DAMAGE DETECTION OF BEAMS USING WAVELET TRANSFORM

Abstract

This research studies the detection of damages in beams using wavelet transform method. The damage detection is done through two steps. First, detecting the damage location is indicated by either the continuous wavelet transform or the discrete wavelet transform. Second, the damage severity is calculated by a proposed equation which depends on the detail wavelet coefficients. Four finite element beam models (fixed-fixed, hinged-hinged, cantilever, two spans) are studied. Two proposed procedures are used for localizing the damage which is based on the fundamental mode shapes. Some aspects that effect the assessment of damage detection such as wavelet family, signal to noise ratio (SNR) and no. of sensors are studied.