Structural Health Monitoring through Dynamic Identification Techniques: Numerical Simulation of a Damage Scenario

Damage detection in civil engineering structures using changes in measured modal parameters is an area of research that has received notable attention in literature in recent years. This paper compares two different experimental techniques for predicting damage location and severity: the Change in Mode Shapes Method and the Mode Shapes Curvature Method. The comparison is established with reference to a simply supported finite element bridge model in which damage is simulated by reducing opportunely the flexural stiffness EI. The results of this study indicate that change in modal curvature is a significant damage indicator, while indexes like MAC and COMAC –widely right for FE model updating- lose their usefulness in order to damage detection.