A Study on Damage Detection Using Output-Only Modal Data

This paper will describe the results of vibration studies conducted during the second phase of the activities of the ASCE Structural Health Monitoring Task Group. These activities focus on the application of damage detection techniques to experimental data. Also, this paper will focus on damage detection using output-only data from the vibration study. A one-third scale model of a four storysteel frame at the University of British Columbia was used as the test specimen. A series of forced and ambient vibration tests on this frame for various levels of damage were conducted. Damage was simulated by removing members within the structure. The natural frequencies and their associated mode shapes were determined for each damage case using frequency-domain and time-domaintechniques. A finite element model of the structure was updated using output-only modal identification results from the vibration measurements of each damage case. Finally, the damage was determined from the changes in the element properties resulting from the model updating process of the finite element model benchmark