Structural damage detection using the simulated evolution method

A two-stage structural damage detection method is proposed in which the residual force method and the method of simulated evolution are employed, respectively, in different stages to alleviate the problem of lack of identifiability in finding variations in the stiffness matrix of a structure subject to damage. The damage localization algorithm based on the residual force method successfully located the structural damage in the case that the analytical model used for damage detection can well represent the dynamical system of interest within the range of measurement data employed.