Reliability of Using Modal Curvature Method in Long Span Cable Stayed Bridges

Dynamic damage detection methods have received considerable attention in all branch of engineering. Damage is identified by comparing the typical dynamic properties of the damaged and undamaged structure. In the present work, method based on modal curvature difference is employed for identifying and locating damage in various structural elements of a cable stayed bridge. In order to verify the suitability for implementing the technique, eigen value analyses are carried out on finite element models of cable stayed bridge and the eigen vectors for different cases are extracted. Damage is considered as a localized reduction in structural stiffness. It is observed that the sensitivity of locating damage in a particular cable stayed bridge depends on the location of damage, type of structural element and severity of damages.