A new hybrid damping technique for vibration reduction in flexible structures, wherein a combination of layers of hard passive damping alloys and active (smart) magnetostrictive material is used to reduce vibrations, is proposed. While most conventional vibration control treatments are based exclusively on either passive or active based systems, this technique aims to combine the advantages of these systems and simultaneously, to overcome the inherent disadvantages in the individual systems. Two types of combined damping systems are idealized and studied here, viz., the Noninteractive system and the Interactive system. Frequency domain studies are carried out to investigate their performance. Finite element simulations using previously developed smart beam elements are carried out on typical metallic and laminated composite cantilever beams treated with hybrid damping. The influence of various parameters like excitation levels, frequency (mode) and control gain on the damping performance is investigated. It is shown that the proposed system could be used effectively to dampen the structural vibration over a wide frequency range. The interaction between the active and passive damping layers is brought out by a comparative study of the combined systems. Illustrative comparisons with 'only passive' and 'only active' damping schemes are also made. The influence and the mode dependence of control gain in a hybrid system is clearly illustrated. This study also demonstrates the significance and the exploitation of strain dependency of passive damping on the overall damping of the hybrid system. Further, the influence of the depthwise location of damping layers in laminated structures is also investigated.

The empirical mode decomposition (EMD) method is well-known for its ability to decompose a multi-component signal into a set of intrinsic mode functions (IMFs). The method uses a sifting process in which local extrema of a signal are identified and followed by a spline fitting approximation for decomposition. This method provides an effective and robust approach for decomposing nonlinear and non-stationary signals. On the other hand, the IMF components do not automatically guarantee a well-defined physical meaning hence it is necessary to validate the IMF components carefully prior to any further processing and interpretation. In this paper, an attempt to use the EMD method to identify properties of nonlinear elastic multi-degree-of-freedom structures is explored. It is first shown that the IMF components of the displacement and velocity responses of a nonlinear elastic structure are numerically close to the nonlinear normal mode (NNM) responses obtained from two-dimensional invariant manifolds. The IMF components can then be used in the context of the NNM method to estimate the properties of the nonlinear elastic structure. A two-degree-of-freedom shear-beam building model is used as an example to illustrate the proposed technique. Numerical results show that combining the EMD and the NNM method provides a possible means for obtaining nonlinear properties in a structure.

In this paper a damage imaging technique using pre-stack migration is developed using Lamb (guided) wave propagation in composite structures for imaging multi damages by both numerical simulations and experimental studies. In particular, the paper focuses on the experimental study using a finite number of sensors for future practical applications. A composite laminate with a surface-mounted linear piezoelectric ceramic (PZT) disk array is illustrated as an example. Two types of damages, one straight-crack damage and two simulated circular-shaped delamination damage, have been studied. First, Mindlin plate theory is used to model Lamb waves propagating in laminates. The group velocities of flexural waves in the composite laminate are also derived from dispersion relations and validated by experiments. Then the pre-stack migration technique is performed by using a two-dimensional explicit finite difference algorithm to back-propagate the scattered energy to the damages and damages are imaged together with the excitation-time imaging conditions. Stacking these images together deduces the resulting image of damages. Both simulations and experimental results show that the pre-stack migration method is a promising method for damage identification in composite structures.

A flexibility-based distributed computing strategy (DCS) for structural health monitoring (SHM) has recently been proposed which is suitable for implementation on a network of densely distributed smart sensors. This approach uses a hierarchical strategy in which adjacent smart sensors are grouped together to form sensor communities. A flexibility-based damage detection method is employed to evaluate the condition of the local elements within the communities by utilizing only locally measured information. The damage detection results in these communities are then communicated with the surrounding communities and sent back to a central station. Structural health monitoring can be done without relying on central data acquisition and processing. The main purpose of this paper is to experimentally verify this flexibility-based DCS approach using wired sensors; such verification is essential prior to implementation on a smart sensor platform. The damage locating vector method that forms foundation of the DCS approach is briefly reviewed, followed by an overview of the DCS approach. This flexibility-based approach is then experimentally verified employing a 5.6 m long three-dimensional truss structure. To simulate damage in the structure, the original truss members are replaced by ones with a reduced cross section. Both single and multiple damage scenarios are studied. Experimental results show that the DCS approach can successfully detect the damage at local elements using only locally measured information.

This paper deals with the development of an innovative distributed construction system based on smart prefabricated concrete elements for the real-time condition assessment of civil infrastructure. So far, two reduced-scale prototypes have been produced, each consisting of a $0.2{\times}0.3{\times}5.6$ m RC beam specifically designed for permanent instrumentation with 8 long-gauge Fiber Optic Sensors (FOS) at the lower edge. The sensing system is Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG)-based and can measure finite displacements both static and dynamic with a sample frequency of 625 Hz per channel. The performance of the system underwent validation in the laboratory. The scope of the experiment was to correlate changes in the dynamic response of the beams with different damage scenarios, using a direct modal strain approach. Each specimen was dynamically characterized in the undamaged state and in various damage conditions, simulating different cracking levels and recurrent deterioration scenarios, including cover spalling and corrosion of the reinforcement. The location and the extent of damage are evaluated by calculating damage indices which take account of changes in frequency and in strain-mode-shapes. The outcomes of the experiment demonstrate how the damage distribution detected by the system is fully compatible with the damage extent appraised by inspection.