Sensors and Actuators A 135 (2007) 458–464

Applications of a distributed fiber optic crack

sensor for concrete structures
Kai Tai Wan ∗ , Christopher K.Y. Leung
Department of Civil Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Received 25 November 2005; received in revised form 17 March 2006; accepted 7 September 2006
Available online 17 October 2006

Abstract
The degradation of concrete structures is always accompanied by the formation of cracks. If cracks are detected at an early stage before significant
degradation occurs, life of the structure can be extended by the performance of relatively low cost but timely maintenance measures. To detect
and monitor cracking in concrete structures, where the crack locations are often not known in a-priori, a distributed optical crack sensor based
on OTDR measurement of bend loss has been developed. In this paper, the sensing principle will be discussed and the fabrication of sensors for
surface attachment and internal embedment is described. Experimental results are shown to demonstrate that the optical power loss versus crack
opening relation at a particular point of bend loss is independent of the number of bends along the fiber. Then, the monitoring of single and multiple
cracks under quasi-static loading is illustrated, followed by the detection of cracks under restrained dimensional change (caused by shrinkage or
thermal effects). Finally, the sensor performance under cyclic loading is studied. Based on the test results, the potential of the sensor for practical
applications is demonstrated.
© 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Fiber optic sensor; Structural health monitoring; Cracking

1. Introduction be closed down for immediate detailed inspection and repair.

The life of structures can be extended significantly over its
design life by proper maintenance. Repair at early stage of degra-
dation are often easier to perform and effective in maintaining
the safety factor of the structure. To identify damages, structural
health monitoring techniques that are reliable, cost-effective and
easy to implement are desired. For concrete structures, struc-
tural degradation is always accompanied by the formation and
propagation of cracks. Therefore, crack detection is an effec-
tive method for structural health evaluation. When the crack
opens by more than 0.2–0.4 mm (depending on the environ-
mental conditions), they facilitate easy penetration of salt and
water and may cause corrosion inside the reinforced concrete.
Once such cracks are detected, they should be sealed. Crack
openings beyond 1–2 mm, formed after extreme loadings such
as earthquake or other natural hazards, are warning signs of
severe damage of the structure and the structure may need to
∗ Corresponding author.
E-mail address: cetai@ust.hk (K.T. Wan).
In current common practice, crack monitoring is carried out by
visual inspection, which is time-consuming, costly and unreli-
able. Also, when cracks form inside a structure, or on the surface
of concrete members (such as foundation mats) cast against in
situ soil, visual inspection cannot be performed.
Various non-destructive techniques, including the impact-
echo method [1], ground probing radar [2], infrared thermog-
raphy [3] and acoustic emission [4] have been proposed for
assessing the conditions of concrete structures. All these tech-
niques attempt to detect cracking or discontinuities in concrete
structures, but none can provide quantitative measurement of
crack opening. Also, besides acoustic emissions, all the other
measuring techniques are insensitive to small cracks perpendic-
ular to the structure surface (e.g. flexural cracks), which can
increase concrete permeability and accelerate steel corrosion.
Ansari [5] and Culshaw [6] discussed the application and major
advantages of fiber optic sensor in structural health monitoring
of civil structures. Various fiber optic crack sensors have been
developed, but most of them are rather limited in their applica-
tions. They may only be able to tell if a crack is present or not,
but cannot provide information on crack opening [7,8]. Some

0924-4247/$ – see front matter © 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.sna.2006.09.004
 K.T. Wan, C.K.Y. Leung / Sensors and Actuators A 135 (2007) 458–464
sensors require knowledge of the exact crack locations [9,10],
which cannot be predicted for concrete structures due to material
inhomogeneity. Other sensors are only able to detect the integral
strain along the gauge length [11,12]. For these sensors, if the
selected gauge length is too large, it is not possible to differenti-
ate between one widely opened crack and many small harmless
ones. If the gauge length is small, many ‘gauges’ are required to
cover the plausible cracking region, and this not be realistic in
practice. Brown et al. [13] and Oka et al. [14] worked on a new
technique that measured the distributed strain along the optical
fiber with Brillouin Optical Time Domain Reflectometer. Cracks
formed along the fiber will be revealed as peaks in the strain ver-
sus time plot. However, as high local strain at a crack may lead
to fiber debonding, the measured strain represents an average
value over a debonded region, the length of which is hard to pre-
dict (because the interfacial properties between optical fiber and
concrete is hard to characterize). Quantitative information on
crack opening, which is important for durability considerations,
will be difficult to obtain.
Considering the limitations of various sensing approaches
discussed above, Leung et al. [15,16] have developed a novel
distributed crack sensor based on optical time domain reflec-
tometry. To detect cracks with this sensor, a-priori knowledge
of crack locations is not required. Also, a single fiber is capable
to detect and monitor a number of cracks. In the following sec-
tions, the sensing principle is first explained. Then, results from
recent experimental investigations will be described to demon-
strate the practical applicability of the sensing concept.
2. Sensing principle
The principle of the sensor is illustrated in Fig. 1. In concrete,
a highly inhomogeneous material, it is impossible to predict
exact crack locations from theoretical analysis. However, the
crack orientation can be reliably determined. An optical fiber
can hence be coupled to the structure in such a way that it is
inclined to the crack (Fig. 1a). Once the crack opens, the optical
fiber needs to bend to maintain its continuity as shown in the
inset of Fig. 1a. The bend will induce loss of light power from
the fiber core to the surroundings. As a result, the transmitted
light in the fiber core, as well as the backscattered optical signal,
Fig. 1. Concept of distributed sensing with the novel sensor.
459
will both exhibit a sudden drop across the crack. By utilizing
the optical time domain reflectometer (OTDR), which measures
the Rayleigh backscattered signal as a function of time, we can
locate the crack positions from the time corresponding to the
signal loss (distance = time × light velocity in the waveguide)
and the crack opening from the magnitude of the drop. A typical
plot of the backscattered signal versus time, both before and after
crack formation, is shown in Fig. 1b. Before any crack forms,
the gradual declination of the backscattered signal is solely due
to attenuation. At the turning points of the fiber, power loss
may also be observed. To minimize these losses, the curvature
at the turning points should be reduced. After the cracks open,
sharp drops correspond to the crack locations along the fiber will
appear in the plot.
3. Experimental verification of the sensing principle
As shown in Fig. 1b, it is possible to use a single fiber to
detect and monitor a number of cracks. For sensor applications,
it is important to ensure that the loss across a crack is inde-
pendent to losses at other cracks or bent regions (such as the
fiber turning points). Theoretically speaking, if light in the fiber
propagates in single mode, the energy distribution over the fiber
cross-section is similar before and after a bent, although the total
energy is reduced. The ratio of each drop (in decibels) should
merely depend on the bent curvature at that position. In our case,
the bend radii vary from less than 1 mm to infinity within very
short distance (about half of the crack opening). To check the
validity of the assumption, a simple experiment is conducted and
its schematic diagram is shown in Fig. 2. Two epoxy blocks are
made as crack simulators. Before the block is cast, an inclined
steel wire with diameter slightly larger than the fiber is placed
in the mold. After the epoxy hardens, the steel wire is pulled
out and a hole is left for insertion of optical fiber. The OTDR
(Opto-Electronics OFM-20) is linked to the crack simulator with
a spool of fiber between the OTDR bulkhead and crack simula-
tor so the very weak backscattered signals from the cracks will
not be overwhelmed by the strong pulse created at the bulkhead
connection. In this case, optical fiber 3M FS-SN 4224 is used,
for which the light propagates in single mode at 850 nm wave-
length. The crack simulators are opened horizontally one after
another, with the second crack simulator opens first. Afterwards,
the first crack simulator is opening and then the fiber is bent into
a loop in front of the two crack simulators to induce an addi-
tion loss. After each step, the OTDR scans the optical fiber to
obtain the backscattered light intensity versus distance along the
fiber (the distance is obtained from the calculated value from the
internal program of the OTDR by inputting the refractive index
Fig. 2. Test configuration to demonstrate sensor consistency.
460 K.T. Wan, C.K.Y. Leung / Sensors and Actuators A 135 (2007) 458–464

the mold is also coated by releasing oil so that the fiber can
slide freely and bend to introduce optical power loss after the
sheet breaks. Before the polyester hardens, fine sand is added.
These particles will sink into the polyester to make the sheet
more brittle. Once a crack in the concrete member intersects
with the sheet, it will crack at once. (From our experience, the
plate can be broken when the crack opening in concrete is about
0.08–0.1 mm.) For applications requiring an externally bonded
plate (e.g., monitoring of flexural cracks at the bottom of a bridge
deck), the preparation procedure described above is sufficient.
For an internally embedded sensor, stone aggregates are also
added to the polyester before it hardens (as shown in Fig. 2).
Fig. 3. Zoomed-In OTDR record of different number of cracks.
These aggregates, which protrude from the surface of the sensor
sheet, will improve the bond when the sheet is embedded inside
of the fiber core). The result is shown in Fig. 3. The y-axis of
concrete. At the location where the fiber is coming out of the
the plot is in log-scale so that the same decibel loss is shown
sheet, a small steel tube is placed around the fiber for protection
as equal drop magnitude. From the test results, it is clear that
and the end of the steel tube is further covered with soft rubber.
the loss at one location does not influence that at other part of
This way, the breakage of fiber at the exit point can be prevented.
the fiber. The small discrepancy (e.g., the variation of loss at
the second crack from 5.6 to 5.8 dB) is mainly due to the signal
4.2. Determination of the relation between optical power
noise. Also, the separation of each drop in the plot matches the
loss and crack opening
physical separation.
To obtain the optical power loss versus crack opening relation,
4. Power loss versus crack opening relation
the sensor sheet is embedded inside a concrete beam at a dis-
tance from the bottom. The flexural test configuration is shown
The power loss versus crack opening relation of the sensor
schematically in Fig. 5. To avoid brittle failure of the concrete
is the key ‘parameter’ for its applications in crack monitoring.
beam, two 6 mm diameter mild steel rods are placed on the ten-
Theoretical model has been derived and verified by experiments
sile side. A pair of notches is cut on the both sides of the beam,
[16]. For practical applications, an effective way to couple the
so that the crack location is prescribed. LVDT’s are installed at
optical fiber to the concrete member needs to be developed. For
both sides of the beam to measure the crack opening at the level
convenient sensor installation under site conditions, and fiber
of the sensor. A number of tests have been conducted using sen-
protection against the alkaline concrete environment, the fiber
sor sheets containing Corning SMF28 (light propagates in single
can be first embedded into a polyester plate to form a sensor
mode at 1550 nm) and 3M FS-SN 4224 (light propagates in sin-
sheet, which can then be coupled to the concrete structure later.
gle mode at 850 nm) fibers running at 30◦ or 45◦ to the crack
The fabrication of the sensor sheet is described next.
opening direction. The optical and mechanical properties of the
two fibers are summarized in Table 1. For single mode propaga-
4.1. Fabrication of sensor sheet
tion, light sources with corresponding wavelength are employed.
During the test, forward optical power across the sensor sheet is
The preparation of the sensor sheet is illustrated in Fig. 4.
measured with power detectors (Anritsu MA9611A for 1550 nm
Round pegs are placed at proper location for holding the fiber in a
and MA9412A for 850 nm wavelength) that are connected to an
pre-determined configuration. With the fiber held tight, polyester
optical power meter (Anritsu ML9001A).
is poured slowly into the mold to form a sensor sheet about one
The measured optical power loss versus crack opening of
and half millimeters in thickness. Before the polyester is added,
the sensors made with SMF28 fibers are given in Fig. 6. Fig. 7
releasing oil is applied on all the internal surfaces of the mold
shows the results for sensors made with 3M fibers. Also shown
and the pegs for easy removal of the sheet. The fiber inside
in the figures are results from a theoretical model that consists

Fig. 5. Testing configuration to obtain the signal loss versus crack opening rela-
Fig. 4. Illustration for the fabrication of a sensor sheet. tion for the sensor sheet.
 K.T. Wan, C.K.Y. Leung / Sensors and Actuators A 135 (2007) 458–464 461

Table 1
Properties of optical fibers used in the tests
Characteristic 3M FS-SN-4224 Corning SMF 28

Operating wavelength 850 nm 1550 nm

Cut-Off wavelength <780 nm <1260 nm
Mode field diameter 5.5 ␮m 10.4 ␮m ± 0.8 ␮m
Geometric core diameter 4.43 ␮m* 8.3 ␮m
Core refractive index 1.458 1.4505
Cladding diameter 125 ␮m ± 2 ␮m 125 ␮m ± 1 ␮m
Cladding refractive index 1.453 1.4447
Total diameter including 250 ␮m ± 15 ␮m 245 ␮m ± 5 ␮m Dual
polymeric coating Single coating coating: Inner: 32.5 ␮m;
Outer: 27.5 ␮m
Coating material Acrylate Acrylate
Coating modulus 50 MPa Inner: 4 MPa; Outer:
1 GPa
Attenuation maximum 5 dB/km 0.25 dB/km
* This value is calculated as shown below since the manufacturer could not

provide the information.

of two parts: (i) a mechanical analysis to obtain the curvature

distribution along a bent optical fiber when the crack opening
is known, and (ii) an optical analysis to compute the bend-
induced power loss (in decibels) along the curved fiber from the
computed curvature distribution in the mechanical model. For
detailed derivation and application of the theoretical model, the
reader should refer to [16]. Here, it suffices to mention that the
theoretical model is developed to provide a tool for simulating
the optical power loss versus crack opening relation of the sensor.
Combinations of design parameters (such as optical properties
of fiber, fiber inclination angle, fiber coating properties, etc.) to
achieve various performance requirements can hence be chosen.
The amount of trial and error testing is then reduced.
Fig. 6. Experimental and theoretical results for the sensor sheet made with
SMF28; fiber (a) 30◦ case; (b) 45◦ case.
Fig. 7. Experimental and theoretical results for the sensor sheet made with 3M
fiber; (a) 30◦ case, (b) 45◦ case.
From Figs. 6 and 7, good agreement is shown between the
test results and theoretical model, and the trend of test results is
well captured by the model. At very small crack openings, the
loss increases slowly. After a certain “pick-up” point, the loss
rises at a much higher rate. However, at large openings, the loss
increases slowly again and seems to be approaching an asymp-
totic value. This kind of optical power loss versus crack opening
relation is desirable for crack monitoring. The low sensitivity at
very small crack openings indicates that the sensor is unlikely
to give ‘false alarms’ when very fine and harmless cracks start
to form in the structure. The upper bound of the power loss
(the asymptotic value) implies that the existence of one or two
uncontrolled cracks in the structure (as a result of earthquake,
etc.) will not exhaust the dynamic range of the measurement
system. Hence, the least number of cracks can be monitored
by single optical fiber can be controlled by choosing different
fiber’s mechanical, optical and geometrical properties.
The test results in Fig. 6 show oscillations in power loss at
large openings that are not predicted by the theoretical model.
These are believed to be due to a stick-slip effect caused by fric-
tion at the glass/coating interface. Although the fiber surface is
coated with releasing oil, friction cannot be totally eliminated.
From a practical point of view, this should not be a major issue.
Significant oscillation only occurs at relative large openings
when the high power loss value should have already prompted
the owner of the structure to take appropriate action. The ‘error’
in the output signal resulted from the oscillations is, therefore,
not important. For certain specimens, a sudden jump in power
loss can be observed at small crack opening. This is because the
462 K.T. Wan, C.K.Y. Leung / Sensors and Actuators A 135 (2007) 458–464

sheet does not crack simultaneously with the concrete. Once it

cracks, a jump in the opening occurs and leads to a correspond-
ing jump in the loss. As long as this jump occurs at an opening
that is smaller than our range of interest, it should not be of prac-
tical concern. The crack opening of the sensor sheet will keep
the same as the concrete structure given that there is no sliding
at the interface.

5. Multiple crack detection

In practice, it is often necessary to monitor multiple cracks

with single optical fiber. To demonstrate the applicability of
the sensor in the detection and monitoring of multiple cracks,
a 150 mm × 200 mm × 200 mm reinforced concrete beam as
shown in Fig. 8a is employed. Two pairs of notches are cut
at both sides of the beam to define the crack locations. Two sen-
sor sheets are bonded by epoxy to the bottom of the beam in
parallel (Fig. 8b). The optical fibers of the two sensor sheets
are connected by a mechanical splice. To improve the bond, the
concrete surface is roughened by an air-driven needle gun that
removes the loose mortar layer near the surface, and a primer is
applied prior to the epoxy resin. The sensor sheet employed for
this experiment, as shown in Fig. 8c, is slightly different to the
one described in Section 4.1 and shown in Fig. 4. In the prepara-
tion of this sensor sheet, the pegs for fiber alignment are placed
outside the sheet instead of inside. After the sheet hardens, fiber
loops are left on its two sides.
Before testing, the fiber from one of the sensor is connected to
the OTDR. LVDTs (Linear Variable Differential Transformers)
are also placed on the top of sensor sheets at pre-notched posi-
tions. When loading is applied, the crack opening is measured
by the LVDT and the variation of the Rayleigh backscattered
light intensity along the fiber is monitored by the OTDR. Fig. 9
shows an OTDR scan when the larger crack reaches an open-
ing of 1.5 mm. In the plot, the y-axis is plotted in log-scale so
that equal drop amplitude shown in the plot corresponds to equal
power loss in decibel. In the test, two major cracks formed along
the beam. As each crack intersects both sensing sheets, there
Fig. 8. Test configuration to demonstrate distributed sensing of multiple cracks.
Fig. 9. Zoomed-in OTDR record showing the presence of three separate cracks.
should be four ‘bends’ along the optical fiber in total. Also, we
expect that Loss 1 and Loss 4 to be identical, because they are
induced by the same crack. By the same argument, Loss 2 and
Loss 3 should also be the same. As shown in Fig. 9, Loss 1 and
Loss 4 are indeed the same (the small difference of 0.01 dB is
due to measurement error). Loss 3, however, cannot be observed.
Instead, a jump in the plot can be found. The jump is caused by
strong reflection at the mechanical splice, which floods out the
signal corresponding to Loss 3. This jump is inevitable upon
mechanical splice is adopted since the refractive index of the
gel inside the splice cannot match that of the core of the optical
fiber perfectly. To avoid this loss, one can either leave a sufficient
length of fiber between each sensor sheet and the splice, or use
fusion splices that only introduce very small reflections.
The OTDR also provides information on the distance between
cracks. The distance calculated from the mid-points of Loss 1
and Loss 2 are found to be within about 50 mm of the actual
distance between cracks measured with a ruler. In practical
monitoring programs, such a small error in the identified crack
location is certainly acceptable.
6. Shrinkage crack detection
Under some practical situations, cracking may occur when
dimensional changes are restrained. Examples include shrinkage
or thermal cracks. If such cracks are left undetected, it will allow
the penetration of water and corrosive agents that will affect the
long-term durability of reinforced concrete members. For parts
of the structure that are inaccessible (such as the sides of a buried
foundation) or difficult to access (such as a large steep slope), the
capability for remote crack sensing is highly desirable. Unlike
the situation with the beam, the driving force for cracking under
restrained conditions decreases right after the crack is formed.
To demonstrate that the crack sensor can still be broken under
those conditions, shrinkage crack detection is studied by the
experimental set-up in Fig. 10. A 200 mm × 50 mm × 200 mm
reinforced concrete member is first prepared to serve as a stiff
base. At each end of the member, two T20 steel bars are installed
vertically, and stone aggregates are inserted into the concrete
surface to increase the roughness before the concrete hardens.
After curing, the concrete base is allowed to dry for a month
so further shrinkage would be minimal. A 50 mm thickness layer
 K.T. Wan, C.K.Y. Leung / Sensors and Actuators A 135 (2007) 458–464 463

inside the concrete layer, the crack opening increases towards

the surface, the measured internal opening should be smaller
than the surface opening. However, since the difference is not
very large, we believe that the crack sensor can provide a rea-
sonable estimation of the surface crack opening when restrained
dimensional changes result in the formation of cracks.

7. Sensor performance under sinusoidal loading

In the above discussion, the sensor performance has been val-

idated only when the crack opening is monotonically increasing.
When the structures are under dynamic loading, the crack may
Fig. 10. The beam for shrinkage crack detection. open and close at a fast rate. To investigate the sensor perfor-
mance under this condition, flexural bending test with the same
type of specimen and experimental setup as shown in Fig. 5 is
of concrete is then cast onto the base. Before casting, a thin layer
conducted. In the test, the load, optical power and the crack open-
of sand is added to the middle portion of the base member and
ing are recorded simultaneously at 100 Hz sampling rate, using
covered by a plastic sheet to minimize the friction between the
the National Instruments PCI-064 Data Acquisition Card. The
new layer concrete and the base. On the new concrete layer, a
ultimate load of the beam is first found by loading the beam until
pair of notches is created at the middle cross-section by insert-
the yield plateau is reached in the load–displacement plot. Then,
ing two thin metal plates as shown in Fig. 10. The sensor sheet
sinusoidal loading is applied from 20% to 95% of the ultimate
is embedded inside the new concrete layer at central level of its
load at 3 Hz. For a sensor sheet containing a SMF28 fiber lying
height for the monitoring of the shrinkage crack. With the afore-
at 30◦ to the crack opening direction, the test results are plotted
mentioned configuration, when the upper concrete layer shrinks,
against time in Fig. 11, in such a way that the value on the y-axis
the longitudinal dimensional change is restrained by the vertical
represents the loading (in kilo Newton), the optical power loss (in
steel bars and the roughened concrete surface near the two ends.
decibels) and crack opening (in millimeters). There is only one
Tension will be induced in the concrete layer. As there is little
major flexural crack at the mid-span of the beam. The propaga-
bonding or friction along the middle portion of the layer, the
tion of crack is reflected by the increment in optical power loss.
tension is uniformly distributed along the longitudinal direction
The fiber breaks at the twenty-third loading–unloading cycles.
and the shrinkage crack will form at the notched location.
The crack opening propagated from 0.4 mm at the beginning to
The new layer of concrete is allowed to cure for two days to
1.6 mm when the fiber breaks. Since the sensor is installed at the
gain sufficient stiffness before drying shrinkage occurs, other-
level of a quarter of the height from the beam bottom, 1.6 mm
wise, the tensile force induced by the shrinkage crack may not
crack opening at that level indicates severe damage of the beam.
be large enough to break the sensor sheet. Then, a fan is set up
The results show that the fiber can survive quite severe struc-
to blow onto the specimen surface to accelerate the drying pro-
tural damage in practice. The power loss at the crest (or peak
cess. Just before the fan is turned on, the initial power through
point) of crack opening at each loading cycle is plotted in Fig. 12
the optical crack sensor is taken as the value for Day 0. Two
together with predictions from the theoretical model by given
days after the fan is on, a crack forms at the notched location.
crack opening. Reasonably good agreement is again achieved.
Using a portable microscope, the crack opening is measured.
According to the results, if the optical power is monitored con-
Table 2 shows the measured crack opening and the correspond-
tinuously, the theoretical model can be employed to capture the
ing optical power loss in the five days after the fan is turned
maximum crack opening during the loading cycles for damage
on. The theoretical crack openings by given optical power loss
assessment of the structure.
in decibel obtained from the experiment can be calculated by
the theoretical optical power loss versus crack opening relation
and are shown in the right-most column of Table 2. From the
results, the theoretical crack opening is always smaller than the
measured value. This is reasonable as the sensor is embedded

Table 2
Summarized result of the shrinkage crack detection
Day Optical Optical power Crack opening Theoretical crack
power (␮W) Loss (dB) (mm) opening (mm)

0 1.093 – – –
2 0.835 1.2 0.2 0.15
3 0.870 1.0 0.16 0.14
4 0.798 1.4 0.22 0.16
5 0.855 1.1 0.2 0.15
Fig. 11. Variation of optical power loss, crack opening and loading with time.
464 K.T. Wan, C.K.Y. Leung / Sensors and Actuators A 135 (2007) 458–464
Fig. 12. Comparison of loss between the model and the crest of crack opening
in each cycle.
8. Conclusion
In this investigation, the principle of a fiber optic crack sen-
sor is presented. Actual sensors have been fabricated and tested.
Experiments have been performed on the monitoring of single
and multiple flexural cracks under static loading, crack monitor-
ing under cyclic loading as well as the detection of shrink crack
under restraint. The experimental optical power loss versus crack
opening relations were found to be in reasonable agreement with
theoretical results. Based on the results of the present investiga-
tion, the potential of the sensor for various practical applications
is demonstrated.
Acknowledgement
The work described in this paper was fully supported by a
grant from the Research Grant Council of the Hong Kong Special
Administrative Region, China (Project No. HKUST6196/01E).
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Biographies
Kai Tai Wan received his Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from the Department of
Civil Engineering at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology in
2005. Immediately after graduation, he joined the Hong Kong University of
Science and Technology as a postdoctoral fellow. His research interests include
sensor’s applications, fabrication and packaging, and theoretical modeling for
sensor performance.
Christopher K.Y. Leung received his Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from Mas-
sachusetts Institute of Technology. Currently, he is professor in the Department
of Civil Engineering at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.
Professor Leung’s technical areas of interest include construction materials,
micromechanics of fiber composites, fracture mechanics, optical fiber sensors
and applications of composites in civil engineering.