Structural Identification Using Inverse System Dynamics

A time-domain technique is presented that uses inverse structural dynamics to identify physical characteristics of a structure that can subsequently be used for damage detection. The term inverse refers to the roles of input and output being reversed from the usual forward system structural dynamics problem. If sensors such as accelerometers are placed at the external input locations, modal parameters corresponding to structural motion with the sensor locations fixed can be identified. One of the main advantages of this approach is that it only requires measured response data. This characteristic makes the approach applicable in cases where the input forces cannot be measured. (Author)