Subset solving algorithm: A novel sensitivity-based method for damage detection of structures

We present an efficient method for structural damage detection using natural frequencies. The method, which is based on sensitivity analysis of the structure, consists of two main stages. In the first stage, the structural elements are ordered based on their damage probability into a vector referred to as elements damage probability ordering vector (EDPOV). In the second stage, a rather small subset of EDPOV elements are judiciously selected to form a nonlinear system of equations, which are subsequently solved to detect potential damages. In the second stage, the procedure of subset selecting and solving iterates until a feasible solution is achieved. In order to assess the merits of the proposed method some illustrative cases are studied. Numerical results demonstrate the high efficiency of the proposed algorithm compared to those found in the literature.