A two stage method for structural damage detection using a modal strain energy based index and particle swarm optimization

A two-stage method is proposed here to properly identify the site and extent of multiple damage cases in structural systems. In the first stage, a modal strain energy based index (MSEBI) is presented to precisely locate the eventual damage of a structure. The modal strain energy is calculated using the modal analysis information extracted from a finite element modeling. In the second stage, the extent of actual damage is determined via a particle swarm optimization (PSO) using the first stage results. Two illustrative test examples are considered to assess the performance of the proposed method. Numerical results indicate that the combination of MSEBI and PSO can provide a reliable tool to accurately identify the multiple structural damage.

► A two-stage method is proposed to properly identify the structural damage.
► Damage can be accurately located using a modal strain energy based index (MSEBI).
► The extent of damage is determined via a particle swarm optimization (PSO).
► The combination of MSEBI and PSO is an efficient tool for identifying the damage.