A novel damage identification scheme for multiple cracks in beams is presented based
on the one-dimensional (1-D) piezoelectric patch with beam model. A hybrid element
constituted of a 1-D beam element and a PZT sensor is used with reduced
material properties. This model is more convenient and simpler for crack
identification of beams than using a complex 3-D patch model. The hybrid
beam element and the multiple crack identification procedure is verified
experimentally. The crack identification is carried out as an inverse problem whereby
location and depth parameters are identified by minimizing the deviation
between the predicted and measured voltage responses of the patch when
subjected to excitations. In the proposed method, a patch is attached to either
end of the fixed beam. The numerical and experimental results show that
there is significant improvement in identification accuracy compared to other
methods.
Keywords
crack identification, voltage matching, PZT patches,
inverse problem
