Interpolation Damage Detection Method on a Suspension Bridge Model: Influence of Sensors Disturbances

In this paper the IDDM (Interpolation Damage Detection Method), recently proposed as a speedy damage detection and localization technique, is applied to the numerical model of a cable suspended bridge derived from the ANSYS model of the Shimotsui-Seto Bridge in Japan (940m length of the main span). The wind excitation is simulated as a spatially correlated process acting in the horizontal direction, transversal to the deck. The bridge is assumed to be monitored by sensors located at the nodes of the model along the longitudinal axis, and recording the absolute acceleration of the bridge deck in the transversal direction Noise in recorded responses can reduce the sensitivity of the method to damage. The influence of noise on the results of the damage detection method is herein investigated by adding a white-noise signal to the structural responses. The mutual relationship between level of noise, intensity of damage and lengths of recorded signals is also investigated with reference to various damage scenarios.