Damage detection using the eigenparameter decomposition of substructural flexibility matrix

The crack or local damage on a structure reduces the stiffness of the structure, and thus leads to the modification of the dynamic properties. Damage detection is widely performed by comparing the initial modal data of the intact structure with those of the damaged structure. For a large-scale structure, the local damage usually introduces slight change to the global modal data, which makes the local damage difficult to be detected. This paper proposes a new substructuring method for the damage detection of a structure. The global structure is divided into manageable substructures. The modal data measured on the global structure are disassembled for obtaining the independent substructural dynamic flexibility matrices, under the force and displacement compatibility constraints. Thereafter, the substructural flexibility matrix is decomposed into its eigenvalues and eigenvectors to be used as the indicators for damage detection. Since the substructuring method concerns the local area by treating it as an independent structure, the substructural eigenparameters are more sensitive to the local damage than the global eigenparameters. The proposed substructuring method is firstly verified by a laboratory-tested portal frame structure. The location of the artificial cuts can be detected successfully by comparing the change of substructural eigenparameters. The proposed method is then applied to the 600 m tall Guangzhou New TV Tower. As compared with the global eigenparameters, the substructural eigenparameters bear larger changes caused by the local damage and thus are more sensitive to the local damage.