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This paper presents a method for locating structural damage using experimental vibration data. The method uses measured frequency response functions to obtain displacement as a function of frequency. The displacement functions are converted to curvature functions, which are further processed to yield a damage index, displayed on a plot of position versus frequency. The method can be applied when there is no a priori knowledge about the undamaged structure, and it is suitable for automation. This paper details the theory of the broadband method, and the results of an experimental demonstration in which a steel beam was damaged with a narrow slot. It is shown that this proposed damage detection method is highly sensitive, and can locate a very small amount of damage. For example, the narrow slot was correctly located when there was only a 0.8 percent reduction in thickness in the beam. Traditionally, damage causes a change in natural frequencies, but at this small level of damage the frequency changes were within experimental error. Other published methods failed to locate the slot until it was significantly deeper.

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