Damage Identification Based on Optimization Technique for Bridges Using Static Displacement

Abstract

A damage identification technique using static displacements was investigated to assess the structural integrity of bridge structures. For this, an optimization technique was utilized and structural damage was represented by the reduction in the stiffness of an element. A health index of the element was next introduced to estimate the stiffness reduction of the bridge under consideration. Comparisons with numerical and experimental tests were performed to investigate the applicability of the proposed method in the practical field. Various damage scenarios were considered by varying damage-width as well as damage-degree. The influence of noise on the damage identification scheme was also investigated numerically. Finally, the applicability and the limitation of the proposed method' were discussed.