Finite element method based Monte Carlo filters for structural system identification

The paper proposes a strategy for combining two powerful computational procedures, namely, the finite element method (FEM) for structural analysis and particle filtering for dynamic state estimation, to tackle the problem of structural system parameter identification based on a set of noisy measurements on static and (or) dynamic structural responses. The proposed identification method automatically inherits the wide ranging capabilities of both FEM and particle filtering procedures thereby enabling the treatment of many complicated features of system identification problems, namely, imperfections in mathematical models for structural behavior, noisy and spatially incomplete measurements, nonlinear models for process and measurement equations, possible non-Gaussian nature of system and measurement noises, and dynamic and (or) static behaviors of the structure. Additionally, the authors propose a method that permits assimilation of measurements from multiple static and (or) dynamic tests and from multiple sensors in the system identification procedure in a unified manner. The paper describes how finite element models residing in commercially available softwares can be made to communicate with a database of measurements via a particle filtering algorithm developed on the Matlab platform. This leads to a probabilistic description of system parameters to be identified. Illustrative examples consider measurements from computational models, laboratory and field tests. These illustrations include studies on a rubber sheet with a hole undergoing large deformations, laboratory investigations on a single span beam and field investigations on an existing multi-span masonry arch bridge subjected to diagnostic moving loads.