• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.11 no.5
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• pp.841-859
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• 2016

Bridge bearings are important connection elements between bridge superstructures and substructures, whose health states directly affect the performance of the bridges. This paper systematacially presents a new method to identify the bridge bearing damage based on the neural network theory. Firstly, based on the analysis of different damage types, a description of the bearing damage is introduced, and a uniform description for all the damage types is given. Then, the feasibility and sensitivity of identifying the bearing damage with bridge vibration modes are investigated. After that, a Radial Basis Function Neural Network (RBFNN) is built, whose input and output are the beam modal information and the damage information, respectively. Finally, trained by plenty of data samples formed by the numerical method, the network is employed to identify the bearing damage. Results show that the bridge bearing damage can be clearly reflected by the modal information of the bridge beam, which validates the effectiveness of the proposed method.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.87 no.6
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• pp.555-574
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• 2023

An efficient optimization algorithm and damage-sensitive objective function are two main components in optimization-based Finite Element Model Updating (FEMU). A suitable combination of these components can considerably affect damage detection accuracy. In this study, a new hybrid damage-sensitive objective function is proposed based on combining two different objection functions to detect the location and extent of damage in structures. The first one is based on Generalized Pseudo Modal Strain Energy (GPMSE), and the second is based on the element's Generalized Flexibility Matrix (GFM). Four well-known population-based metaheuristic algorithms are used to solve the problem and report the optimal solution as damage detection results. These algorithms consist of Cuckoo Search (CS), Teaching-Learning-Based Optimization (TLBO), Moth Flame Optimization (MFO), and Jaya. Three numerical examples and one experimental study are studied to illustrate the capability of the proposed method. The performance of the considered metaheuristics is also compared with each other to choose the most suitable optimizer in structural damage detection. The numerical examinations on truss and frame structures with considering the effects of measurement noise and availability of only the first few vibrating modes reveal the good performance of the proposed technique in identifying damage locations and their severities. Experimental examinations on a six-story shear building structure tested on a shake table also indicate that this method can be considered as a suitable technique for damage assessment of shear building structures.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.393-402
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• 2017

Many vibration-based global damage detection methods attempt to extract modal parameters from vibration signals as the main structural features to detect damage. The local flexibility method is one promising method that requires only the first few fundamental modes to detect not only the location but also the extent of damage. Generally, the mode shapes in the lateral degree of freedom are extracted from lateral vibration signals and then used to detect damage for a beam structure. In this study, a new approach which employs the mode shapes in the rotary degree of freedom obtained from the macro-strain vibration signals to detect damage of a beam structure is proposed. In order to facilitate the application of mode shapes in the rotary degree of freedom for beam structures, the local flexibility method is modified and utilized. The proposed rotary approach is verified by numerical and experimental studies of simply supported beams. The results illustrate potential feasibility of the proposed new idea. Compared to the method that uses lateral measurements, the proposed rotary approach seems more robust to noise in the numerical cases considered. The sensor configuration could also be more flexible and customized for a beam structure. Primarily, the proposed approach seems more sensitive to damage when the damage is close to the supports of simply supported beams.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.12 no.3_4
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• pp.427-440
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• 2013

A growing need has developed in the United States to obtain more specific knowledge on the structural integrity of infrastructure due to aging service lives, heavier and more frequent loading conditions, and durability issues. This need has spurred extensive research in the area of structural health monitoring over the past few decades. Several structural health monitoring techniques have been developed that are capable of locating damage in structures using modal strain energy of mode shapes. Typically in the past, bending strain energy has been used in these methods since it is a dominant vibrational mode in many structures and is easily measured. Additionally, there may be cases, such as pipes, shafts, or certain bridges, where structures exhibit significant torsional behavior as well. In this research, torsional strain energy is used to locate damage. The damage index method is used on two numerical models; a cantilevered steel pipe and a simply-supported steel plate girder bridge. Torsion damage indices are compared to bending damage indices to assess their effectiveness at locating damage. The torsion strain energy method is capable of accurately locating damage and providing additional valuable information to both of the structures' behaviors.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.311-325
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• 2008

Noting that damage occurrence of offshore jacket platforms is concentrated in two structural regions that are in the vicinity of still water surface and close to the seabed, a damage detection method by using only partial measurement of vibration in a suspect region was presented in this paper, which can not only locate damaged members but also evaluate damage severities. Then employing an experiment platform model under white-noise ground excitation by shaking table and using modal parameters of the first three modes identified by a scalar-type ARMA method on undamaged and damaged structures, the feasibility of the damage detection method was discussed. Modal parameters from eigenvalue analysis on the structural FEM model were also used to help the discussions. It is demonstrated that the damage detection algorithm is feasible on damage location and severity evaluation for broken slanted braces and it is robust against the errors of baseline FEM model to real structure when the principal errors is formed by difference of modal frequencies. It is also found that Z-value changes of modal shapes also play a role in the precise detection of damage.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.349-356
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• 2020

Rock brittleness, which is closely related to the failure modes, plays a significant role in the design and construction of many rock engineering applications. However, the brittle-ductile failure transition is mostly ignored by the current statistical damage constitutive model, which may misestimate the failure strength and failure behaviours of intact rock. In this study, a new statistical damage model considering rock brittleness is proposed for brittle to ductile behaviour of rocks using brittleness index (BI). Firstly, the statistical constitutive damage model is reviewed and a new statistical damage model considering failure mode transition is developed by introducing rock brittleness parameter-BI. Then the corresponding damage distribution parameters, shape parameter m and scale parameter F₀, are expressed in terms of BI. The shape parameter m has a positive relationship with BI while the scale parameter F₀ depends on both BI and ε_e. Finally, the robustness and correctness of the proposed damage model is validated using a set of experimental data with various confining pressure.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.63 no.4
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• pp.457-469
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• 2017

This manuscript deals with a novel approach aimed at identifying multiple damaged sites in structural components through finite frequency changes. Natural frequencies, meant as a privileged set of modal data, are adopted along with a numerical model of the system. The adoption of finite changes efficiently allows challenging characteristic problems encountered in damage detection techniques such as unexpected comparison of possible shifted modes and the significance of modal data changes very often affected by experimental/environmental noise. The new procedure extends MDLAC and exploits parallel computing on modern multicore processors. Smart filters, aimed at reducing the potential damaged sites, are implemented in order to reduce the computational effort. Several use cases are presented in order to illustrate the potentiality of the new damage detection procedure.

• Proceedings of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute Conference
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• 2003.04a
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• pp.443-450
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• 2003

System identification techniques can be used to build a baseline modal model for a flawed structure that has no modal information on its as-built state. The accuracy of a system identification proposed by Stubbs and Kim is analyzed for plate-girder bridges and its impact on the accuracy of damage detection in those structures is also analyzed. A laboratory-scale model plate-girder is experimentally tested and the initial four bending modes are examined for certain damage scenarios. The performance of individual baseline modal models is assessed by detecting damage in the model structure.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.6 no.6
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• pp.665-687
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• 2014

This paper presents a framework for analytical seismic vulnerability assessment of substandard reinforced concrete (RC) structures in developing countries. Amodified capacity-demand diagram method is used to predict the response of RC structures with degrading behaviour. A damage index based on period change is used to quantify the evolution of damage. To demonstrate the framework, a class of substandard RC buildings is examined. Abrupt accumulation of damage is observed due to the brittle failure modes and this is reflected in the developed vulnerability curves, which differ substantially from the curves of ductile structures.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.35 no.12
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• pp.1343-1350
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• 1998

A study is made of mechanical properties of unglazed matrix as a funtion of sintering temperature and crack patterns in layer structur pottery consisting of glaze and substrate and in matrix which is sintered at 120$0^{\circ}C$ and 130$0^{\circ}C$ respectively. The mechanical properties of matrix are increased due to density and vitrification to 130$0^{\circ}C$ The interface of glazed bilayer reveals the reactive intermediate layer. Herzian indentation testing is used to investigate the evolution of damage modes as a function of load. In the materials sintered at 120$0^{\circ}C$ quasi-plastic deformation is developed at the matrix and the cone-like cracks initiate at the glazing top surface and additionally upward-extending transverse cracks initiate at the internal in-just initiate at the glazing top surface which pass through the interface with increasing of indentation load. Finally the dominant damage mode shifts from substrate quasi-plasticity to coating fracture with increasing sintering temperature.