Comparative study of damage indices for long-span bridges

In this paper, a comparative study of applying various indices to the damage detection of Tsing Ma Bridge and Ting Kau Bridge is presented. Two established damage-detection-oriented finite element models of the bridges are used for the damage detection simulation studies. Damage indices have been applied to indicate the damage location of various simulated damage scenarios. The numerical simulation results show that the applicability and performance of each index depend on the damage type and the bridge type concerned. Based on performance evaluation, the preferred damage indices in accordance with different damage type and bridge type are recommended.