Virtual Distortion Method based optimal sensor placement for damage identification

The paper presents a novel method for sensor placement optimized towards effective identification of structural damages The derivation of the method is based on the concept of virtual distortions together with information provided by a set of strain gauges. Then, a gradient oriented optimization is applied to identify sensor locations, which are the most sensitive to potential damage scenarios. Steepest descent method is utilized to determine the optimal values of the objective function. Additionally, dependence of the method on the applied excitation signal is discussed. Finally, effectiveness of the proposed methodology is demonstrated on an example of optimal search for sensor placement on a 6-bay planar truss structure.