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Damage and condition identi&amp / #64257 / cation of existing structures using non-destructive tests is a common challenge that has been worked on for a long time. In this study, two di&amp / #64256 / erent methods were developed to &amp / #64257 / nd existing force on cables as well as determine bending characteristics (EI coe&amp / #64259 / cients) of beam like structures (such as bridges). Comparing forces in symmetrically placed cables or against values obtained from design drawings would indicate structural imbalance as well as &amp / #64257 / nding EI coe&amp / #64259 / cients at a number of segments on a bridge girder might indicate weak regions that might possibly have undergone structural damage, having weak connections, lost composite action etc. With the help of the proposed algorithm, the sti&amp / #64256 / ness parameters of bridges can be assessed and the location of any damage that is in the magnitude which can a&amp / #64256 / ect displacement behavior of system can be located. The developed methods are demonstrated using the values analytically obtained from the created models and the e&amp / #64256 / ectiveness of the algorithm is criticized. Furthermore, several damage scenarios on a scaled lab beam was used to test the application using real experimental data / including tests on undamaged beam (for identi&amp / #64257 / cation) and tests on the damaged beam. Additional experiments were conducted on a cable stretched in the laboratory instrumented using a load cell to measure instantaneous axial load on the cable and compare these values against the values obtained from the developed tension measurement device. The results are compared and conclusions are derived.

No presente trabalho, o modelo de identificação de danos apresentado por Stutz et al. (2005) é utilizado. A contribuição do presente trabalho consiste em avaliar alguns pontos da identificação de danos em vigas e, em seguida, expandir o modelo para identificar danos estruturais em placas. Uma avaliação do comportamento das frequências naturais e da matriz de flexibilidade para uma viga de Euler-Bernoulli simplesmente apoiada, na presença de danos simulados pelo parâmetro de coesão é realizada. Essa análise, permite também o conhecimento das regiões onde há maior sensibilidade ao dano, ajudando a traçar estratégias para melhorar a identificação de danos em regiões que sofrem poucas alterações na presença de falhas estruturais. Comparou-se o comportamento dos dois primeiros modos de vibração da viga simplesmente apoiada na presença de um dano estrutural, com os dois primeiros modos de vibração da estrutura intacta e corrompidos por ruído. Diversos métodos de localização de danos e de otimização são avaliados na tentativa de identificar os danos simulados através do campo de danos proposto por Stutz et al. (2005) na presença de dados ruidosos. Após a apresentação de resultados da identificação de danos obtidos para uma viga de Euler-Bernoulli simplesmente apoiada, uma análise do comportamento das frequências naturais e da matriz de flexibilidade de uma viga de Euler- Bernoulli engastada na presença de danos é apresentada, assim como os resultados de identificação de danos considerando-se diversos cenários e níveis de ruído. Uma importante contribuição do presente trabalho consiste em propor um método de identificação de danos via matriz de flexibilidade onde o campo de defeitos para a placa de Kirchoff é modelado via MEF. Uma análise do comportamento da matriz de flexibilidade devido à presença de danos na placa é apresentada, assim como os resultados numéricos da identificação de danos estruturais com e sem a presença de dados ruidosos. Com a finalidade de reduzir o custo computacional na identificação de danos em estruturas complexas, uma hibridização entre o método de otimização por enxame de particulas (PSO, do inglês, Particle Swarm Optimization) e o método de otimização Levenberg-Marquardt é proposta. Resultados numéricos da hibridização para uma estrutura do tipo placa são apresentados. / In this work, the damage identification model presented by Stutz et al. (2005) is used. The contribution of this work consists in evaluating some aspects of damage identification in beams, and then, expands the model to identify structural damage in plates. An evaluation of the behavior of the natural frequencies and the flexibility matrix for a simply supported Euler-Bernoulli beam, in the presence of damage simulated by the cohesion parameter, is presented. This analysis also allows the understanding of the regions where there is a great sensitivity to the damage, helping this way to build strategies to improve the identification of damage in regions that suffer little change in the presence of structural damage. It had been compared the behavior of the first two vibration modes of simply supported beam in the presence of a structural damage, with the first two vibration modes of the structure intact and corrupted by noise. Several methods of damage localization and optimization are evaluated in the attempt to identify the damage simulated through the field of damage proposed by Stutz et al. (2005) in the presence of noisy data. After the presentation of the results of the damage identification obtained by a simply supported Euler-Bernoulli beam, an analysis of the behavior of the natural frequencies and the flexibility matrix of an Euler-Bernoulli beam clamped in the presence of damage is presented, thus the result of damage identification considering several scenarios and noise levels are presented. The major contribution of this work is to propose a method of damage identification via flexibility matrix where the damage to the Kirchoff s plate is modeled via MEF. An analysis of the behavior of the flexibility matrix considering the presence of damage in plates and the numerical results of the damage identification with and without the presence of noisy data are presented. In order to reduce the computational cost on damage identification considering complex structures, a hybridization between the method Particle Swarm Optimization and the method Levenberg-Marquardt is proposed, and numerical results for a plate are presented.

Damage identification is an important topic in structural assessment and structural health monitoring (SHM). Vibration-based identification techniques use modal data to identify the existence, location and severity of possible damages in structures, often via a numerical model updating procedure. Among other factors influencing the practicality and reliability of a damage identification approach, two are of primary interest to this study. The first one concerns the amount and quality of modal data that can be used as ‘response’ data for the model updating. It is generally recognised that natural frequencies can be measured with relatively high accuracy; however, their number is limited. Mode shapes, on the other hand, are susceptible to larger measurement errors. Seeking additional modal frequency data is therefore of significant value. The second one concerns the errors at the numerical (finite element) model level, particularly in the representation of the effect of damage on the dynamic properties of the structure. An inadequate damage model can lead to inaccurate and even false damage identification. The first part of the thesis is devoted to enhancing the modal dataset by extracting the so called ‘artificial boundary condition’ (ABC) frequencies in a real measurement environment. The ABC frequencies correspond to the natural frequencies of the structure with a perturbed boundary condition, but can be generated without the need of actually altering the physical support condition. A comprehensive experimental study on the extraction of such frequencies has been conducted. The test specimens included steel beams of relatively flexible nature, as well as thick and stiffer beams made from metal material and reinforced concrete, to cover the typical variation of the dynamic characteristics of real-life structures in a laboratory condition. The extracted ABC frequencies are subsequently applied in the damage identification in beams. Results demonstrate that it is possible to extract the first few ABC frequencies from the modal testing in different beam settings for a variety of ABC incorporating one or two virtual pin supports. The inclusion of ABC frequencies enables the identification of structural damages satisfactorily without the necessity to involve the mode shape information. The second part of the thesis is devoted to developing a robust model updating and damage identification approach for beam cracks, with a special focus on thick beams which present a more challenging problem in terms of the effect of a crack than slender beams. The priority task has been to establish a crack model which comprehensively describes the effect of a crack to reduce the modelling errors. A cracked Timoshenko beam element model is introduced for explicit beam crack identification. The cracked beam element model is formulated by incorporating an additional flexibility due to a crack using the fracture mechanics principles. Complex effects in cracked thick beams, including shear deformation and coupling between transverse and longitudinal vibrations, are represented in the model. The accuracy of the cracked beam element model for predicting modal data of cracked thick beams is first verified against numerically simulated examples. The consistency of predictions across different modes is examined in comparison with the conventional stiffness reduction approach. Upon satisfactory verification, a tailored model updating procedure incorporating an adaptive discretisation approach is developed for the implementation of the cracked beam element model for crack identification. The updating procedure is robust in that it has no restriction on the location, severity and number of cracks to be identified. Example updating results demonstrate that satisfactory identification can be achieved for practically any configurations of cracks in a beam. Experimental study with five solid beam specimens is then carried out to further verify the developed cracked beam element model. Both forward verification and crack damage identification with the tested beams show similar level of accuracy to that with the numerically simulated examples. The cracked beam element model can be extended to crack identification of beams with complex cross sections. To do so the additional flexibility matrix for a specific cross-section type needs to be re-formulated. In the present study this is done for box sections. The stress intensity factors (SIF) for a box section as required for the establishment of the additional flexibility matrix are formulated with an empirical approach combining FE simulation, parametric analysis and regression analysis. The extended cracked beam element model is verified against both FE simulated and experimentally measured modal data. The model is subsequently incorporated in the crack identification for box beams. The successful extension of the cracked beam element model to the box beams paves the way for similar extension to the crack identification of other types of sections in real-life engineering applications.

No presente trabalho, o modelo de identificação de danos apresentado por Stutz et al. (2005) é utilizado. A contribuição do presente trabalho consiste em avaliar alguns pontos da identificação de danos em vigas e, em seguida, expandir o modelo para identificar danos estruturais em placas. Uma avaliação do comportamento das frequências naturais e da matriz de flexibilidade para uma viga de Euler-Bernoulli simplesmente apoiada, na presença de danos simulados pelo parâmetro de coesão é realizada. Essa análise, permite também o conhecimento das regiões onde há maior sensibilidade ao dano, ajudando a traçar estratégias para melhorar a identificação de danos em regiões que sofrem poucas alterações na presença de falhas estruturais. Comparou-se o comportamento dos dois primeiros modos de vibração da viga simplesmente apoiada na presença de um dano estrutural, com os dois primeiros modos de vibração da estrutura intacta e corrompidos por ruído. Diversos métodos de localização de danos e de otimização são avaliados na tentativa de identificar os danos simulados através do campo de danos proposto por Stutz et al. (2005) na presença de dados ruidosos. Após a apresentação de resultados da identificação de danos obtidos para uma viga de Euler-Bernoulli simplesmente apoiada, uma análise do comportamento das frequências naturais e da matriz de flexibilidade de uma viga de Euler- Bernoulli engastada na presença de danos é apresentada, assim como os resultados de identificação de danos considerando-se diversos cenários e níveis de ruído. Uma importante contribuição do presente trabalho consiste em propor um método de identificação de danos via matriz de flexibilidade onde o campo de defeitos para a placa de Kirchoff é modelado via MEF. Uma análise do comportamento da matriz de flexibilidade devido à presença de danos na placa é apresentada, assim como os resultados numéricos da identificação de danos estruturais com e sem a presença de dados ruidosos. Com a finalidade de reduzir o custo computacional na identificação de danos em estruturas complexas, uma hibridização entre o método de otimização por enxame de particulas (PSO, do inglês, Particle Swarm Optimization) e o método de otimização Levenberg-Marquardt é proposta. Resultados numéricos da hibridização para uma estrutura do tipo placa são apresentados. / In this work, the damage identification model presented by Stutz et al. (2005) is used. The contribution of this work consists in evaluating some aspects of damage identification in beams, and then, expands the model to identify structural damage in plates. An evaluation of the behavior of the natural frequencies and the flexibility matrix for a simply supported Euler-Bernoulli beam, in the presence of damage simulated by the cohesion parameter, is presented. This analysis also allows the understanding of the regions where there is a great sensitivity to the damage, helping this way to build strategies to improve the identification of damage in regions that suffer little change in the presence of structural damage. It had been compared the behavior of the first two vibration modes of simply supported beam in the presence of a structural damage, with the first two vibration modes of the structure intact and corrupted by noise. Several methods of damage localization and optimization are evaluated in the attempt to identify the damage simulated through the field of damage proposed by Stutz et al. (2005) in the presence of noisy data. After the presentation of the results of the damage identification obtained by a simply supported Euler-Bernoulli beam, an analysis of the behavior of the natural frequencies and the flexibility matrix of an Euler-Bernoulli beam clamped in the presence of damage is presented, thus the result of damage identification considering several scenarios and noise levels are presented. The major contribution of this work is to propose a method of damage identification via flexibility matrix where the damage to the Kirchoff s plate is modeled via MEF. An analysis of the behavior of the flexibility matrix considering the presence of damage in plates and the numerical results of the damage identification with and without the presence of noisy data are presented. In order to reduce the computational cost on damage identification considering complex structures, a hybridization between the method Particle Swarm Optimization and the method Levenberg-Marquardt is proposed, and numerical results for a plate are presented.

This dissertation studied the structural identification and damage detection of civil engineering structures. Several issues regarding structural health monitoring were addressed. The data-driven subspace identification algorithm was investigated for modal identification of bridges using output-only data. This algorithm was tested through a numerical truss bridge with abrupt damage as well as a real concrete highway bridge with actual measurements. Stabilization diagrams were used to analyze the identified results and determine the modal characteristics. The identification results showed that this identification method is quite effective and accurate. The influence of temperature fluctuation on the frequencies of a highway concrete bridge was investigated using ambient vibration data over a one-year period of a highway bridge under health monitoring. The data were fitted by nonlinear and linear regression models, which were then analyzed. The substructure identification by using an adaptive Kalman filter was investigated by applying numerical studies of a shear building, a frame structure, and a truss structure. The stiffness and damping were identified successfully from limited acceleration responses, while the abrupt damages were identified as well. Wavelet analysis was also proposed for damage detection of substructures, and was shown to be able to approximately locate such damages. Delamination detection of concrete slabs by modal identification from the output-only data was proposed and carried out through numerical studies and experimental modal testing. It was concluded that the changes in modal characteristics can indicate the presence and severity of delamination. Finite element models of concrete decks with different delamination sizes and locations were established and proven to be reasonable. Pounding identification can provide useful early warning information regarding the potential damage of structures. This thesis proposed to use wavelet scalograms of dynamic response to identify the occurrence of pounding. Its applications in a numerical example as well as shaking table tests of a bridge showed that the scalograms can detect the occurrence of pounding very well. These studies are very useful for vibration-based structural health monitoring.

This PhD thesis deals with the experimental study of more precise rolling contact fatigue damage detection using acoustic emission method. A series of experiments was carried out on two representatives bearing steels and the analysis of sensitivity for the presence of contact damage was performed on selected parameters of acoustic emission. The extent of damage was classified into four classes and signal parameters the most characterizing the development of damage were correlated with the extent of damage. It was also verified the influence of lubricants on acoustic emission signals. The results have an impact on the implementation of more precise rolling contact fatigue tests and evaluation of parameters of acoustic emission signal. On the basis of experiments was established methodology for more precise RCF testing method using acoustic emission on test-rig AXMAT II.

Neste estudo, o novo algoritmo hibrido autoconfigurado PSOS (Particle Swarm Optimization - Simplex) para avaliação da integridade estrutural a partir de respostas dinâmicas é apresentado. A formulação da função objetivo para o problema de minimização definido emprega funções de resposta em freqüência e/ou dados modais do sistema. Uma nova estratégia para o controle dos parâmetros do algoritmo Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), baseada no uso do método de Nelder - Mead é desenvolvida; conseqüentemente, a convergência do PSO fica independente dos parâmetros heurísticos e sua estabilidade e precisão são melhoradas. O método híbrido proposto teve melhor desempenho, nas diversas funções teste analisadas, quando comparado com os algoritmos simulated annealing, algoritmos genéticos e o PSO. São apresentados diversos problemas de detecção de dano, levando em conta os efeitos do ruído e da falta de dados experimentais. Em todos os casos, a posição e extensão do dano foram determinadas com sucesso. Finalmente, usando o PSOS, os parâmetros de um oscilador não linear (oscilador de Duffing) foram identificados. / In this study, a new auto configured Particle Swarm Optimization - Simplex algorithm for damage detection has been proposed. The formulation of the objective function for the minimization problem is based on the frequency response functions (FRFs) and the modal parameters of the system. A novel strategy for the control of the Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) parameters based on the Nelder-Mead algorithm (Simplex method) is presented; consequently, the convergence of the PSOS becomes independent of the heuristic constants and its stability and accuracy are enhanced. The formulated hybrid method performs better in different benchmark functions than the Simulated Annealing (SA), the Genetic Algorithm (GA) and the basic PSO. Several damage identification problems, taking into consideration the effects of noisy and incomplete data, were studied. In these cases, the damage location and extent were determined successfully. Finally, using the PSOS, a non-linear oscillator (Duffing oscillator) was identified with good results.

La surveillance de santé structurale (SHM) a attiré beaucoup d'attention dans de nombreux domaines tels que l'industrie civile, aéronautique, mécanique, etc., car il est important de surveiller l'état de la structure afin d'éviter des défaillances structurelles imprévues. Le processus d'identification des endommagements à quatre niveaux: existence, localisation, sévérité et prédiction de l'évolution des endommagements peut être partiellement réalisé si un propre indicateur est bien choisi. Il existe différents indicateurs d'endommagements dont la gamme d'application de la fréquence s'étend de la réponse vibratoire à basses fréquences aux régimes ultrasoniques dans la gamme méga hertz.Les structures sandwich sont largement utilisées dans diverses applications d'ingénierie en raison de son rapport rigidité / poids exceptionnellement élevé par rapport aux structures monocoques. Dans ce travail, une structure sandwich a été étudiée et des indicateurs basés sur la réponse vibratoire ont été conçus en utilisant ses caractéristiques de directivité de propagation et d'amortissement relativement élevé de la structure. Des investigations numériques sur différents scénarios d'endommagement (càd, différents types d'endommagement et leurs combinaisons) et une discussion associée sur la plage d'application ont d'abord été effectuées. La configuration expérimentale a été facilement réalisée à l'aide d'un vibromètre laser à balayage Doppler (SLDV). L'endommagement a été détecté avec succès par les indicateurs proposés. / Structural health monitoring (SHM) has attracted much attention in many engineering fields like civil, aeronautic, mechanical industry, etc. since it is important to monitor the healthy condition of the operational structure in order to avoid unpredicted structural failure which may have severe consequences. The four-level damage identification process: existence, localization, severity and prediction of damage evolution, can be partly realized if a suitable indicator is chosen. It exists different damage indicators whose application range of frequency spans from vibrational response at low frequencies to the ultrasonic regimes in the mega hertz range.The sandwich structures are widely used in various engineering applications due to its exceptionally high flexural stiffness-to-weight ratio compared to monocoque structures. In this thesis a specified twin-wall sandwich structure in polypropylene was studied and vibration-based indicators were designed by taking use of its relative high damping and propagation directivity characteristics. Numerical investigations on different damage scenarios (i.e., different types of defect and their combinations) and an associated discussion on the range of application were first carried out. Experimental configuration was easily realized with the help of a scanning laser doppler vibrometer (SLDV). Defect was successfully detected by the proposed indicators.

Neste estudo, o novo algoritmo hibrido autoconfigurado PSOS (Particle Swarm Optimization - Simplex) para avaliação da integridade estrutural a partir de respostas dinâmicas é apresentado. A formulação da função objetivo para o problema de minimização definido emprega funções de resposta em freqüência e/ou dados modais do sistema. Uma nova estratégia para o controle dos parâmetros do algoritmo Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), baseada no uso do método de Nelder - Mead é desenvolvida; conseqüentemente, a convergência do PSO fica independente dos parâmetros heurísticos e sua estabilidade e precisão são melhoradas. O método híbrido proposto teve melhor desempenho, nas diversas funções teste analisadas, quando comparado com os algoritmos simulated annealing, algoritmos genéticos e o PSO. São apresentados diversos problemas de detecção de dano, levando em conta os efeitos do ruído e da falta de dados experimentais. Em todos os casos, a posição e extensão do dano foram determinadas com sucesso. Finalmente, usando o PSOS, os parâmetros de um oscilador não linear (oscilador de Duffing) foram identificados. / In this study, a new auto configured Particle Swarm Optimization - Simplex algorithm for damage detection has been proposed. The formulation of the objective function for the minimization problem is based on the frequency response functions (FRFs) and the modal parameters of the system. A novel strategy for the control of the Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) parameters based on the Nelder-Mead algorithm (Simplex method) is presented; consequently, the convergence of the PSOS becomes independent of the heuristic constants and its stability and accuracy are enhanced. The formulated hybrid method performs better in different benchmark functions than the Simulated Annealing (SA), the Genetic Algorithm (GA) and the basic PSO. Several damage identification problems, taking into consideration the effects of noisy and incomplete data, were studied. In these cases, the damage location and extent were determined successfully. Finally, using the PSOS, a non-linear oscillator (Duffing oscillator) was identified with good results.