Probabilistic Damage Estimation Through Structural Identification

A framework for probabilistic estimation of structural damages, which includes identifying its existence, location, and severity, through system identification of a building utilizing the observed vibration data before and after an severe earthquake occurs is presented in this paper. The proposed method is applied to the data obtained by the response analysis of a numerical model, which shows that the method can precisely estimate the stiffness reduction ratio and the damage probability of each story. Furthermore, the reliability of the estimated values are evaluated quantitatively and are reflected in the damage probability. The effect of the combination of the sensor locations and the number of modes used on the estimation result is also investigated.