Parameterization of damage in reinforced concrete structures using model updating

This paper describes the application of finite element model updating to reinforced concrete beams in order to detect and quantify damage. Three simply supported beams are considered in this study: two of them are subjected to a single concentrated load while the third one to two concentrated loads. The static loading system is applied in different steps up to failure so that dynamic measurements can be carried out after each load step. The measured modal parameters are used afterwards to update a finite element model in order to localize and to quantify the damage. The updating algorithm is based on the sensitivity approach in which the discrepancies between the analytical and experimental modal data are minimized in an iterative manner. A new concept for damage parametrization is introduced. A damage function characterized by three parameters is proposed. In such a function, only three parameters are used to describe the damage pattern of the reinforced concrete beams. These parameters are related to the bending stiffness of the beams and updated so that the measured natural frequencies are reproduced. The results demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed technique to quantify the damage pattern. (C) 1999 Academic Press.