Two-stage damage identification method based on fractal theory and whale optimization algorithm

Structural damage identification based on time domain method of vibration response has been widely developed in the recent decades, however, it still confronts some difficulties, such as measurement noise and model error. This paper proposes a novel two-stage damage identification method based on fractal dimension and whale optimization algorithm (WOA). In this study, based on vibration data, the difference in curvature of fractal dimension (DCFD) is used as the damage index to identify the location of suspicious damage elements in the first stage. A new objective function is proposed based on the curvature of fractal dimension (CFD) of acceleration signal, and the WOA is used to estimate the severity of the suspicious damaged element in the second stage. Firstly, the validity of the proposed method is verified by a numerical simply supported beam, and the results exhibit good damage identification ability. Then different noise levels (5% ~ 20%) are introduced into the dynamic responses to verify its robustness, the result shows that the method is of good anti-noise ability in the first stage. Although the second stage is slightly sensitive to noise, it can still effectively identify the severity of damage. Secondly, the vibration testing of a steel I-beam is designed to verify the rationality of the method in the application of actual structure. Finally, based on the simulated vibration test data of the I-40 Bridge, the applicability of the method to complex civil structure is verified, which shows that the method still has good ability to identify the location and severity of damage in complex structure and is of great significance in practical application.