This paper explores the use of a technique to determine the strain that progressively accumulated in a low carbon steel coupon on exposure to a corrosive medium. The strains developed in the steel coupon were independently measured by an electric resistance strain gauge (ESG) as well as using a fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensor. The uniaxial strains measured using these two different techniques were compared. The strains accumulated in coupons in both the unrestrained and restrained conditions were measured and the difference in their mechanical response were brought out by the change in volume accompanying the formation of rust, which, in turn, could be sensed by a change in the wavelength by the FBG sensor. © 2019 Elsevier Ltd