Damage detection of frames using the increment of lateral displacement change

The method proposed in this paper is based on the fact that the damage in different types of structural members has distinctive influence on the structural stiffness. The intrinsic mechanical property of the structure is tapped and fully utilized for damage detection. The simplified model of the flexibility of frames treats the individual storeys as springs in series and the frame as an equivalent column. It fully considers the main deformation of all beams and columns in the frame. The deformation property of the simplified model accorded well with that of the actual frame model. The obtained increment of lateral displacement change (IOLDC) at the storey level was found to be very sensitive to the local damage in the frame. A damage detection method is pro- posed using the IOLDCs as the damage identification parameters. Numerical examples demonstrate the potential applicability of this method.