Damage Identification in Beams and Plates Using Wavelet Theory and Firefly Optimization Algorithm

Abstract

Identifying the location and severity of structural damage represents one of the most critical challenges in civil engineering. The ability to identify damage in its earliest stages cannot be overstated in terms of importance. Among the most powerful tools available for damage detection and generally structural health monitoring can name signal data processing. This study uses a two-step procedure based on wavelet theory and an optimization method to identify the location and severety of damage in beams and plates. The damage simulates through the introduction of cracks at targeted locations. Acceleration responses obtained from a dynamic analysis using finite element method undergo wavelet transformation, enabling detailed analysis of the dynamic response signals. Through filtering processes, the structural response signal details are extracted. Disturbances appearing in the signal detail plots indicate the presence of damage, leading to the development of a quantitative index for determining probable damage locations. The second phase is used to properly determine the location and  magnitude of the damage using firefly optimization algorithm. To assess the effectiveness of the proposed method, five numerical examples including three beams with varying characteristics and 16, 27, and 20 elements, respectively, and two plates with different support conditions—one with two-edge fixed supports and another with four-edge fixed supports are considered. Different damage scenarios are considered for structures. The findings indicate that the proposed method shows outstanding results in terms of identifying the location and severity of damage using acceleration responses with considering noise interferences.