Numerical study on damage identification using fractal theory and curvature method

Simply supported beam bridges are the most widely distributed kind of bridges, which are most commonly used in short and medium span bridges. Therefore, it is imperative to study their damage detection methods which can be used in engineering. To solve this problem, on the basis of fractal theory and curvature mode shapes method, this paper presents a damage identification method of simply supported beams: curvature difference method of waveform fractal dimension. Based on a numerical simply supported beam model, numerical simulation results using the technique under pulse excitation indicate that the proposed method can not only used in damage localization, but also in damage severity identification of the damaged elements. Moreover, effects of different excitation methods on results are examined. The proposed approach exhibits the insusceptibility to noise.