Vision-Based Structural FE Model Updating Using Genetic Algorithm

Abstract

Structural members can be damaged from earthquakes or deterioration. The finite element (FE) model of a structure should be updated to reflect the damage conditions. If the stiffness reduction is ignored, the analysis results will be unreliable. Conventional FE model updating techniques measure the structure response with accelerometers to update the FE model. However, accelerometers can measure the response only where the sensor is installed. This paper introduces a new computer-vision based method for structural FE model updating using genetic algorithm. The system measures the displacement of the structure using seven different object tracking algorithms, and optimizes the structural parameters using genetic algorithm. To validate the performance, a lab-scale test with a three-story building was conducted. The displacement of each story of the building was measured before and after reducing the stiffness of one column. Genetic algorithm automatically optimized the non-damaged state of the FE model to the damaged state. The proposed method successfully updated the FE model to the damaged state. The proposed method is expected to reduce the time and cost of FE model updating.

Keywords

• structural health monitoring
• computer vision
• model updating
• genetic algorithm