Structural damage assessment with combined data of static and modal tests

The purpose of the present study is to propose an improved damage detection and assessment algorithm based on the method of system identification. In this approach, the complete sets of modes or displacements are not needed since the error function involves only the differences between components of those vectors. The present approach allows the use of composite data, which consist of static displacements and eigenmodes. In the dynamic test, the curvature and slope of mode shapes are introduced to formulate the error responses. Using these techniques, a parametric study is conducted and the effectiveness of the method is discussed. Generally, the developed algorithm is also able to detect and assess damages in a structure when the measured data are sparse. To examine the capability of the proposed damage assessment algorithm, a series of tests for a predetermined damaged two-span continuous beam and a planar bowstring truss structure are performed. The comparisons of proposed theory with test data show good agreement. The most clear effect of the algorithm is that the combination of the curvature or slope of mode shape and the static displacement data gives the most promising results for damage detection and assessment. The proposed method can be effectively used to detect and assess possible damage in a structure.