Newsletter

The Luna Quarterly

Customer Spotlight: University of Tennessee & IACMI

Freeway with sensors

Luna Innovations partnered with researchers from the University of Tennessee (UT) and the Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation (IACMI) to equip a new fiber-reinforced polymer composite material (FRP) bridge deck with integrated, high-density fiber optic sensors. The sensors will be used to monitor the composite deck system over time to give critical performance and safety data, thereby creating a sustainable solution for aging infrastructures, like bridges and tunnels.  

Due to the use of technologically advanced composites, the bridge deck system has a 100-year lifespan and a low-maintenance design. The system is equipped with Luna’s high-definition and high-speed fiber optic sensors for real-time monitoring of the composite deck system while in service. The sensors are easy to install during the manufacturing process and become part of the structural components, thus creating “smart” infrastructure and enabling the constituent building materials to report their structural health from within.

Read the news release