Elaborate Structural Damage Detection Using an Improved Genetic Algorithm and Modal Data

This paper addresses a proficient strategy for detection of structural damages in details using the variations of eigenvalues and eigenvectors. There are two concerns in this study. First, the severity of damage can vary within the damaged elements; second, it is possible that the damage extents do not exactly match the pre-generated finite element mesh. The first concern forms the motivation for employing the proper damage functions to model the elemental damages, and the second for considering the nodal positions as design variables. To obtain the design variables, an improved genetic algorithm is introduced in which two new operators are embedded. This strategy is applied to a beam and a plate structure as the cases of study. The results demonstrate the applicability and efficiency of the proposed algorithm in elaborate damage detections.