of light captured by the second optic fiber depends on a number of factors. The prominent factors on which the amount of light captured depend are: It depends on the acceptance angle It also depends on the distance d between the optical fibers Another type of fiber optic sensor is the flexible mounted mirror sensor. The important characteristics of this sensor are: In this case, a mirror is mounted which is used to respond to external parameters such as pressure. The modulation in intensity is caused the shifts in the mirror position. These sensors are used in a variety of applications such as door closures. In a door closure, a reflective strip is used. These sensors are used to measure small variations and displacements 3.4 LINEAR POSITION SENSORS In todays world, linear position sensors have become widely applicable. They are being used for various purposes (Zako et al., 1995). In many of the linear positioning sensors, wavelength division multiplexing is used. An illustration of the linear position sensor is shown in the figure below. The various components of this linear position sensor are: It consists of a broadband light source It consists of various detectors as shown in the figure above It also consists of wavelength division multiplexing element which acts as the principal component of this instrument. It also consists of an encoder card In the example above, a broadband light source is utilized. The light from this broadband source is carried to a wavelength division multiplexing system with the aid of a single optic fiber. The wavelength division multiplexing system is used to determine the linear position. Another linear motion sensing method which is very widely used today and is quite similar to the method discussed above is known as the time division multiplexing method. In this method instead of a broadband light source a light pulse is used. Here, the combination of the returned signals takes place. As a result of this combination of the returned signals, the net signal which is produced moves onto the position of the encoder card. The main areas in which these intensity based fiber optic sensors have found application are: In commercial aircrafts In military aircrafts In these applications these modern sensors have performed quite well and are at par with the performance of the conventional sensors. But, because of the various advantages these sensors enjoy over and above the conventional sensors, these modern sensors are bound to replace the conventional sensors in the years to come. 3.5 LIQUID LEVEL SENSORS This is another type of intensity based fiber optic sensor. In the functioning of this sensor, the principle of total internal reflection is utilized. Thus, in these sensors the refraction index of the glass and the fiber occupy the pivotal role. These sensors can be utilized for a variety of purposes. The most prominent of its applications are: Measurement of pressure changes in gels Measurement of pressure changes in various liquids Measurement of refractive index changes in gels Measurement of refractive index changes in different types of liquids Measurement of the level of a liquid in a vessel and this application is utilized in various industries to measure liquid levels These sensors have an accuracy of about 5 percent and are gaining importance in various industries for their usefulness. 3.6 SOFO SENSORS These are fiber optic sensors which are utilized for strain measurement. These sensors have become quite popular owing to their innate merits. Out of all the fiber optic sensors, these sensors are the ones which are being used most extensively today. These sensors are being used to measure curvature and various other parameters in giant civil structures. These sensors form a part of the interferometric system (Vurpillot et al., 1998). Also, these sensors have the ability of measuring the parameters in an absolute manner using low-coherent light. The important properties of these sensors are: These fiber optic sensors enjoy a high resolution. The resolution of these sensors is 2  µm These sensors can be of varied lengths. Their length can be as small as 0.2m or can be as large as 20m. Also, these sensors have the property of being temperature compensated The SOFO system setup consists of a number of equipments. The main components of the SOFO system setup are: It consists of a fiber optic sensor which forms the crux of this monitoring system. It is the most important component of the monitoring system. It consists of a sensor chain with partial reflectors. One terminal of this sensor is connected to the coupler Another terminal of the sensor chain with partial reflectors is connected to the LED. The coupler in turn is connected to the photo diode and a mobile mirror. This whole portable reading unit is connected to portable computer terminal. This ensures that that the whole monitoring system can be taken to the location and can be directly used at site. These sensors can be utilized in two ways. They can either be embedded in the structure at the time of the construction of the structure. Or, they can used to measure the various parameters externally. Though in both the cases, that is, in case of embedding or in the case of external anchoring, the performance of the sensors remains the same, but still, in modern smart structures, embedding is preferred (Perez 2001). .This is because, in the case of embedded sensors, the sensors continuously measure the parameters and are easy to manage. Whereas in the older structures, where embedding is not preferred, external anchoring is used. Chapter 4: CASE STUDIES Case study 1: Monitoring of San Giorgio pier San Giorgio pier is a massive concrete structure. Its length is about 400metres. It is very essential to carry out its monitoring in order to know about its deformation. This in turn, is very useful in determining the safety of this pier. At this pier, it was earlier proposed to use the conventional methods to monitor the deformation. This involved the use of conventional sensors for measurement. But, the problem with this method was that in the case of conventional sensors, we could get the data of the various parameters of the pier for only a short period. And, as we know that in order to determine anything conclusively about such large concrete structures we need data for a very long period. But, here as it was the case with the conventional sensors, we could get data only for short periods. Thus, with the aid of the conventional methods which were employing conventional sensors, we could not say anything conclusively. (Andrea Del Grosso et al.) Thus, there existed the need to emp loy fiber optic sensors in order to determine the deformation of this massive pier. It was possible to measure the deformation of this pier with the aid of the fiber optic sensors because of the following advantages which the fiber optic sensors enjoy over and above the conventional sensors: Fiber optic sensors are long base strain sensors and this property of the fiber optic sensors was very important in this case. This was because, as the pier was a massive concrete structure, therefore, measurement of local strains on the pier was of very little significance. As is the case with such massive structures, it was very important to get the strain values for large areas of the pier and for this purpose, the local strain values did not solve the purpose. Secondly, it was required that the sensors which are employed have very high precision. This was essential in order to properly determine the amount of deformation in the pier. Also, as these values were to be extensively used in further calculations, there it became indispensible that these values were very accurate and precise. But, as is the case with the conventional sensors, the values provided by the conventional sensors are not very precise and this was seen as a major drawback of the conventional sensors in this application. But, with the aid of the fiber optic sensors it was realized that we could measure the deformation values very precisely and thus fiber optic sensors became a natural choice over the conventional sensors. Another parameter which was to be considered in mind was the stability of the sensor which was to be used. As we know, that measurements were to be made over a long period of time. Thus, it became essential to have a sensor which would stand the wrath of the extreme conditions. The sensor was ought to be such that it would be able to function properly and without degradation while working in extreme conditions over long periods of time. Also, it was realized that as it mostly happens with such massive structures, thermal phenomena might assume a pivotal role in the determination of the deformation of the structure. It was understood, that because the pier was of a large length (400 meters in length), over a period of time it might develop complex transient fields. Thus, we needed a sensor which could work well under these transient fields and also could accurately measure the thermal phenomena. Thus, it wss decided to use fiber optic sensors in this case. Because of all the above factors and also because of the inherit advantages of the fiber optic sensors over the conventional sensors, it was decided that fiber optic sensors would be used in this case. Thus, the study was carried out with the aid of fiber optic sensors. Before going further, it is imperative to look at the structural parameters of this giant structure. As already mentioned, the total length of this pier is around 400 meters. This giant pier was built around 1920 and since then has been used for the import of coal. Also, it has a nearby basin and it has been decided to dredge the basin. The dredging of the basin will put further pressure on the wall. So, it became essential to strengthen the wall so that it could stand erect even when dredging is carried out. (Andrea Del Grosso et al.) The highlights of this study carried out on the San Giorgio pier are: This study was carried out in order to determine the safety and operability of the pier. In the past, a lot of retrofitting operations had taken places on the pier. It was decided that through this study, along with determining the safety and operability of the pier, the impact of these past retrofitting operations would also be analyzed. The whole study and all the related tasks were undertaken by Port Authority of Genoa. This authority was responsible for each and every activity which was carried out on the pier in order to complete the study. Its work included the initial analysis of the pier, determination of the type of sensors to be utilized, to ensure the proper working of the sensors and so on. In order to carry out the study, it was decided to put up sensors along the east quay wall the structure. It was decided to use the SOFO sensors for this purpose. Also, it was realized that in order to accurately measure the parameters of the structure, it was essential to measure the parameters at various points along the whole structure. Thus, 72 sensors were used for this purpose. They were put up along the whole length of the structure in order to provide a wider overall prospective of the various parameters along the whole length. These sensors were of 10 m base length. Also, these sensors were placed in such a way that each measuring section consisted of 3 sensors. With the aid of the sensors employed, it is possible to measure the strain and curvature at various points along the wall. This includes measurement of curvature of the walls and also the determination of linear strain at various points, including the corners. Before the dredging, it was decided that an initial analysis of the wall be carried out. It was thought that this initial analysis will not help in providing a better picture of the whole structure and its properties but would also help in determining a normal structural behavior. IT was realized, that once this normal behavior was determined it would be of great value. This is because this normal behavior would then be compared with the behavior of the structure at later stages. When the dredging would be carried out, the behavior of the structure will inevitably undergo a change. At that point, the behavior of the structure will be studied in reference to the normal behavior of the structure which had been determined. All the sensors which have been placed have been fully functional and have been collecting data since 1999. As a result, a lot of data has been collected and a lot of analysis has been done. As it is often with such cases, no direct correlations have been found. As there are a lot of parameters involved, it is not practically possible to derive an analytical solution. Instead, in order to make full use of the data obtained, statistical models are being used. Various statistical models have been utilized and it has been tried to fit the data into these statistical models and derive the results. Though many statistical models have come quite close to the level of accuracy required, but still a lot is desired. The team is in the process of further characterization of the data with the aid of the statistical tools and software available. Case study 2: Monitoring of Mjosundet Bridge Fiber optic sensors have been utilized for various purposes in the recent past. Along with monitoring of large structures such as buildings, piers etc. , fiber optic sensors have also been utilized in the monitoring of even bridges. These fiber optic sensors have been used to determine the amount of deformation, curvature etc. of the bridges. This in turn helps in the analysis of the bridges. It helps in determining the safety and workability of the bridge. Also, this analysis helps us in understanding the working of the bridges better and gives us a useful insight into the working of the bridge. The bridge under consideration in this case study is a massive bridge which is in Aure, in the north-west coast of Norway. It is a vast structure and is about 350 meters in length. This study of this massive bridge structure was taken up the EU under the project MILLENIUM. In order to carry out this project, two fiber optic sensor based monitoring systems were developed. These monitoring sys tems were tested under a lot of conditions. It was proposed that these monitoring systems should be tested in labs as well as in real conditions. In the labs, the real life situations were simulated and the monitoring was done (Mckinley, 2000). Along with this, these monitoring systems were exposed to real situations whose monitoring results were already known. As a result of this, the results from this monitoring package were compared with the already available results. Also, the results of this monitoring system were compared with the lab results. By the comparison of the actual results with the laboratory results, a sort of correlation was obtained between them and this correlation was used in further applications. The main highlights of the study carried out on this concrete structure are: It was decided that in order to get a clear picture of the amount of deformation and other parameters, it was necessary to measure the parameters at different locations of the structure. O, instead of measuring the parameters at a single location, the parameters were measured at six different locations on the bridge. This, helped the team in determining more accurately the parameters and also gave them a more clear picture of the condition of the bridge. It was seen that In this study, the role of conventional sensors cannot be completely taken over by fiber optic sensors. Because of the requirement of the conventional sensors, it was decided that some conventional sensors will also be used. As a result, in this study though the fiber optic sensors were of prime importance, some conventional strain gauges were also used. Thus, the fiber optic sensors and the conventional strain gauges were used in a synergic manner (McKinley and Boswell 2002). In order to fully carry out the whole instrumentation of the structure, the following were used: Various FOSs were used all along the structure. As already mentioned, electrical strain gauges were also employed for measurement of parameters. In order to measure the displacement, transducers and load cells were also used extensively on the bridge Case study 3: Spatial deformation monitoring of the Lutrive bridges This project was carried out in Vaud Canton (Switzerland) from 1996-2000. The aim of this study was to determine the spatial deformation monitoring of the bridges. The Lutrive bridges are a set of 2 bridges. These bridges are parallel to each other and are about 400 meters in length. The important points regarding this project were: In this project, SOFO sensors were installed to measure the various parameters. For the purpose of measurement of curvature, 10 meter long SOFO sensors were employed. Six SOFO sensors were used for this purpose. The total number of sensors employed in this project were 26 It was agreed to measure the vertical displacements of the bridge. These results were then compared with the simulations which were carried out in the laboratory. The sensors were used to measure the readings and also calculate the variations in the deviations all round the clock. These data points were then analyzed. Chapter 5: RESULTS AND ANALYSIS Results from Case study 1: A lot of stress has been given by the team to correlate the various parameters measured by the fiber optic sensors. Two of the most important parameters that are measured by the fiber optic sensors in this case are: Temperature at the various locations along the pier Curvature of the walls of the pier. In order to determine the curvature of the walls, it was decided to take the readings from a lot of points along the wall instead of just few readings in order to get a fairly accurate value of the curvature of the walls of the massive structure From the data which was collected, it was tried to correlate these two important parameters. To correlate these parameters a lot of software tools were utilized. A lot of plots were drawn between these two parameters. From the data collected by the different sensors, different plots were drawn. Though these plots were somewhat different, but all of these plots had some basic underlying features. An example of the plot which was drawn in order to correlate these two parameters is shown in the figure below. As it is evident from the plot above, there seems to be some sort of correlation between these two parameters. Both the temperature and the curvature of the walls seem to have a similar trend. From the data collected by 72 SOFO sensors placed all along the structure a variety of such plots were drawn and the relation between the temperature and curvature was analyzed. With the aid of such analysis, the safety, operability and the effect of retrofitting was analyzed. Results from Case study 2: In this case study, conventional as well as fiber optic sensors was utilized. Thus, it was imperative that the results from these types of sensors be analyzed and compared. The following results were obtained on comparison of the results from the conventional sensors and fiber optic sensors: The average difference between FOS and ERSG sensors was found to be 1.2 units The standard deviation between the results from these two sensors was found to be 11.9 units Thus, this study shows that in terms of accuracy, precision and stability in extreme conditions, fiber optic sensors are as good as and in some instances even better than the conventional sensors. Also this study proved that in the case of fiber optic sensors, it is possible to manufacture sensor trees which are up to thousand meters in length. While, such long sensors are not possible in the case of conventional sensors. Thus, it is shown, that in the case of monitoring of large structures, fiber optic sensors appear to be the natural choice over the conventional sensors. Results from Case study 3: The data collected by the fiber optic sensors was compared with the results produced from the hydrostatic leveling system. This comparison is shown with the aid of a graph shown below. The solid line refers to the results obtained from the fiber optic sensors, whereas, the dotted line refers to the data from the hydrostatic leveling system. With the comparison of these data from the two sources, the precision of hydrostatic leveling system could be found out. It was found out to be about +/- 0.5 mm. The fiber optic sensors were found out to be more precise than the conventional sensors. In the case of fiber optic sensors, the precision was found to better than the conventional hydrostatic leveling system by +/- 0.1mm. Chapter 6: CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS From this study, it is clear that fiber optic sensor technology has gone miles in the last few decades. It has grown significantly in the last few years. More and more scientists are working in the field of fiber optic sensor technology and new findings are being made in this sphere. It should be noticed that in the last few years, industrial applications of fiber optic sensors has also increased. Earlier, while this technology was in the nascent stage, the industries which traditionally use conventional sensors for the purpose of measurement of various parameters, didnt show much faith in this new technology of fiber optic sensing. But with time, as it has been proved again and again that fiber optic sensors are superior in their working, accuracy and in precision as compared to the conventional sensors, the industries have also started showing faith in them. In the field of monitoring of civil engineering structures, the fiber optic sensors have occupied a strong position today. In just a span of few years, they have made SOFO sensors a viable option in various applications. Also, another point to ponder over is regarding the placing of the fiber optic sensors in the civil structures. It should be noted that there are two options available to us in this respect: embedding of the fiber optic sensors and external anchoring of the fiber optic sensors. Both of these techniques have their inherent advantages and disadvantages. In most cases, the embedding of the sensors is not possible because of various reasons. It should be noted that that though embedding of the fiber optic sensors is a very tough task, but at the same time, it is very rewarding. In terms of the quality of the data collected and the easiness in terms of collection of data, embedded fiber optic sensors enjoy a great advantage over fiber optic sensors which are anchored externally. From this study, we have tried to analyze the advantages and disadvantages of fiber optic sensors. Also, we have tri ed to see the extent of their applications in various fields, especially in monitoring civil engineering structures. It has been shown that the fiber optic sensors enjoy inherit advantages over the conventional sensors and these outweigh some of the disadvantages which they have. Also, from the case studies it is evident that in terms of performance and durability, the fiber optic sensors are as good as the conventional sensors. Also, in some cases it is indispensable to have fiber optic sensors. But, it is also realized that though fiber optic sensors have brought about a revolution in the last few decades, but still they havent been able to completely outperform the conventional sensors. The main reason for this being the high cost of these fibers optic sensors as compared to the conventional sensors. But in the years to come, as mass production of fiber optic sensors gains momentum, these sensors are bound to become cheap and it is envisioned that at that stage these sensors will completely replace conventional sensors. But, till this stage is reached it is recommended that it would be quite economical if these fiber optic sensors are used alongside conventional sensors. This will not only prove to be economical but will also provide further opportunities to compare these two sensors. Also, it is worth noting that many of the industries which today use fiber optic sensors, use only one kind of fiber optic sensor for all their purposes. 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