Structural Damage Identification Techniques

Abstract

This chapter first classifies types of damage in civil engineering structures. The traditional non-destructive testing (NDT) techniques are introduced for detecting damage in structures. The nature of various NDT techniques and their applications to civil engineering practices are discussed. Then the recently developed structural health monitoring (SHM) methods for damage identification of civil engineering structures are reviewed. NDT techniques and SHM methods are compared for structural damage identification in practice. For SHM methods, two types of damage identification approaches are further discussed: data-based and model-based. Typical data-based approaches such as signal processing techniques are presented for structural damage detection. Finally, the philosophy and development of vibration-based damage identification in civil engineering applications are discussed.