AbstractIn this work we present methods for the detection of cracks in plate and shell structures. In contrast to most of the common monitoring methods taking advantage of the reflection of surface waves at crack faces, the presented approach is based on the strain measured at different locations on the surface of the structure. This allows both the identification of crack position parameters, such as length, location and angles with respect to a reference coordinate system and the calculation of stress intensity factors (SIF). The solution of the direct problem is performed on the basis of the BFM (body force method) and the method of assembled point dislocations. The inverse problem is solved applying the PSO (particle swarm optimization) algorithm. (© 2011 Wiley‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)