Structural Damage Localization Using D-S Evidence Theory

Damage localization is a key issue in the Structural Health Monitoring (SHM). In order to enhance the accuracy of damage localization, an approach based on D-S evidence theory is studied in this paper. First, damage results obtained from the modal strain energy change ratio (MSECR) method and the multiple damage location assurance criterion (MDLAC) method are regarded as two independent information sources, respectively. And then, the D-S evidence theory-based information fusion technique is employed to integrate these two results and make a final decision. To compare the damage identification results under different methods, a practical damage evaluation indicator is presented. Numerical study on a cantilever beam is carried out to verify the proposed method. Results indicate that the damage evaluation indicators calculated by D-S evidence theory are superior to the single method. That is to say, structural damage identification method based on D-S evidence theory performs very well in determining the damage locations.