Structural damage detection is a critical technology for ensuring the safety of engineering structures. In recent years, intelligent structural damage detection algorithms based on machine learning have garnered widespread attention globally, thanks to their efficient and reliable detection performance. However, existing damage detection methods largely depend on the use of sensors, which not only increases operational and maintenance costs but also limits the applicability of these methods—especially in parts of structures where sensors are difficult to install. To overcome this barrier, this paper introduces a novel sensor-independent convolutional neural network (CNN) approach for predicting the maximum response of structures under seismic excitation. This method utilizes IDA method to collect a large number of samples (these samples have been uploaded to Mendeley Data for reference). It employs innovative data processing and grouping methods for feature alignment as well as the division of the test and training sets. By automatically extracting the signal characteristics of seismic excitation and optimizing feature combinations through multi-layer fusion, this method achieves high-precision and robust prediction without relying on sensors. To validate the effectiveness of this method, this study conducted a performance evaluation on a typical gantry crane metal structure. The results show that the proposed sensor-independent CNN algorithm achieves high-precision structural response prediction, with over 99% accuracy for peak responses, demonstrating the robustness and reliability of the model. It also performs excellently in key metrics such as root mean square error, error bias, and learning rate progression, making it a reliable and cost-effective solution for real-time seismic damage detection.
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