Over the years, there have been numerous efforts by researchers in quantifying structural degradation and damage from vibration measurements. Traditionally, damage detection techniques in bridges have focused on the use of modal-based damage indicators, such as frequencies, mode shapes and mode shape derivatives. However, these parameters have been shown to be sensitive to environmental and operational variations and can be difficult to accurately extract under low-level ambient excitation. Recent research has found a correlation between certain vibration parameters, such as vibration intensity, and a group of damage bridges, suggesting that vibration parameters may detect damage if extracted correctly. The present study furthers these findings by examining a number of vibration parameters as damage indicators to discern their sensitivity to various condition states of a progressively damaged bridge under ambient excitation.

Peer Reviewed