Fibre-Reinforced Polymer (FRP) composites have been widely used in civil engineering for the past two decades. This paper presents an overview of the smart components and structures based on FRP. The basic principles of intelligent structures made of FRP and Optical fibre sensors are introduced. Some significant up-to-date smart elements used as reinforcing and health monitoring structures are also described in detail. Moreover, certain applications of smart FRP systems in civil engineering are briefly mentioned. Smart bars based on FRP are found to be very useful and could replace conventional steel. In addition, FRP-OF-OFBG is one of the most advanced techniques for local and global monitoring. However, interface strain for externally reinforcing systems requires specific characteristics to overcome debonding effects. Finally, analysis of the problems of existing applications based on carbon fibre composites are highlighted, followed by a description of some possibilities of new designs of smart FRPs.

Railway infrastructures have played a critical role to ensure the continuity of goods and passenger transportation in China. Under extreme loading and environmental conditions, railway structures are vulnerable to deterioration and failure, leading to the interruption of the whole transportation system. Several techniques have been used for the health monitoring of railway structures. Optical fiber sensors are the widely recognized technique due to their inherent advantages such as high sensitivity, anti-electromagnetic interference, light weight, tiny size, corrosion resistance, and easy integration and network configuration. This paper provides a state-of-the-art of optical fiber sensing technologies and their practical application in railway infrastructures. In addition, the strain transfer analysis of optical fiber sensors is described for parameter reflection. A smart concept for artificial intelligence contribution is also declared. Finally, existing and future prospects on smart concept-based optical fiber sensors for railway infrastructure are discussed. The study can provide useful guidance to understand the problems in artificial intelligence which contributed to the Structural Health Monitoring system of railway structures.

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Fiber-reinforced polymer composites have been widely used to design fiber-reinforced polymer–based confined concrete columns with potential benefits. However, it is critical to design a column with sufficient post-peak performance that can prevent its collapse at the rupture of the fiber-reinforced polymer tube. This article presents the experimental results on the prior and post peaks behavior of concrete-filled double-skin tubular columns with basalt fiber-reinforced polymer (BFRP)–punched-in outer steel and BFRP-circular inner steel (BFST-DSTCs). Twenty-two specimens were tested under axial compression to investigate the effects of design parameters on the behavior of the BFST-DSTC. The outcomes reveal that the BFST-DSTC exhibits the best performance in terms of load capacity, confinement ratio, failure and damage mechanisms, and ductility in prior and post peaks. The inner fiber-reinforced polymer jacket delays the buckling of the inner tube. The punched-in patterns of the outer steel improve the confinement effectiveness of the fiber-reinforced polymer jacket. The BFST-DSTC displays a good post-peak performance with high-energy dissipation capacity that prevents the concerned structure from collapse after the fiber-reinforced polymer jacket rupture. Finally, a new confinement model is proposed to predict the ultimate point of the confined concrete.

Fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites have been widely employed to design advanced structural columns such as the hybrid FRP–concrete–steel double-skin tubular column (hybrid DSTC) with potential benefits. To date, the safety and self-monitoring of the hybrid DSTCs are still a challenge to overcome due to the complex damage scenarios. This paper investigates the self-sensing performance of a newly developed smart double-skin tubular confined concrete column (smart BFST-DSTC) made of basalt FRP–steel composite with built-in optical fiber Bragg grating sensors (OFBGs). The design of the smart BFST-DSTC and sensing principle are firstly addressed, followed by an experimental investigation on the basic mechanical properties and strain-based sensing performance of ten scaled specimens under axial compression. The outcomes reveal the enhancement of the proposed column in terms of load-carrying capacity, confinement ratio, and axial stress-axial strain behavior, as well as failure and damage modes when compared with the hybrid DSTC. The self-sensing investigation demonstrates that the measurement range satisfies the requirement to monitor and evaluate the hoop strains of the FRP jackets and the health state of the inner tube. The smart BFST-DSTC can replace the hybrid DSTC with the ability to provide early failure warning and life cycle health monitoring.