Structural Health Monitoring Using Vibration Measurements and Engineering Insight

Several system identification algorithms have been proposed that make use of analytical models and measured modal data to determine the location and/or extent of structural damage. In particular, the authors have proposed a computationally attractive Minimum Rank Perturbation Theory (MRPT) which determines perturbation matrices to the mass, damping, and/or stiffness matrices. Inspection of these perturbation matrices provides insight to both the location and extent of structural damage. This paper documents our practical experience in applying MRPT theory to a variety of structures. The ability to incorporate engineering insight and judgment into the algorithm is shown to enhance the performance of the MRPT technique when faced with real-world issues.