ABSTRACT
This paper proposes a novel structural damage detection (SDD) approach by using salp swarm algorithm (SSA) combined with cosine-based indicator (CI) and sensitivity analysis on mode shape and frequency under environmental noises. The SDD problem is first converted into a mathematical constrained optimization problem while structural damage is assumed as stiffness reduction in finite element analysis. Then an objective function is defined based on the novel CI damage indicator and the changes in frequencies for effectively improving the SDD accuracy and efficiency by the sensitivity analysis of more complex structures. Finally, the SDD problem is solved by the aid of SSA. Numerical simulations on a two-story frame structure and experimental verifications on a three-story steel frame structure are both conducted to assess the performance of the proposed approach. The results show that the proposed approach can effectively locate structural damages and quantify damage extents with an exact detection accuracy and a faster efficiency.
