Identification of moving loads using a local linear embedding algorithm

A new approach for identifying moving loads is proposed in which one can identify continuous or discontinuous loads from the response data by using a local linear embedding algorithm. This approach is especially well suited for moving loads that are difficult to measure directly and it does not depend on modeling the structures. Four simulated examples are conducted on a 5-m beam with four types of moving loads and the results verify the usefulness of our approach, but there is a small amount of distortion at some stages. The robustness of the approach is further verified by contaminating the response data with white noise of different levels, and the results show that the approach mentioned in this paper has good robustness. This identification approach for moving loads can be applied to aerospace engineering applications.