A robust FRF damage indicator combined with optimization techniques for damage assessment in complex truss structures

Vibration-based damage detection tools are frequently employed because of their advantages over other non-destructive techniques. This paper presents an improved Frequency Response Function (FRF) indicator for damage identification in complex structures. To verify the effectiveness of the improved damage indicator, different structures are used, namely a 20-Bar Planar Truss (2D), a 28-Bar Space Truss (3D), a 72-Bar Space Truss, and a 600-bar Space Truss. The numerical models of all these structures are built in MATLAB using Finite Element Method (FEM). The improved indicator detects and localises single and multiple damages in the first stage. Next, after eliminating the healthy elements, it is used in a new objective function to solve the damage quantification problem using recent optimization techniques, including Artificial Gorilla Troops Optimizer (GTO), Dingo Optimization Algorithm (DOA), African Vulture Optimization algorithm (AVOA), and Gradient-Based Optimizer (GBO). The results demonstrate that all optimization techniques can accurately predict the exact level of damage. However, GTO is the most efficient in terms of convergence. To study the effectiveness of this indicator in case of noisy data, different levels of noise are considered in the damage assessment exercises.