Experimental verification of the flexibility-based damage locating vector method

In recent years, numerous approaches have been proposed for detecting damage in structures, in which the flexibility-based damage locating vector (DLV) method is one of the promising techniques. By computing a set of load vectors from the change of the flexibility matrix before and after damage and then applying them as static forces to the undamaged analytical model for static computation, the DLV method is able to locate damage in structures. The main purpose of this paper is to experimentally verify this method. Following a brief introduction and discussion of the motivation for the flexibility-based method, an overview of the DLV method and construction of the flexibility matrix from limited sensor information is presented. The DLV method is then experimentally verified employing a 5.6 m (18 ft)-long three-dimensional truss structure. To simulate damage in the structure, the original truss member is replaced by one with reduced stiffness. Experimental results show that the DLV method can successfully detect the damage using a limited number of sensors and modes.