The use of random decrement technique for long term health monitoring of concrete structures

Abstract

This investigation deals with the development of an advanced strategy for Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) of concrete beams and girders for important structures such as bridges, offshore platforms and nuclear power stations using smart monitoring systems, including an effective diagnostic approach for damage detection with a reliability-based performance ranking. The proposed strategy can be classified into four main sections: identification of the existence of damage, determination the localization of the damage, estimation the level of damage, and assessing the seriousness of the damage regarding the structure’s service life. Random Decrement (RD) is an accurate dynamic analysis diagnostic tool that has been used effectively for SHM; the technique has been used within various fields in mechanical, aerospace, and, recently, civil engineering. The damage detection approach is based on the RD technique. A theoretical, numerical, and experimental investigation has been conducted on concrete beams using the RD technique for damage detection in terms of changes in the dynamic properties and used at successive multiple points under certain leading point conditions to determine the location of damage through the development of the Multi-Channel Random Decrement (MCRD).