Damage Identification in Continuum Structures From Vibration Modal Data

Abstract

ABSTRACTA novel procedure for damage identification of continuum structures is proposed, where both the location and the extent of structural damage in continuum structures can be correctly determined using only a limited amount of measurements of incomplete modal data. On the basis of the exact relationship between the changes of structural parameters and modal parameters, a computational technique based on direct iteration and directly using incomplete modal data is developed to determine damage in structure. Structural damage is assumed to be associated ith a proportional (scalar) reduction of the original element stiffness matrices, equivalent to a scalar reduction of the material modulus, which characterises at Gauss point level. Finally, numerical examples for plane stress problem and plate bending problem are utilised to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.