A second-order output spectrum based method for detecting bolt-loosening fault in a satellite-like structure

Bolt-loosening faults frequently exist in industrial engineering structures since these bolted structures are often subjected to vibrations or the like in their service process. In this paper, a novel method based on the second-order output spectrum (SOOS) is proposed to detect potential bolt-loosening faults in a complex satellite-like structure. In this method, a general multi-degree-of-freedom (MDOF) model simulating bolt-loosening faults induced non-linearities and inherent boundary or material non-linearities by non-linear forces is built to describe the non-linear behaviour of the structure, and then a local damage indicator is derived for bolt-loosening fault detection through a local tuning approach (LTA) which tunes local structural properties. Results of experimental cases demonstrate that the state of bolted joint in the satellite-like structure with inherent non-linearities can be estimated by this novel SOOS based method effectively and reliably.