Localization of vibration-based damage detection method in structural applications

Vibration-based damage detection methods are used in structural applications to identify the global dynamic response of the system. The purpose of the work presented is to exhibit a vibration-based damage detection algorithm that localizes the sensor arrangements such that irregularities within the structural system can be detected, located, and quantified. Damage can occur in a structure either within the material or at a connection between segments; therefore two different types of specimens, a plate specimen and a connection specimen, were analyzed with the algorithm. Numerical and experimental analyses were completed for each of the specimen types, and the results prove that damage can be detected, located and quantified in each scenario. It is noted that the quantification of the damage is based on a supervised learning method (original and damaged states are known) and that the accuracy in which the damage is quantified within the scope of this work might have difficulty in unsupervised learning methods (only current state is known). This work will extend to be applied on a highway bridge as a basis for a structural health monitoring system, as preliminary results suggest that further refinement is needed.