SENSOR DISTRIBUTION ON A MONITORED STRUCTURE: OPTIMIZATION OF A PROCEDURE FOR DAMAGE DETECTION AND LOCALIZATION

Damage detection approach based on dynamic monitoring of structural properties over time has received a considerable attention in recent scientific literature. In earthquake engineering field, the recourse to experimental research is necessary to better understand the mechanical behaviour of various structural and non-structural components. Aim of this paper is the optimisation of a methodology based on the evaluation of the mode curvature to detect and localize a possible damage occurred on a framed structure after an earthquake. The methodology is based on the use of accelerometric sensors, one station for each floor, to record accelerometric time-histories and directly evaluate the fundamental mode shape variations from filtered signals. In order to reduce costs and computation, this paper focuses on the possibility to reduce the number of stations installed on the monitored structures. In this study, the attention has been concentred to minimize the number of sensors, as a function of the number of floors, and to optimize their distribution along the monitored building. This paper resumes the main outcomes retrieved from many numerical nonlinear dynamic models of reinforced concrete framed structures.