Structural condition identification using roaming damage method

SHM methods based on finite element (FE) model updating are frequently used and have become popular because of its ability to estimate unknown system parameters by matching the predicted behavior to the observed structural behavior, which can often be measured under operational conditions However, although FE model updating methods have been usually applied for damage identification purposes, their application to large-scale redundant and complex structures is a difficult task due to the large number of degrees of freedom and the high number of unknown parameters to be updated, which involves a high computational cost and can drive to an ill-conditioned identification procedure and non-uniqueness of the solution. A novel localised damage function method called roaming damage method (RDM) capable of identifying individual members is proposed in this work. This method has the ability to identify a wide range of damage types, from large areas of low damage to individual beams which have been severely damaged.