Beam damage detection using synchronisation of peaks in instantaneous frequency and amplitude of vibration data

This paper explores the advantages of Variational Mode Decomposition (VMD) in detecting local damage on beam type structures (bridge) subjected to a sprung mass (vehicle). VMD is used to decompose the acceleration time history of the bridge at its midspan into its constitutive intrinsic mode functions (IMFs). The instantaneous frequency (IF) and instantaneous amplitude (IA) of the first IMF show irregularities at the damage position. We demonstrate through computer simulation that VMD is superior for detecting damage when compared to the well-known Empirical Mode Decomposition (EMD) method. A new damage sensitive feature (DSF) is also introduced that considers synchronisation of peaks between the IA and IF signals. The results show that the new DSF can enhance the peak at the damage positions while suppressing peaks at other locations.