ON A STATISTICAL OPTIMIZATION METHOD USED IN FINITE ELEMENT MODEL UPDATING

Bayesian estimator is a commonly used statistical optimization technique for finite element model updating. This paper presents a modified Bayesian estimator and discusses its unbiasedness, efficiency, learning ability and robustness. The main differences from other estimators, for instance, the least-squares method, are shown. The new Bayesian estimator can also be used as a multi-objective, multi-design variable optimization method. An example is presented to demonstrate its features.