Impedance-Based Method for Nondestructive Damage Identification

A structural damage identification technique based on the impedance method is presented in this paper using smart piezoelectric transducer (PZT) patches. A modeling framework is developed to determine the structural impedance response and the dynamic output forces of PZT patches from the electric admittance measurements. A damage identification scheme for solving the nonlinear optimization problem is proposed to locate and quantify the structural damage through the minimization of the discrepancy between the structural impedance response and the numerically computed frequency response. The proposed technique does not use modal analysis or model reduction, and only the electric admittance measurements of PZT patches and the analytical system matrices are required. A beam example has been employed to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm numerically. Furthermore, the influence of the measurement noise on the results has been investigated.     

Damage Localization and Finite-Element Model Updating Using Multiresponse NDT Data

New techniques for both finite-element model updating and damage localization are presented using multiresponse nondestructive test (NDT) data. A new protocol for combining multiple parameter estimation algorithms for model updating is presented along with an illustrative example. This approach allows for the simultaneous use of both static and modal NDT data to perform model updating at the element level. A new damage index based on multiresponse NDT data is presented for damage localization of structures. This index is based on static and modal strain energy changes in a structure as a result of damage. This method depicts changes in physical properties of each structural element compared to its initial state using NDT data. Deficient or potentially damaged structural elements are then selected as the unknown parameters to be updated by parameter estimation. Error function normalization, error function stacking, and multiresponse parameter estimation methods are proposed for using multiple data types for simultaneous stiffness and mass parameter estimation. Also, multiple sets of measurements with various sizes and missing data points can be utilized. This paper uses a laboratory grid model of a bridge deck built at the University of Cincinnati Infrastructure Institute and the corresponding NDT data for validation of the above damage localization and model updating methods. Multiresponse parameter estimation has been utilized to update the stiffness of bearing pads, and both the stiffness and mass of the connections, using static and dynamic NDT data. The static and modal responses of the updated grid model presented a closer match with the NDT data than the responses from the initial model.     

Least-Squares Estimation with Unknown Excitations for Damage Identification of Structures

System identification and damage detection for structural health monitoring of civil infrastructures have received considerable attention recently. Time domain analysis methodologies based on measured vibration data, such as the least-squares estimation and the extended Kalman filter, have been studied and shown to be useful. The traditional least-squares estimation method requires that all the external excitation data (input data) be available, which may not be the case for many structures. In this paper, a recursive least-squares estimation with unknown inputs (RLSE-UI) approach is proposed to identify the structural parameters, such as the stiffness, damping, and other nonlinear parameters, as well as the unmeasured excitations. Analytical recursive solutions for the proposed RLSE-UI are derived and presented. This analytical recursive solution for RLSE-UI is not available in the previous literature. An adaptive tracking technique recently developed is also implemented in the proposed approach to track the variations of structural parameters due to damages. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed approach is capable of identifying the structural parameters, their variations due to damages, and unknown excitations.     

Structural Damage Diagnosis and Assessment under Seismic Excitations

This study proposes a method of detecting, locating, and quantifying structural damage by directly using structural vibration measurements in the time domain. In this method, the coupling effect of the damage at different locations in the structure on the structural vibratory responses is eliminated by projecting these measured quantities onto some specific subspaces. As a result, the structural system, generally modeled with multiple degree of freedom, is decomposed into several independent single-degree-of-freedom (SDOF) systems, every one of which is only associated with the damage at one certain location or region. A monitor is designed as an observer to detect the structural damage related to each SDOF system. A decision-making scheme is developed to correlate the monitor’s output to the occurrence of the damage. The severity of the damage is estimated with a traditional system identification method in an iterative way. The analysis of the effects of measurement noise is also included. Numerical examples are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.     

Ambient Vibration Data Analysis for Structural Identification and Global Condition Assessment

System identification is an area which deals with developing mathematical models to characterize the input-output behavior of an unknown system by means of experimental data. Structural health monitoring (SHM) provides the tools and technologies to collect and analyze input and output data to track the structural behavior. One of the most commonly used SHM technologies is dynamic testing. Ambient vibration testing is a practical dynamic testing method especially for large civil structures where input excitation cannot be directly measured. This paper presents a conceptual and reliable methodology for system identification and structural condition assessment using ambient vibration data where input data are not available. The system identification methodology presented in this study is based on the use of complex mode indicator functions (CMIFs) coupled with the random decrement (RD) method to identify the modal parameters from the output only data sets. CMIF is employed for parameter identification from the unscaled multiple-input multiple-output data sets generated using the RD method. For condition assessment, unscaled flexibility and the deflection profiles obtained from the dynamic tests are presented as a conceptual indicator. Laboratory tests on a steel grid and field tests on a long-span bridge were conducted and the dynamic properties identified from these tests are presented. For demonstrating condition assessment, deflected shapes obtained from unscaled flexibility are compared for undamaged and damaged laboratory grid structures. It is shown that structural changes on the steel grid structure are identified by using the unscaled deflected shapes.     

Review of Methods for Analyzing Constrained‐Layer Damped Structures

This paper reviews and examines different numerical approaches for modeling and analyzing the behavior of structures having constrained‐layer damping. Specific topics that are addressed included: modeling of the material behavior, implementation of structural damping and constrained‐layer damping into two‐ and three‐dimensional finite elements, and assessment of the different analysis methods for calculating the damped response and estimation of the damping level in the structure. Two numerical studies are presented that reveal the accuracy limits of the different finite‐element modeling approaches for additive and integrally damped plate‐type structures. It was observed that an assembly of plate and solid elements will accurately predict both the natural frequencies and loss factors, whereas equivalent solid elements and equivalent plate‐element approaches poorly predict the natural frequency and incorrectly predict the loss factor. The assembled plate/solid elements are accurate up to an aspect ratio of 125 for the solid elements. Above this aspect ratio valve, the frequency predictions are acceptable, but the damping (loss factor) predictions are usually poor.     

Object-Oriented Modeling of Structural Analysis and Design with Application to Damping Device Configuration

This paper presents an object-oriented (OO) software framework for computer-aided structural analysis and design research, where different structural analysis methods and design procedures need to be implemented and investigated. The framework is designed with four basic modules: structure, load, analysis, and design. Each module includes a set of cooperating interfaces and classes. Through the predefined interfaces, the framework provides architecture for many structural design applications. A variety of similar entities, such as different design applications, design procedures, and analysis methods, can be built on this architecture by implementing the necessary interfaces. The clearly defined interactions between the modules accommodate the future extensions within the modules. The final OO design of the framework can be communicated by many well-known design patterns, and it is described by unified modeling language. The framework is then customized to the application for optimizing the configuration of energy dissipation devices in a given structure. By implementing a few interfaces, this paper illustrates how this OO framework accommodates changes, and how reusability and extensibility can be achieved.     

Response to Fire Exposure of the Pentagon Structural Elements

An overview of fire damage sustained by the Pentagon structural elements in the September 11, 2001, terrorist attack is provided. The fire intensity in some compartments of the affected areas inside the Pentagon was approximated to be between those of the two standard fire exposures ASTM E119 and E1529, based on the observed fire damage and estimated fuel load. Thermal analyses of the structural columns and beams were performed using the standard fire exposures to demonstrate the increased vulnerability of these structural elements once the concrete cover was lost.     

Structural Analyses and Assessment of Historical Kamanl? Mosque in Izmir, Turkey

Historical structures are one of the most precious pieces of cultural accumulation. In this study, an interdisciplinary work was conducted to assess the structural condition of a historical masonry structure, Urla Kamanl? Mosque in ?zmir, Turkey. The structure is a member of group of structures, Yah?i Bey Complex, which includes a Turkish bath, a tomb, two fountains, and a primary school. The structure dates back to early 14th century to mid-15th century. History investigation, measurement survey, long-term settlement, and moisture observations were conducted. Nondestructive and destructive material tests were performed on stone, brick, and mortar. 3D finite-element model of the structure was used to investigate the critical locations of the structure under its self-weight, seismic load, and settlement load. Linear elastic and nonlinear settlement analyses were conducted to investigate the reason for massive cracks challenging the structural integrity.     

Hyperelasticity Model for Finite Element Analysis of Natural and High Damping Rubbers in Compression and Shear

Rate-independent monotonic behavior of filled natural rubber and high damping rubber is investigated in compression and shear regimes. Monotonic responses obtained from tests conducted in both regimes demonstrate the prominent existence of the Fletcher–Gent effect, indicated by high stiffness at low strain levels. An improved hyperelasticity model for compression and shear regimes is proposed to represent the rate-independent instantaneous and equilibrium responses including the Fletcher–Gent effect. A parameter identification scheme involving simultaneous minimization of least-square residuals of uniaxial compression and simple shear data is delineated. The difficulties of identifying a unique set of hyperelasticity parameters that hold for both compression and shear deformation modes are thus overcome. The proposed hyperelasticity model has been implemented in a general purpose finite element program. Finite element simulations of experiments have shown the adequacy of the proposed hyperelasticity model, estimated parameters, and employed numerical procedures. Finally, numerical experiments were conducted to further explore the potential of the proposed model, and estimated parameters in analyzing rubber layers of a base isolation bearing subjected either to compression or to a combination of compression and shear.     

New Triangular Plane Element with Drilling Degrees of Freedom

A new plane element with drilling degrees of freedom is derived in this paper. This membrane finite element can be combined with the plate bending element. The element provides an efficient tool for linear and nonlinear analysis of shells. The element stiffness matrix is obtained from pure deformations—elongations of edges. This approach is very suitable for nonlinear analysis, where the unbalanced forces can be obtained directly from elongations of edges.     

Structural Identification and Damage Detection from Noisy Modal Data

In this paper we present a simple, yet powerful, method for the identification of stiffness matrices of structural and mechanical systems from information about some of their measured natural frequencies and corresponding mode shapes of vibration. The method is computationally efficient and is shown to perform remarkably well in the presence of measurement errors in the mode shapes of vibration. It is applied to the identification of the stiffness distribution along the height of a simple vibrating structure. An example illustrating the method’s ability to detect structural damage that could be highly localized in a building structure is also given. The efficiency and accuracy with which the method yields estimates of the system’s stiffness from noisy modal measurement data makes it useful for rapid, on-line damage detection of structures.     

Investigation of a System Identification Methodology in the Context of the ASCE Benchmark Problem

This article briefly presents the theory for a system identification and damage detection algorithm for linear systems, and discusses the effectiveness of such a methodology in the context of a benchmark problem that was proposed by the ASCE Task Group in Health Monitoring. The proposed approach has two well-defined phases: (1) identification of a state space model using the Observer/Kalman filter identification algorithm, the eigensystem realization algorithm, and a nonlinear optimization approach based on sequential quadratic programming techniques, and (2) identification of the second-order dynamic model parameters from the realized state space model. Structural changes (damage) are characterized by investigating the changes in the second-order parameters of the “reference” and “damaged” models. An extensive numerical analysis, along with the underlying theory, is presented in order to assess the advantages and disadvantages of the proposed identification methodology.     

Dynamic Field Test, System Identification, and Modal Validation of an RC Minaret: Preprocessing and Postprocessing the Wind-Induced Ambient Vibration Data

The investigation of dynamic response for civil engineering structures largely depends on a detailed understanding of their dynamic characteristics, such as the natural frequencies, mode shapes, and modal damping ratios. Dynamic characteristics of structures may be obtained numerically and experimentally. The finite-element method is widely used to model structural systems numerically. However, there are some uncertainties in numerical models. Material properties and boundary conditions may not be modeled correctly. There may be some microcracks in the structures, and these cracks may directly affect the modeling parameters. Modal testing gives correct uncertain modeling parameters that lead to better predictions of the dynamic behavior of a target structure. Therefore, dynamic behavior of special structures, such as minarets, should be determined with ambient vibration tests. The vibration test results may be used to update numerical models and to detect microcracks distributed along the structure. The operational modal analysis procedure consists of several phases. First, vibration tests are carried out, spectral functions are produced from raw measured acceleration records, dynamic characteristics are determined by analyzing processed spectral functions, and finally analytical models are calibrated or updated depending on experimental analysis results. In this study, an ambient vibration test is conducted on the minaret under natural excitations, such as wind effects and human movement. The dynamic response of the minaret is measured through an array of four trixial force-balanced accelerometers deployed along the whole length of the minaret. The raw measured data obtained from ambient vibration testing are analyzed with the SignalCAD program, which was developed in MATLAB. The employed system identification procedures are based on output-only measurements because the forcing functions are not available during ambient vibration tests. The ModalCAD program developed in MATLAB is used for dynamic characteristic identification. A three-dimensional model of the minaret is constructed, and its modal analysis is performed to obtain analytical frequencies and mode shapes by using the ANSYS finite-element program. The obtained system identification results have very good agreement, thus providing a reliable set of identified modal properties (natural frequencies, damping ratios, and mode shapes) of the structure, which can be used to calibrate finite-element models and as a baseline in health monitoring studies.     

Identification and Monitoring of Modal Parameters in Aircraft Structures Using the Natural Excitation Technique (NExT) Combined with the Eigensystem Realization Algorithm (ERA)

The early detection of cracks, fatigue, corrosion, and structural failure in aging aircraft is one of the major challenges in the aircraft industry. Common inspection techniques are time consuming and hence can have strong economic implications due to aircraft downtime. As a result, during the past decade a number of methodologies have been proposed for detecting structural damage based on variations in the structure’s dynamic characteristics. This paper describes the implementation of the natural excitation technique (NExT) combined with the eigensystem realization algorithm (ERA) to determine the dynamic characteristics of a T-34A Mentor acrobatic category aircraft and a modified DC-3 cargo/transport category aircraft. In-flight acceleration data were processed using NExT-ERA to monitor the predominant natural frequencies and associated mode shapes of the aircraft for varying flight conditions. The results show the effectiveness of this modal identification methodology and the possibility of implementing it in a real-time structural health monitoring system for aircraft.