Efficiency of the Higher Mode Shapes in Structural Damage Localization

Abstract

Detection of damage in an early stage can help in avoiding sudden failure of a structure. Vibration-based methodologies are currently very popular among the researchers due to their immense potential of providing continuous health monitoring. In this work, the efficiency of the higher mode shapes has been investigated for localizing damage in a structure. To achieve this goal, both numerical and experimental studies have been performed. For the numerical study, a ten-storey shear building has been modeled and the damage scenarios have been simulated by reducing the storey stiffness. For the experimental study, impact hammer tests have been performed on a small-scale three-dimensional six-storey steel frame model. To simulate the damage scenarios, cross-sections of the frame elements (beams and columns) have been reduced. From both numerical and experimental studies, it has been observed that the efficiency of higher mode shapes in damage localization is location dependent. Therefore, further research work is needed to circumvent this location dependency of higher mode shapes for use in damage localization.