Null subspace-based damage detection of structures using vibration measurements

A damage detection method of mechanical system based on subspace identification concepts and statistical process techniques is presented. The aim is to propose a method that is sensitive to small-sized structural damages and suitable for on-line monitoring. Measured time-responses of structures subjected to artificial or environmental vibrations are assembled to form the Hankel matrix, which is further factorised by performing singular-value decomposition to obtain characteristic subspaces. It may be demonstrated that the structural responses are mainly located in the active subspace defined by the first principal components, which is orthonormal to the null subspace defined by the remaining principal components. If no structural damage occurs, the orthonormality relation between the subspaces remains valid with small residues when consecutive data sets are compared, and these residues may be evaluated by the proposed damage indicators. The method is validated using an experimental mock-up of an airplane subjected to different levels of damages simulated. It is also applied in environmental vibration testing of a street lighting device to monitor structural fatigue evolution.