Damage Detection and Localization on Real Structures Subjected to Strong Motion Earthquakes Using the Curvature Evolution Method: The Navelli (Italy) Case Study

Abstract

In recent years, structural health monitoring (SHM) has received increasing interest from both research and professional engineering communities. This is due to the limitations related to the use of traditional methods based on visual inspection for a rapid and effective assessment of structures and infrastructures when compared with the great potential offered by newly developed automatic systems. Most of these kinds of systems allow the continuous estimation of structural modal properties that are strictly correlated to the mechanical characteristics of the monitored structure. These can change as a result of material deterioration and structural damage related to earthquake shaking. Furthermore, a suitable configuration of a dense sensor network in a real-time monitoring system can allow to detect and localize structural and non-structural damage by comparing the initial and a final state of the structure after a critical event, such as a relevant earthquake. In this paper, the modal curvature evaluation method, used for damage detection and localization on framed structures, considering the mode curvature variation due to strong earthquake shaking, is further developed. The modified approach is validated by numerical and experimental case studies. The extended procedure, named “Curvature Evolution Method” (CEM), reduces the required computing time and the uncertainties in the results. Furthermore, in this work, an empirical relationship between curvature variation and damage index has been defined for both bare and infilled frames.

Seismic Fragility Curves of RC Buildings Subjected to Aging

“…The latter can be seen from the pushover curves, as discussed in the next subsection. Furthermore, several works that evaluate the changes in the dynamic characteristics can be found in the literature, e.g., Ditommaso et al [41] and Cataldo et al [42].…”

Identifying Damage in Structures: Definition of Thresholds to Minimize False Alarms in SHM Systems

“…Iacovino et al [19] proposed a variation of the Curvature Evolution Method (CEM), aiming to reduce some uncertainties derived from the evaluation of modal parameters during a strong-motion earthquake. The CEM method for damage location was updated by Ditommaso et al [20] and successfully applied to a damaged structure [20,21], providing the possibility of also quantifying structural damage by defining empirical correlations between curvature variation and maximum inter-story drift (valid only for reinforced concrete framed structures). In recent years, the reduction in the cost of structural monitoring technologies has promoted their widespread adoption for both building and infrastructure monitoring.…”

Mass and Stiffness Correlation Using a Transformation Matrix

“…The varying weather conditions (temperature, humidity, wind speed and direction, water content of the soil, etc.) can modify the experimental modal parameters of a structure [38,39]. These effects must be removed when using correlation and model updating techniques, as well as with damage detection and localization methods.…”