Wave Propagation Based Multi-Crack Identification in Beam Structures through Anti-Resonances Information

Cracks bring a serious threat to safety of structures. Most of the failures and fractures of engineering structures are due to initial cracks or fatigue cracks of materials. So it is very important to analyze the vibration characteristics and to identify the damage of cracked structures. A method for multi-crack identification based on wave propagation is proposed in this paper, which makes use of the driving-point mechanical impedance characteristics of the cracked beams stimulated by harmonic force. The proposed identification method is used to characterize the local discontinuity due to cracks, and a simplified rotational spring model is introduced to model cracks. Subsequently, the proposed method is verified by a numerical example of a simply supported steel beam with three cracks. The effect of crack depth on driving-point impedance is investigated. Combined with the first anti-resonances information, the proposed method can identify the presence of cracks, localize the multiple cracks, and qualitatively identify the extent of the crack damages.