An intelligent parameter varying (IPV) approach for non-linear system identification of base excited structures

Health monitoring and damage detection strategies for base-excited structures typically rely on accurate models of the system dynamics. Restoring forces in these structures can exhibit highly non-linear characteristics, thus accurate non-linear system identification is critical. Parametric system identification approaches are commonly used, but require a priori knowledge of restoring force characteristics. Non-parametric approaches do not require this a priori information, but they typically lack direct associations between the model and the system dynamics, providing limited utility for health monitoring and damage detection. In this paper a novel system identification approach, the intelligent parameter varying (IPV) method, is used to identify constitutive non-linearities in structures subject to seismic excitations. IPV overcomes the limitations of traditional parametric and non-parametric approaches, while preserving the unique benefits of each. It uses embedded radial basis function networks to estimate the constitutive characteristics of inelastic and hysteretic restoring forces in a multi-degree-of-freedom structure. Simulation results are compared to those of a traditional parametric approach, the prediction error method. These results demonstrate the effectiveness of IPV in identifying highly non-linear restoring forces, without a priori information, while preserving a direct association with the structural dynamics.     

On-line identification of non-linear hysteretic structures using an adaptive tracking technique

System identification and damage detection based on vibration data have received considerable attention recently because of their importance to structural health monitoring. Various technical approaches have been proposed in the literature; however, the on-line identification of the changes of parameters for non-linear structures due to damages is still a challenging problem. In this paper, we propose an on-line adaptive tracking technique, based on the least-square estimation, to identify the system parameters and their changes of non-linear hysteretic structures. The method proposed is capable of tracking abrupt or slow changes of the system parameters from which the damage event and the severity of the structural damage can be detected and evaluated. Simulation results for tracking the parametric changes of non-linear hysteretic structures are presented to demonstrate the application and effectiveness of the proposed technique in detecting the structural damages.     

Sequential non-linear least-square estimation for damage identification of structures

An early detection of structural damage is an important goal of any structural health monitoring system. In particular, the ability to detect damages on-line, based on vibration data measured from sensors, will ensure the reliability and safety of the structures. In this connection, innovative data analysis techniques for the on-line damage detection of structures have received considerable attentions recently, although the problem is quite challenging. In this paper, we proposed a new data analysis method, referred to as the sequential non-linear least-square (SNLSE) approach, for the on-line identification of structural parameters. This new approach has significant advantages over the extended Kalman filter (EKF) approach in terms of the stability and convergence of the solution as well as the computational efforts involved. Further, an adaptive tracking technique recently proposed has been implemented in the proposed SNLSE to identify the time-varying system parameters of the structure. The accuracy and effectiveness of the proposed approach have been demonstrated using the Phase I ASCE structural health monitoring benchmark building, a non-linear elastic structure and non-linear hysteretic structures. Simulation results indicate that the proposed approach is capable of tracking on-line the changes of structural parameters leading to the identification of structural damages.     

Variation of Small Amplitude Vibration Dynamic Properties with Displacement in Reinforced Concrete Structures

Correlating damage level and changes in dynamic characteristics of a structure forms the basis for damage detection techniques in structural health monitoring. In reinforced concrete building structures such correlation is not well established. A damage detection technique capable of identifying the structural condition of the system based on its small amplitude vibration response is desirable because such response is easier to obtain. It is a common practice in engineering applications to estimate dynamic parameters from small-amplitude vibrations assuming a linear behavior of the structure. This simplification causes inaccurate estimation of the dynamic properties in reinforced concrete structures due to the presence of nonlinear elastic behavior. In this study no such assumption is made and a linear model is only used for sets of data corresponding to the same displacement amplitude of a nonlinear elastic system. The trends found between small-amplitude vibration dynamic properties and past levels of maximum displacement in various reinforced concrete structures are reported. In addition to analytical and numerical studies, results from a series of laboratory tests are reported to demonstrate the use of the approach. One full-scale three-story reinforced concrete flat-plate building and six small-scale reinforced concrete beams were examined. In this study, small displacements are defined as displacements below an overall drift ratio of 0.03%. The displacement dependence of the dynamic properties is considered explicitly. It was found that while fundamental frequencies of the examined reinforced concrete specimens were found to decrease uniformly as past peak displacement level increased, the equivalent viscous damping ratio was found to increase until the past peak displacement reached the neighborhood of nominal yield displacement and then observed to decrease when the specimens are pushed beyond the nominal yield displacement level, which has not been reported in literature before. Recommendations are provided as to how small amplitude vibration tests should be set up to avoid misleading observations due to nonlinear response at small amplitude response, observations that could lead to erroneous conclusions regarding the damage state of a structure.     

基于重构相空间的结构损伤识别方法

介绍了混沌理论中相空间重构技术,应用到结构损伤检测与健康监测中。以单自由度弹簧振子为例分析了基于相空间拓扑结构变化的损伤检测方法的可行性,结果表明,当弹簧的刚度降低,相空间拓扑结构发生明显变化,表明该检测方法是可行的。利用相空间重构技术,直接将结构动态响应以相空间的形式展开,根据损伤前后相空间拓扑结构的变化,提出了新的损伤因子。为了验证本方法的可行性与可靠性,进行了圆拱结构动态实验并进行损伤识别。实验结果表明,本方法能够成功地识别出圆拱结构的损伤位置及损伤程度,且灵敏度较之常用的动力指纹方法有了很大的提高。本方法只需单个测点就能计算出该点损伤因子的值,可作为结构整体参量来监测结构是否存在损伤以及结构健康状况     

A Combined Static/Dynamic Technique for Damage Detection of Laminated Composite Plates

There is a growing demand to develop viable techniques for effective damage detection of composite structures, and the dynamics-based approach has been broadly used in structural health monitoring. A new combined static/dynamic technique for improved damage detection of laminated composite plates is presented. The promise of the technique is that under the sustaining static load, the abnormality of dynamic response due to damage may become more pronounced and easy to be detected. The experimental program consists of testing an E-glass/epoxy composite plate with an embedded delamination under a pre-set static compressive force, and the dynamic response of laminated composite plates is measured using two different actuator–sensor systems: (1) PZT (lead–zirconate–titanate) actuators and scanning laser vibrometer (SLV) sensing system (PZT–SLV), and (2) PZT actuators and Polyvinylidenefluoride (PVDF) sensors (PZT–PVDF). The influence of sustaining static forces to dynamic response of delaminated composite plates is evaluated. The numerical finite element (FE) analysis is also conducted to verify the effectiveness of this technique. The experimental and numerical mode shapes are used to detect the presence, location, and size of the delamination and to study the effect of static load on dynamic response. Two relatively new damage detection algorithms (i.e., Simplified Gapped Smoothing Method (GSM) and Generalized Fractal Dimension (GFD)) are employed to analyze the Uniform Load Surface (ULS) calculated from the experimental and numerical data. From the dynamic response and analysis results using the damage detection algorithms, it is observed that as the sustaining static load increases, the delamination is much easier to be identified through the enlarged damage parameters. The present combined static/dynamic technique is capable of magnifying the effect of damage, thus improving the effectiveness of damage detection.     

结构健康监测中的损伤检测技术研究进展

对结构健康监测研究中的结构损伤检测方法及其特点进行了介绍.从基于结构模态分析的方法和基于结构动态试验信号处理的方法两方面,阐述了结构健康监测中的损伤检测方法及其最新研究进展.基于结构模态分析的结构损伤检测方法是针对整个结构的检测,使用的模态都限于低阶模态范围内,所检测的结构应容易建立有限元模型,便于进行响应预测.基于结构动态试验信号处理的损伤检测方法通常是针对结构局部构件的损伤检测,不需要对结构进行有限元建模,而直接从测试的动态响应信号中提取表征结构损伤的特征参数.文中提出了对比性损伤检测方法和非对比性损伤检测方法的概念,并对结构损伤检测中常用的信息传感与处理技术进行了论述,指出了结构损伤检测研究中应该考虑的传感器布置问题.提出了将损伤信息的主动检测与被动检测相结合进行损伤程度判断和剩余寿命估计等问题是有待进一步深入研究的课题.      

Damage localization using transient non-linear elastic wave spectroscopy on composite structures

To reduce the costs related to maintenance of aircraft structures, there is the need to develop new robust, accurate and reliable damage detection methods. A possible answer to this problem is offered by newly developed non-linear acoustic/ultrasonic techniques, which monitor the non-linear elastic wave propagation behaviour introduced by damage, to detect its presence and location.In this paper, a new transient non-linear elastic wave spectroscopy (TNEWS) is presented for the detection and localization of a scattered zone (damage) in a composite plate. The TNEWS analyses the uncorrelations between two structural dynamic responses generated by two different pulse excitation amplitudes by using a time-frequency coherence function. A numerical validation of the proposed method is presented. Damage was introduced and modelled using a multi-scale material constitutive model (Preisach-Mayergoyz space).The developed technique identified in a clear manner the faulted zone, showing its robustness to locate and characterize non-linear sources in composite materials     

Understanding the effect of boundary conditions on damage identification process when using non-linear elastic wave spectroscopy methods

This paper presents an experimental campaign aimed at understanding the limitations and capabilities of non-linear elastic wave spectroscopy (NEWS) non-destructive technique (NDT) methods in the presence of variable boundary conditions. In particular, the objective was to understand if the contact between the structures under investigation and the clamps used to hold the structures could generate non-classical non-linear effects that could affect the damage detection process by producing false-positive indications of defects presence.Two different techniques were analysed with varying degree clamping torque. The first approach evaluates the resonance frequency shift as a function of the external load amplitude, and it is called non-linear resonant ultrasound spectroscopy (NRUS). The second method used, called non-linear wave modulation spectroscopy (NWMS), monitors the generation of sidebands and harmonics when the structure is excited by a double tone external load.The results showed that the non-classical hysteretical non-linear effects were dependent on the boundary conditions, highlighted by the presence of resonance shift and harmonics and sidebands in an undamaged sample. This research shows that more work is needed to demonstrate the effectiveness of the methods and the ease of implementation in a structural health monitoring system and further research studies and methodology development are needed to discern non-classical non-linear effects generated by contacts between mating parts (clamps and sample) from that generated due to the presence of damage.     

Damage detection with spatial wavelets

This paper discusses a structural damage detection technique based on wavelet analysis of spatially distributed structural response measurements. The premise of the technique is that damage (e.g. cracks) in a structure will cause structural response perturbations at damage sites. Such local perturbations, although they may not be apparent from the measured total response data, are often discernible from component wavelets. The viability of this new technique is demonstrated with two examples: one based on numerically simulated deflection responses of a uniform beam containing a short transverse crack under both static and dynamic loading conditions, and the other based on smooth analytical crack-tip displacement fields. In each of these examples, the deflection or displacement response is analyzed with the wavelet transform, and the presence of the crack is detected by a sudden change in the spatial variation of the transformed response. This damage detection technique may serve the purpose of structural health monitoring in situations where spatially distributed measurements of structural response in regions of critical concern can be made with, for example, networks of distributed sensors, optical fibers, computer vision and area scanning techniques. It appears that this new technique does not require any analysis of the complete structure in question, nor any knowledge of the material properties and prior stress states of the structure.     

Identification of modal parameters for nonstationary mechanical systems

This paper presents two different approaches to the identification of modal model parameters for nonstationary mechanical systems. The problem is related to model-based structural health monitoring. Damage in this approach is detected by tracking modal parameters of the structure during operation. The detected parameter changes can be indicators of structural damage. The recursive method based on the autoregressive moving-average model of signals and wavelet-transform-based algorithms are presented. The methods are tested using simulated data. Case studies of airplane flutter detection are shown using both methods.     

Development of adaptive modeling techniques for non-linear hysteretic systems

Adaptive estimation procedures have gained significant attention by the research community to perform real-time identification of non-linear hysteretic structural systems under arbitrary dynamic excitations. Such techniques promise to provide real-time, robust tracking of system response as well as the ability to track time variation within the system being modeled. An overview of some of the authors’ previous work in this area is presented, along with a discussion of some of the emerging issues being tackled with regard to this class of problems. The trade-offs between parametric-based modeling and non-parametric modeling of non-linear hysteretic dynamic system behavior are discussed. Particular attention is given to (1) the effects of over- and under-parameterization on parameter convergence and system output tracking performance, (2) identifiability in multi-degree-of-freedom structural systems, (3) trade-offs in setting user-defined parameters for adaptive laws, and (4) the effects of noise on measurement integration. Both simulation and experimental results indicating the performance of the parametric and non-parametric methods are presented and their implications are discussed in the context of adaptive structures and structural health monitoring.     

Non-linear dynamics of a cracked cantilever beam under harmonic excitation

The presence of cracks in a structure is usually detected by adopting a linear approach through the monitoring of changes in its dynamic response features, such as natural frequencies and mode shapes. But these linear vibration procedures do not always come up to practical results because of their inherently low sensitivity to defects. Since a crack introduces non-linearities in the system, their use in damage detection merits to be investigated. With this aim the present paper is devoted to analysing the peculiar features of the non-linear response of a cracked beam.The problem of a cantilever beam with an asymmetric edge crack subjected to a harmonic forcing at the tip is considered as a plane problem and is solved by using two-dimensional finite elements; the behaviour of the breathing crack is simulated as a frictionless contact problem. The modification of the response with respect to the linear one is outlined: in particular, excitation of sub- and super-harmonics, period doubling, and quasi-impulsive behaviour at crack interfaces are the main achievements. These response characteristics, strictly due to the presence of a crack, can be used in non-linear techniques of crack identification.     

基于应变脉冲响应协方差的损伤识别方法研究

基于振动参数的结构损伤识别,是近年来土木工程的热点研究课题,振动参数包括频率、振型、频响函数、模态应变能、应变响应和加速度响应等,当结构损伤时,损伤位置附近将产生应力重分布,从而引起应变的变化,因此对比损伤前后的应变或者应变响应参数,可以用来识别结构损伤.提出了一种应变脉冲响应协方差参数,它是应变脉冲响应在时间区间上的能量积分;推导并证明了该参数是结构模态参数(频率,位移模态,应变模态,阻尼等)的函数,可用来表征结构状态.相比于传统的模态参数识别方法,可以保留更高阶的模态参数,而且避免了模态识别可能引起的误差;基于简支钢梁的多种损伤工况,研究和展示了该参数的特性,通过数值模拟发现,该参数能简单直观地判定损伤发生和识别损伤位置,无需建立结构分析模型,只需比较结构损伤前后的应变脉冲响应协方差参数即可;该参数简便易算,具有较好的抗噪性能,对结构损伤敏感,而且对结构刚度减少呈现一致变化特性,所以适合实际工程结构的健康监测和损伤识别.     

Damage precursor detection for structures subjected to rotational base vibration

This paper presents a nonlinear dynamic methodology for monitoring precursors of fatigue damage in metallic structures under variable rotational base excitation. The methodology accounts for important nonlinearities due to the complex loading generated by variable rotation and structural degradation. The sources of the nonlinearities include: structural stiffening due to gyroscopic motion and high-response amplitude at the fundamental mode, softening due to inertial forces and gyroscopic loads, and localized microscopic material damage and micro-plasticity. The loading intensity and number of vibration cycles increase the influence of these effects. The change in the dynamic response due to fatigue damage accumulation is experimentally investigated by exciting a cantilever beam at variable rotational base motions. The observed fatigue evolution in the material microstructure at regions of large stresses (and the resulting progressive structural softening) is tracked by quantifying the growth in the tip response, the change in the fundamental natural frequency of the beam and the skewedness of the stepped-sine response curve. Previous understanding of the structural dynamic behavior is necessary to ascertain the damage precursor location and evolution. Nanoindentation studies near the beam clamped boundary are conducted to confirm the gradual progression in the local mechanical properties as a function of loading cycles, and microstructural studies are conducted to obtain qualitative preliminary insights into the microstructure evolution. This study demonstrates that careful monitoring of the nonlinearities in the structural dynamic response can be a sensitive parameter for detection of damage precursors.     

Sequential non-linear least-square estimation for damage identification of structures with unknown inputs and unknown outputs

The detection of structural damages real-time on-line, based on vibration data measured from sensors, is an important but challenging research topic, and it has received considerable attentions recently. Due to practical limitations, it is highly desirable to install as few sensors as possible in the structural health monitoring system, leading to incomplete measurements of structural responses and excitations. The traditional time-domain analysis techniques, such as the least-square estimation (LSE) method and the extended Kalman filter (EKF) approach, require that all the external excitations (inputs) be available, which may not be the case for most structural health monitoring systems. Recently, the adaptive sequential non-linear least-square estimate (SNLSE) method has been proposed for the on-line identification of structural damages. In this paper, we extend the SNLSE method to cover the general case with unknown (unmeasured) excitations (inputs) and unknown (unmeasured) acceleration responses (outputs) in order to reduce the number of sensors required in the structural health monitoring system, referred to as the SNLSE-UI-UO. Analytic recursive solutions for the new approach are derived and presented. The accuracy and effectiveness of the proposed approach have been demonstrated using the Phase I ASCE structural health monitoring benchmark building, a 5-degree-of-freedom non-linear hysteretic building model, and a 3-story steel frame finite-element model. Simulation results indicate that the proposed approach is capable of tracking the changes of structural parameters leading to the identification of damages.     

On irregularity-based damage detection method for cracked beams

A new damage detection technique using irregularity profile of a structural mode shape is proposed in this paper. The mode-shape of a cracked beam is first obtained analytically by using a general function. Its irregularity profile is then extracted from the mode shape by a numerical filter. The location and size of the crack in the beam can be determined by the peak value appearing on the irregularity profile. Two types of numerical filters, i.e., triangular and Gaussian, are examined. It has been found that the former filter is more effective in damage detection than the latter one. Numerical simulations suggest that the irregularity-based method requires a relatively low measurement resolution. Noise stress tests are carried out to demonstrate the effectiveness and robustness of this method under the influence of noise. As a validation, the proposed method is applied to detect crack damage in an E-glass/epoxy laminated composite beam. The successful detection of the crack in the composite beam demonstrates that the irregularity-based method is capable of assessing both the location and size of the crack and can be used efficiently and effectively in damage identification and health monitoring of beam-type structures.     

Fourier and wavelet analyses for fatigue assessment of concrete beams

We investigate damage detection in a simply-supported pre-stressed beam. A crack was propagated by fatigue loads, which were applied up to two million cycles. Both fast Fourier transform (FFT) and continuous wavelet transform (CWT) are used in the analysis of the structural response to impulse loads. The acceleration response of the full-scale beam was measured each time a certain number of cycles of fatigue loads were applied. The results of this study show that both methods can clearly identify the crack growth induced by fatigue loads. The natural frequencies found by FFT are sensitive to the crack progression. The results from the CWT analysis show a clear difference in structural responses between the initial and damaged states of the structure. The response accelerations are de-noised by a soft-thresholding method before they are analyzed by CWT. In addition to the frequency components, the CWT shows the moment in time when particular frequencies occur. Therefore, wavelet analysis has the potential of becoming an effective tool for damage detection and health monitoring of structures for which the natural frequencies are irregularly changing. As the crack grows, the magnitude of ridges obtained by CWT analysis decreases significantly, which indicates the reduction in structural stiffness.     

Transmissibility of non-linear output frequency response functions with application in detection and location of damage in MDOF structural systems

Transmissibility is a well-known linear system concept that has been widely applied in the diagnosis of damage in various engineering structural systems. However, in engineering practice, structural systems can behave non-linearly due to certain kinds of damage such as, e.g., breathing cracks. In the present study, the concept of transmissibility is extended to the non-linear case by introducing the Transmissibility of Non-linear Output Frequency Response Functions (NOFRFs). The NOFRFs are a concept recently proposed by the authors for the analysis of non-linear systems in the frequency domain. A NOFRF transmissibility-based technique is then developed for the detection and location of both linear and non-linear damage in MDOF structural systems. Numerical simulation results verify the effectiveness of the new technique. Experimental studies on a three-storey building structure demonstrate the potential to apply the developed technique to the detection and location of damage in practical MDOF engineering structures.     

Damage assessment of tensegrity structures using piezo transducers

This paper presents the application of surface-bonded piezo-transducers for damage assessment of tensegrity structures through dynamic strain measurement and electro-mechanical impedance (EMI) technique. The two techniques are first applied on a single module tensegrity structure, 1 m×1 m in size and their damage diagnosis results compared. A single piezoelectric-ceramic (PZT) patch bonded on a strut measures the dynamic strain during an impact excitation of the structure. Damage is identified from the changes in global frequencies of the structure obtained from the PZT patch’s response. This is compared with the damage identified using the EMI technique, which is a signature based technique and operates at frequencies of the order of kHz. The dynamic strain approach, which requires commonly available hardware, is found to exhibit satisfactory performance vis-à-vis the EMI technique for damage assessment of tensegrity structures. The damage diagnosis exercise is then extended to a tensegrity grid structure, 2 m×2 m size, fabricated using galvanized iron (GI) pipes and mild steel wire ropes. The damage is localized using changes in natural frequencies observed experimentally using the dynamic strain approach and the corresponding mode shapes of the undamaged structure derived numerically. The dynamic strain approach is found to be very expedient, displays competitive performance and is at the same time cost effective for damage assessment of tensegrity structures.