• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.9 no.6
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• pp.1221-1232
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• 2015

In recent decades, wavelet transforms as a strong signal processing tool have attracted attention of researchers for damage identification. Apart from the wide application of wavelet transforms for damage identification, influence of higher order modes on the quality of damage detection has been a challenging matter for researchers. In this study, influence of higher order modes and different mass configurations on the quality of damage detection through Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT) was studied. Nine different damage scenarios were imposed to four cantilever structures having different mass configurations. The first four mode shapes of the cantilever structures were measured experimentally and analyzed by DWT. A damage index was defined in order to study the influence of higher order modes. Results of this study showed that change in the mass configuration had a great impact on the quality of damage detection even when the changes altered natural frequencies slightly. It was observed that for successful damage detection all available mode shapes should be taken into account and measured mode shapes had no significant priority for damage detection over each other.

• Structural Monitoring and Maintenance
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• v.5 no.3
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• pp.379-390
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• 2018

In this paper, a novel and effective damage diagnosis algorithm is proposed to detect and estimate damage using two stages least squares support vector machine (LS-SVM) and limited number of attached sensors on structures. In the first stage, LS-SVM1 is used to predict the unmeasured mode shapes data based on limited measured modal data and in the second stage, LS-SVM2 is used to predicting the damage location and severity using the complete modal data from the first-stage LS-SVM1. The presented methods are applied to a three story irregular frame and cantilever plate. To investigate the noise effects and modeling errors, two uncertainty levels have been considered. Moreover, the performance of the proposed methods has been verified through using experimental modal data of a mass-stiffness system. The obtained damage identification results show the suitable performance of the proposed damage identification method for structures in spite of different uncertainty levels.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.657-675
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• 2015

In this study, the feasibility of vibration-based damage detection methods for the wind turbine tower (WTT) structure is evaluated. First, a frequency-based damage detection (FBDD) is outlined. A damage-localization algorithm is visited to locate damage from changes in natural frequencies. Second, a mode-shape-based damage detection (MBDD) method is outlined. A damage index algorithm is utilized to localize damage from estimating changes in modal strain energies. Third, a finite element (FE) model based on a real WTT is established by using commercial software, Midas FEA. Several damage scenarios are numerically simulated in the FE model of the WTT. Finally, both FBDD and MBDD methods are employed to identify the damage scenarios simulated in the WTT. Damage regions are chosen close to the bolt connection of WTT segments; from there, the stiffness of damage elements are reduced.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.171-188
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• 2006

This paper deals with damage detection using active Lamb waves. The wavelet transform and empirical mode decomposition methods are discussed for measuring the Lamb wave's arrival time of the group velocity. An experimental system to diagnose the damage in the composite plate is developed. A method to optimize this system is also given for practical applications of active Lamb waves, which involve optimal arrangement of the piezoelectric elements to produce single mode Lamb waves. In the paper, the single mode Lamb wave means that there exists no overlapping among different Lamb wave modes and the original Lamb wave signal with the boundary reflection signals. Based on this optimized PZT arrangement method, five damage localizations on different plates are completed and the results using wavelet transform and empirical mode decomposition methods are compared.

• Journal of Aerospace System Engineering
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.27-36
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• 2007

The Damage Tolerant Design is developed to help alleviate structural failure and cracking problems in aerospace structures. Recently, the Damage Tolerant Design is required and recommended for most of aircraft design. In this paper, the damage tolerant design is applied to tilt rotor UAV. First of all, the fatigue load spectrum for the tilt rotor UAV is developed and fatigue analysis is performed for the flaperon joint which has FCL (fatigue critical location). Tilt rotor UAV has two modes: helicopter mode when UAV is taking off and landing; fixed wing mode when the tilt rotor UAV is cruising. To make fatigue load spectrum, FELIX is used for helicopter mode. TWIST is used for fixed wing mode. Fatigue analysis of flaperon joint is performed using fatigue load spectrum. E-N curve approach is used for picking crack initiation point. The LEFM(Linear Elastic Fracture Method) is considered for analyzing crack growth or propagation. Finally, including the crack initiation and propagation, the fatigue life is evaluated. Therefore the Damage Tolerant Design can be done.

• 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.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.665-682
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• 2006

A vibration-based nondestructive damage evaluation technique for a curved thin beam is introduced. The proposed method is capable of detecting, locating, and sizing structural damage simultaneously by using a few of the lower natural frequencies and their corresponding mode shapes before and after a small damage event. The proposed approach utilizes modal flexibilities reconstructed from measured modal parameters. A rigorous system of equations governing damage and curvature of modal flexibility is derived in the context of elasticity. To solve the resulting system of governing equations, an efficient pseudo-inverse technique is introduced. The direct inspection of the resulting solutions provides the location and severity of damage in a curved thin beam. This study confirms that there is a strong linear relationship between the curvature of modal flexibility and flexural damage in the selected class of structures. Several numerical case studies are provided to justify the performance of the proposed approach. The proposed method introduces a way to avoid the singularity and mode selection problems from earlier attempts.

• Proceedings of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute Conference
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• 1995.10a
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• pp.87-94
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• 1995

In highway bridges robust damage detection exercises are mandatory to secure the safety of the structures from hostile environmental conditions such as fatigue earthquake, wind, and corrosion. This paper presents a damage detection practice in a full-scale highway bridge by utilizing modal response parameters of as-built and damaged states of the structure. first the test structure is described and modal testing procedures are outlined. Next, a damage detection model which yields information on the location of damage directly from changes in mode shapes is outlined. Finally, the damage detection model is implemented to predict the location of damage in the ten structure. From the results, it was found that the damage detection model accurately locates damage in the test structures for which modal parameters of only a single mode are available for pre-damage (as-built) and post-damage stages.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.1-13
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• 2022

When a building suffers damages under moderate to severe loading condition, its physical properties such as damping and stiffness parameters will change. There are different practical methods besides various numerical procedures that have successfully detected a range of these changes. Almost all the previous proposed methods used to work with translational components of mode shapes, probably because extracting these components is more common in vibrational tests. This study set out to investigate the influence of using both rotational and translational components of mode shapes, in detecting damages in 3-D steel structures elements. Three different sets of measured components of mode shapes are examined: translational, rotational, and also rotational/translational components in all joints. In order to validate our assumptions two different steel frames with three damage scenarios are considered. An iterative model updating program is developed in the MATLAB software that uses the OpenSees as its finite element analysis engine. Extensive analysis shows that employing rotational components results in more precise prediction of damage location and its intensity. Since measuring rotational components of mode shapes still is not very convenient, modal dynamic expansion technique is applied to generate rotational components from measured translational ones. The findings indicated that the developed model updating program is really efficient in damage detection even with generated data and considering noise effects. Moreover, methods which use rotational components of mode shapes can predict damage's location and its intensity more precisely than the ones which only work with translational data.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.253-269
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• 2012

A split spectrum processing (SSP) method is proposed to accurately determine the time-of-flight (ToF) of damage-scattered waves by comparing the instantaneous amplitude variation degree (IAVD) of a wave signal captured from a damage case with that from the benchmark. The fundamental symmetrical ($S_0$) mode in aluminum plates without and with a notch is assessed. The efficiency of the proposed SSP method and Hilbert transform in determining the ToF of damage-scattered $S_0$ mode is evaluated for damage identification when the wave signals are severely contaminated by noise. Broadband noise can overwhelm damage-scattered wave signals in the time domain, and the Hilbert transform is only competent for determining the ToF of damage-scattered $S_0$ mode in a noise-free condition. However, the calibrated IAVD of the captured wave signal is minimally affected by noise, and the proposed SSP method is capable of determining the ToF of damage-scattered $S_0$ mode accurately even though the captured wave signal is severely contaminated by broadband noise, leading to the successful identification of damage (within an error on the order of the damage size) using a triangulation algorithm.