Structural damage identification based on parameter identification using Monte Carlo method and likelihood estimation

Structural parameters are the most important factors reflecting structural performance and conditions. As a result, their identification becomes the most essential aspect of the structural assessment and damage identification for the structural health monitoring. In this paper, a structural parameter identification method based on Monte Carlo method and likelihood estimate is proposed. With which, parameters such as stiffness and damping are identified and studied. Identification results subjected to three different conditions of without noise, with Gaussian noise and with non-Gaussian noise are studied and compared. Considering the existence of damage, damage identification is also realized through the identification of structural parameters. Both simulations and experiments are conducted to verify the proposed method. Results show that structural parameters, as well as the damages, can be well identified. Moreover, the proposed method is much robust to the noises. The proposed method may be prospective for the application of real structural health monitoring.