Model updating method for damage detection of building structures under ambient excitation using modal participation ratio

This paper presents a model updating method for the damage detection of building structures on the basis of modal participation without the need for system identification to extract the modal parameters. The presented method uses the modal participation ratio (MPR), which is defined by a representative value of modal responses extracted from vibration responses measured by sensors mounted on a building structure, as an indicator of the extent of modal contribution. Such MPR extraction assumes that the structure is under ambient excitation; thus, no loading on the structure is required to apply the presented method. In the model updating method, the differences between MPRs extracted from the sensors and MPRs estimated from a model are established as objective functions that are generated corresponding to the number of modes considered. These functions are minimized by a multi-objective optimization algorithm while searching for the optimal properties of a dynamic system, and the finally derived optimal solution is regarded as a baseline model that reflects the actual behaviors of a structure. Through analyses of the variations of the MPRs based on the damage scenarios of the derived baseline model, specific rules for damage localization are derived. In addition, to identify the damage severity of a structure, a damage severity function that describes the relationship between damage severity and MPR variation based on the baseline model is proposed. The proposed method is employed to construct a baseline model and detect the location and severity of the damage of a multi-story structure under ambient excitation.