4th World Conference on Structural Control and Monitoring

4WCSCM-429

PROCEDURES FOR STRUCTURAL DAMAGE IDENTIFICATION THROUGH AMBIENT VIBRATIONS

Marta G. Amani Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina
amanimg@yahoo.com

Jorge D. Riera Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil riera@cpgec.ufrgs.br Ral O. Curadelli Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina ocuradelli@yahoo.com Abstract The practical difficulties presented by forced vibration testing of large structures, such as tall buildings, dams or bridges, led to great interest in structural monitoring through ambient vibrations, which usually allows the identification of modal properties, natural frequencies, damping and modal shapes. Changes in these modal properties constitute an indication of structural damage, which can be assessed on the basis of experimental evidence in connection with the specific structural type and material. In previous contributions, the authors describe an approach to determine the socalled damage damping and stiffness matrices, which are essential in the identification process of the location and intensity of damage (Amani et al, 2005). No restrictions are introduced on the damping matrix, except for the viscous nature of dissipative forces and the linear behavior of the system. The latter are however always applicable assumptions, on account of the stationarity and low amplitude of the monitored vibrations. In fact, the approach requires ambient vibration data records of all relevant coordinates used in the structural model, which are processed employing the SSI-Cov method in conjunction with a modal analysis scheme developed by the authors, as described in the first part of the paper. Since attention has been recently called to the influence on modal parameters of ambient or background factors, such as temperature, humidity and solar radiation, in the second part of the paper an approach is suggested to filter out those influences, in such a way that the properties experimentally determined correspond to reference ambient conditions. The evolution of damping with damage in steel and concrete structures are also areas that, in spite of their importance in damage assessment, remain largely unexplored. Both issues appear to be essential in the development of successful tools to detect damage in large structural systems through the monitoring of ambient vibrations. Key-words: System Identification, Damage Detection, Structural Monitoring, Ambient Vibrations. Introduction The field of structural monitoring was born as the engineering community response to an increasing demand for reliability, which cannot be normally guaranteed in aging constructions, as well as to likewise increasing periods of responsibility of builders and designers. This resulted in an urgent need to complement visual inspections by objective nondestructive evaluation tools, based on physical measurements and computer analyses. These techniques may be classified as local or global. Local methods concentrate on restricted parts of the structure and resort to X-rays, magnetic fields, acoustic emission, etc. On the other hand, most global monitoring methods make use of vibration measurements and they are based on the premise that any local stiffness or material properties change will affect the global dynamic response of the structure. An advantage of global methods is that the
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measurement locations may be distant from the damaged region. Ritter (1993) suggested the classification of methods of damage identification in four levels, according to the depth of diagnosis Level 1- Detection: methods allow establishing if damage is present in the structure. Level 2- Location: methods allow the location of the regions where damage occurred. Level 3- Quantification: methods allow evaluating the intensity of damage. Level 4- Prediction: methods that permit predicting the remaining life of the structure.

Generally, the methods so far developed are classified in levels 1, 2 or 3. Level 4 is considered as a part of structural design assessment. An important group of those damage identification methods start from the premise that, since the modal parameters (natural frequencies, mode shapes and modal damping) depend on the physical properties of the structure (mass, stiffness and damping), any change in those properties will be reflected in changes in the modal parameters [Yuen (1985), Stubbs et al (1990), Hern and Testa (1991), Narkis (1994)]. In most cases, any stiffness reduction is considered evidence of damage, but no reliable correlation between modal properties changes and damage is known to the authors. Other damage identification methods aim at the modification of mass, stiffness, and/or damping matrices to reproduce as closely as possible the dynamic response measured under external excitation. Comparison of the updated and original matrices provide an indication of damage that can be used to locate and quantify the latter (Kim and Bartkowicz, 1993). Following such approach, the optimal matrix updating method involves the minimization of the rank of a perturbation matrix, rather than its norm. This approach is motivated by the observation that damage will tend to concentrate in a few structural members. In such case, the rank of the perturbation matrices will be small. Zimmerman and Kaouk (1994) proposed the so-called minimum rank perturbation theory algorithm (MRPT). The solution for the perturbation matrices is based on the theory that the unique minimum rank matrix solution of the underdetermined system exists. Kaouk and Zimmerman (1994a) demonstrate how perturbation to two of the property matrices can be estimated simultaneously using the complex conjugate of the modal forces error equation. The method was applied to proportionally damped structures. In this paper, a method to localize and quantify damage in structures with non-proportional viscous damping is proposed. The method allows the identification of changes in any two of the three matrices that define the dynamic properties of the structures, usually the stiffness and damping matrices. The performance of the method is demonstrated by means of an illustrative example, just for illustration purposes. Damage evaluation theory The second order equation of motion for a damped linear system is:

r r r r & M && + C x + K x = f x

(1)

Let us assume now that the matrices of the structural model experience minor changes due to damage, which are collected in error or damage matrices. It is thus clear that if these error or damage matrices K, C and M will be null as long as there is no damage. Otherwise there exists damage, as will be shown in an illustrative example. In such case the second order equation of motion becomes:

& (M + M ) && + (C + C) x + (K + K ) x = f x
Amani, Riera and Curadelli

r
(2)
2

where the delta matrices represent the matrix perturbations or error matrices, which will be designated in the following damage matrices. The eigensolution of equation (2) defines the vibration properties of the damaged structure. Under the assumption that M is negligible, this equation can be expressed, for the rth structural vibration mode, as

r r M + r (C + C) + (K + K ) r = 0

(3)

r if equation (3) is pre-multiplied by q T , one obtains: r r r q r 2 M + r (C + C) + (K + K ) r = 0

(4)

A expression similar to equation (3) can be written for q mode as:

r r M + q (C + C) + (K + K ) q = 0

(5)

Taking into account the symmetry of the system matrices, equation (5) can be transposed to yield:

r r q T q 2 M + q (C + C) + (K + K ) = 0 T

(6)

Now, post-multiplying equation (6) by r and subtracting the result from equation (4), it follows that:

2 r

r r r r q 2 q T M r + ( r q ) q T (C + C) r = 0

(7)

since r and q are different, the first orthogonality condition can be written as:

( r + q ) q T M r + q T (C + C) r = 0

(8)

The second orthogonality condition is derived by multiplying equation (4) by q, post-multiplying r equation (6) by r and r and subtracting then one from the other:

r r r r r q q T M r q T (K + K ) r = 0
When modes r and q constitute a complex conjugate pair, then:
2 q= r r i 1 r

(9)

and

r r * q = r

(10)

In which i denotes the imaginary unit. Introducing eq.(10) into eq.(8) yields:

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rH r rH r 2 r r r M r + r (C + C) r = 0
or (11)

H M + H (C + C ) = 0 with = diag (2 )

in which the damping matrix of the damaged structure is represented by (C+C), is the complex modal shape matrix and superscript H denotes the hermitian, i.e. the complex conjugate transpose. Thus,

H M + H C = H C B C

(12)

Therefore, the perturbation C of the damping matrix, i.e. the damping damage matrix, is given by:

C = pinv H B C pinv()

( )

(13)

where pinv denotes the Moore-Penrose pseudoinverse1 of a matrix Similarly, introducing eq. (10) into eq. (9) leads to eq.(14):
2

H M + H (K + K ) = 0
2

with
Thus,
2

= diag r

( )
2

(14)

H M + H K = H K B K

(15)

Therefore, the damage matrix K is given by:

K = pinv H B K pinv( )

( )

(16)

Thus, eqs.(13) and (16) allow the evaluation of the damage matrices from the modes and natural frequencies of the system experimentally determined by monitoring ambient vibrations (Amani et al., 2004; Amani, 2004).

The Moore-Penrose pseudoinverse of A is a matrix B of the same dimensions of AT satisfying four

conditions:A*B*A = A ; B*A*B = B ; A*B and B*A are Hermitian.

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Illustrative example: concrete beam with extensive damage The first stage in a damage assessment procedure consists of the determination of the so-called damage matrices C and K. The necessary steps, described in the preceding section, do not require any information concerning the expected nonlinear behavior of the system, constitutive criteria up to failure or fatigue properties, when applicable. These will be needed in a second stage, to assess the residual capacity or the reliability of the structure. In this section, the evaluation of damage matrices will be illustrated by means of an example. Data from a simply supported reinforced concrete beam with a 5.60m span tested under laboratory conditions by Palazzo (2001) was used to evaluate the identification schemes. Two static loads were applied at 2.05 m from the supports. After each static load step, the beam was unloaded and excited dynamically by means of a test hammer. During the impact test, the acceleration response at four equally spaced points of the beam was measured. The modal properties of the beam (frequencies, mode shapes and modal damping) were estimated using the Covariance-driven Stochastic Subspace Identification method (Peeters, 2000). Assuming that mass is known, the stiffness and damping matrices were determined (Amani, 2004). Employing the estimated modal parameters for the damaged beam, the damage matrices C and K were calculated by menas of eqs. (13) and (16), respectively. Figures 1 and 2 show the relative damage matrices Kr and Cr.

0.6 0.4
Cr

3 2 1 0 1 2 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 4 1 2
degree of freedom

Kr

0.2 0 1

degree of freedom

3 3 4

degree of freedom

degree of freedom

Figure 1. Relative stiffness damage matrix Kr after load stage j.

Figure 2. Relative damping damage matrix Cr after load stage j.

It may be seen in figures 1 and 2 that damage is concentrated, principally in the middle of the beam. This concentration is represented by higher values of matrices Kr y Cr in the central elements, in accordance with Palazzo (2001). Less damage can be observed in the adjacent regions, both to the right and left of the points where the jacks were located. It is important to note that the changes in the damping matrix were larger than the changes in the stiffness matrix, suggesting that in concrete elements subjected to bending, damping may be a more sensitive indicator of damage than stiffness. Brief comments on the evolution of damage in concrete structures To underline the importance of monitoring changes in damping in the assessment of damage in concrete structures, both numerical as well as experimental evidence will be cited next. Figure 6 shows the damping ratio determined by applying the SSI-Cov procedure described in Section 2, to the simulated seismic response of a six story reinforced concrete frame, computed by numerical integration of the nonlinear equations of motion. The Caucete (San Juan, Argentina, 1987) accelerogram with variable PGA was used. The constitutive criteria adopted in the study lead to an
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initial increase of damping, which is a widely recognized feature of both RC and steel structures. In case of RC structures subjected primarily to bending, after a fully cracked condition is reached, the energy dissipation capacity begins to decrease, with the subsequent reduction of damping, as shown in Figure 3.

10 8 6 4 2 0 0 1

modo1

Figure 3. Evolution of first mode critical damping ratio of RC frame building subjected to seismic motion with increasing intensity (PGA in m/s2 in abcissa). The first experimental evidence known to the authors of this feature of RC structures was presented by Dieterle & Bachmann (1981). Additional experimental results were reported later by Riera & Rios (2000), who suggest that in simple RC beams subjected to bending, damping increases with the vibration amplitude until three to four times the cracking strains are exceeded, at which point damping decreases with the vibration amplitude. Since changes in the damping matrix, as previously mentioned, are larger than changes in the stiffness matrix, it is judged that a correct identification of the damping matrix is essential to detect damage in RC structures.

Influence of background factors

As confirmed by the illustrative example of Section 3, identification methods are generally successful when processing laboratory data. Field monitoring of large structures requires accounting for measurement noise and for additional factors that exert minor influence in laboratory tests, such as ambient temperature, humidity or solar radiation. Variations of natural frequencies and damping due to ambient factors are of the same order as those caused by damage and should therefore be filtered out of the experimental data. Averaging dynamic parameters determined using SI methods through an extended period of time is often not an effective answer because the background factors may remain either above or below their mean values within the period of measurement, i.e. the data may be highly correlated. Xia et al (2006) assessed the effect of temperature and humidity on the natural frequencies and damping of reinforced concrete slabs. The proposed regression equations may be used as a starting point to filter out the influence of both factors, before averaging. Denoting by T and h the changes in temperature (C) and ambient humidity (%) from reference values (increase is positive), the
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frequencies of modes involving primarily bending of concrete elements at the reference temperature should be multiplied by the factor: = 1 0.002 T 0.0003 h (4.1)

Similarly, the damping factor of modes involving primarily bending of concrete elements at the reference temperature should be multiplied by the coefficient: = 1 + 0.018 T 0.0049 h (4.2)

According to the data given by Xia et al (2006), the coefficients in eqs. (4.1) and (4.2) would be about twice as large for torsional modes. Note that in the experiments by Xia et al (2006), the temperature of concrete may be assumed to be approximately equal to ambient temperature, which would definitely not be the case in buildings or large structures in general. The latter would require specific studies to obtain, from ambient records, the effective increments T and h to be used in eqs. (4.1) and (4.2). The reference temperature may be taken equal to the mean annual temperature at the site where the structure is located, but this is not a requirement on account of the linearity of eqs. (4.1) and (4.2). Finally, note that the correctness of the procedure may be verified by computing the variance of the experimental data on frequencies and damping, before and after the correction for temperature and humidity effects. Clearly a reduction of the variances should be expected.

Conclusions The authors describe an approach to determine the so-called damage damping and stiffness matrices, which are essential in the identification process of the location and intensity of damage. No restrictions are introduced on the damping matrix, except for the viscous nature of dissipative forces and the linear behavior of the system. The latter are however always applicable assumptions, on account of the stationary character and low amplitude of the monitored vibrations. In fact, the approach requires ambient vibration data records of all relevant coordinates used in the structural model, which are processed employing the SSI-Cov method in conjunction with a modal analysis scheme, as described in the first part of the paper. The importance of determinung changes in the damping matrix is briefly discussed in connection with experimental data obtained in reinforced concrete beams, as an essential step in the detection of damage. In monitoring ambient vibrations it is also essential to account for the influence on modal parameters of ambient or background factors, such as temperature, humidity and solar radiation. In this context, an approach is suggested to filter out those influences, in such a way that the properties experimentally determined do correspond to reference ambient conditions. Acknowledgements The authors acknowledge the support of CNPq and CAPES, Brazil. References Amani, M. G. (2004): "Identificacin de Sistemas y Evaluacin del Dao Estructural", Tesis de Doctorado, Instituto de Estructuras, Universidad Nacional de Tucumn, Argentina. Amani, M.G., Riera, J.D. y Curadelli, O. R. (2004): Estimacin de parmetros modales de estructuras sometidas a excitaciones ambientales, Rev. Sul-Americana de Eng. Estrutural, ASAEEUPF, Passo Fundo, RS, Brasil, 1, 2, 55-74.

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Dieterle, R. and Bachmann, H. (1981): "Experiments and models for the damping behavior of vibrating reinforced concrete beams in the cracked and un-cracked conditions". IABSE Colloquium Advanced Mechanics of Reinforced Concrete, Final Report, Delft, Netherlands, 69-82. Hearn, G. and Testa R.B. (1991): "Modal Analysis for Damage Detection in Structures". Journal of Structural Engineering, 117 (10), 30423063. Kim H. M. and Bartkowicz T. J. (1993): "Damage Detection and Health Monitoring of Large Space Structures", Journal of Sound and Vibration, 27 (6), 12-17. Kaouk, M. and Zimmerman, D. C. (1994): Structural Damage Assessment Using a Generalized Minimum Rank Perturbation Theory, AIAA Journal, 32, No 4, 836-842. Narkis Y. (1994): "Identification of Crack Location in Vibrating Simply Supported Beams". Journal of Sound and Vibration, 172 (4), 549-558. Palazzo, G. L. (2001):. "Identificacin del Dao Estructural a travs del Cambio en las Propiedades Dinmicas". Tesis de Magister, Instituto de Estructuras, Universidad Nacional de Tucumn, Argentina. Peeters B. (2000): "System Identification and Damage Detection in Civil Engineering", PhD Thesis, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium. Riera, J.D. e Rios, D.D. (2000): "Evoluo do amortecimento com o nivel de dano em estruturas de concreto armado", Memrias, Jornadas Sudamericanas de Ingeniera Estructural, Punta del Este, Uruguay, Univ. de la Repblica (in CD). Rytter, A. (1993): "Vibration Based Inspection of Civil Engineering Structures", Ph. D. Dissertation, Department of Building Technology and Structural Engineering, Aalborg University, Denmark. Stubbs N., Broome T.H. and Osegueda R. (1990): "Non-destructive Construction Error Detection in Large Space Structures", AIAA Journal, 28 (1), 146152. Xiu, Yong; Hao, Hong; Zanardo, Giovanna and Deeks, Andrew (2006): Long term vibration monitoring of a RC slab:temperature and humidity effects, Engineering Structures, Elsevier, 28 (3), 441-452. Yuen M. M. F. (1985): "A Numerical Study of the Eigenparameters of a Damaged Cantilever", Journal of Sound and Vibration, 103, 301-310. Zimmerman D. C. and Kouk M. (1994): "Structural Damage Detection Using a Minimum Rank Update Theory", Journal of Vibration and Acoustics, 116, 222-230.

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