Comparison of damage identification algorithms on experimental modal data from a bridge

Over the past 25 years detecting damage in a structure from changes in dynamic parameters has received a considerable amount of attention from the aerospace, civil, and mechanical engineering communities. The general idea is that changes in the structure`s physical properties (i.e., stiffness, mass, and/or damping) will, in turn, alter the dynamic characteristics (i.e., resonant frequencies, modal damping, and mode shapes) of the structure. Properties such as the flexibility matrix, stiffness matrix, and mode shape curvature, which are obtained from modal parameters, have shown promise for localizing structural damage. In this paper, several different techniques for damage assessment are demonstrated and compared using experimental modal data from an undamaged and damaged bridge