Dynamic monitoring of a mobile telecommunications tower with a bi-axial optical FBG accelerometer

Abstract

In this work, the structural health monitoring of a self-supported steel tower with 50 meters high used for mobile communications are presented. For this test, a fiber Bragg grating based biaxial horizontal accelerometer was used to obtain the structure frequencies. The frequencies for the first resonant modes were obtained from the acceleration data recorded over time, resulting from the application of mechanical horizontal impulses on the tower. The results shown that the frequencies measured in both directions are within the values expected for this type of structure and can be used to calibrate numerical models that represent their structural behavior.