Crack detection in reinforced concrete beams under loading using deformed shape curvature method

Structural health monitoring (SHM) helps to detect anomalies on the structure early, thereby creating favorable conditions for repairing or replacing damaged components in a timely manner, estimating the remaining life of the building, and limiting any potential consequences to a minimum. Nowadays, science and technology in the field of civil engineering have advanced significantly. The development of effective and reliable methods for damage detection has been a remarkable research topic for many years. This study presents a method of detecting the position and width of crack zones for reinforced concrete (RC) beams using the curvature of the deformed shape as input data. A 4-point bending test of an RC beam is simulated using ANSYS APDL software. The simulation results are verified by comparing with experimental results to verify the numerical simulation's reliability. The change in the deformed shape curvature in the RC beam is analyzed with different loading levels. Then, a set of damage identification indices based on the difference in the deformed shape curvature is proposed to evaluate the method’s accuracy. The results show that the deformed shape curvature method has high accuracy in identifying the location and the width of the crack zones in the RC beam under loading.