A Universal Model-Independent Algorithm for Structural Damage Localization

Although the model-independent damage localization algorithms have been extensively developed in recent years, the theoretical relationship between these damage indicators and the definition of damage is not clear. Moreover the existing damage localization methods are usually dependent on the boundary conditions and the type of structure. In view of this, the paper presents a universal model-independent algorithm for structural damage localization. To this end, the explicit relationship between the damage and damage-induced displacement variation is firstly clarified by using the well-known Sherman-Morrison and Woodbury formulas. A theorem is then presented for structural damage localization. According to the theorem, the universal model-independent damage localization algorithm has been concluded and verified in some common structures. Presented in this article also can be seen as a theoretical proof of the existing non model methods for structural damage localization. It has been shown that the presented algorithm may be useful in the long term health monitoring and the damage localization.