Vibration based dual-criteria damage detection method using deep neural networks in highway bridges with steel girders

This article introduces a new method for assessing the damage in steel girders of highway bridges using deep neural networks. The method uses modified forms of modal strain energy damage index and modal flexibility damage index to train the neural network and prevent unsafe decisions. The neural network is trained using damage indexes achieved from numerical simulations of the bridge with different damage scenarios. Three types of neural networks, including convolutional neural network (CNN), Long short-term memory (LSTM) neural network, and conventional artificial neural network (ANN) are compared to achieve the best performance. The proposed method overcomes previous detection problems such as false-positive indications, limited damage locations, and scenarios, and insufficient accuracy in cases with multiple damage scenarios. The results show that the proposed method and CNN can accurately identify unspecified damage locations and severity in multi-span highway bridges. The new training method of the CNN deep neural network systems overcomes some shortcomings in ANN, such as being time-consuming, having a low convergence rate, and experiencing data overfitting. Additionally, the CNN training scheme can limit the need for massive amounts of input data and increase the speed and accuracy of network training, especially in multiple damage scenarios.