Damage Assessment in Beams Using Inverse Method

A damage detection and assessment method has been developed in this paper using the concepts of inverse method and fracture mechanics. The objectives are to detect, locate, and quantify any damage that has occurred within a beam during its service using displacement measurements taken at arbitrary points along it. Grobner bases are used to check the compatibility among the measured displacement data. Any incompatibility among those measured values indicates some damage. The curvatures are computed using the finite-difference technique. These curvatures show abrupt change at damaged locations. The damage is quantified in terms of crack length, and an analytical model is developed using a cracked-beam finite element.