An online substructure identification method for local structural health monitoring

Abstract

This paper proposes a substructure isolation method, which uses time series of measured local response for online monitoring of substructures. The proposed monitoring process consists of two key steps: construction of the isolated substructure, and its identification. The isolated substructure is an independent virtual structure, which is numerically isolated from the global structure by placing virtual supports on the interface. First, the isolated substructure is constructed by a specific linear combination of time series of its measured local responses. Then, the isolated substructure is identified using its local natural frequencies extracted from the combined responses. The substructure is assumed to be linear; the outside part of the global structure can have any characteristics. The method has no requirements on the initial state of the structure, and so the process can be carried out repetitively for online monitoring. Online isolation and monitoring is illustrated in a numerical example with a frame model, and then verified in a cantilever beam experiment.