Damage Assessment of Reinforced Concrete Beams by Complex Ratios of Transfer Functions

Abstract:

In this paper, a newly developed approach for the determination of characteristics associated with local defects of a beam is briefly introduced. From the numerical studies carried out in this study, the complex ratio between two transfer functions associated with an imaginary intact beam and a damaged beam can provide such information. Based on the numerical studies, the rules in determining degree of damages and locations of defects were first briefly outlined. These idealized rules were then verified by experimental data obtained from dynamic tests of realistic specimens of simply-supported reinforced concrete beams. The preliminary results indicate that the defined ratio of transfer functions can potentially serve as an exaggerated indication for the degree of changes in certain modal responses. Thus, the proposed ratio of transfer functions can be used to assist system identification, while the nature of high sensitivity also restricts its direct application to certain complicated data associated with field tests. A variety of test setup for both receivers and impact sources were studied and the test results appear to agree with designated conditions of the specimens.