On the Tapping-Scan Method Designed for the Damage Detection of Bridge Structures

摘要

Inspired by the hunting behavior of woodpeckers, a new tapping-scan method is proposed for the damage detection of bridge structures with high accuracy. The whole detecting system is a scanning vehicle integrated with tapping devices. With this system, the damage detection can be applied without disturbing the traffic on the bridge. To enhance the detection sensitivity, an analytical solution is firstly deduced to unveil the relation between the vehicle acceleration and the damage. Then numerical simulations are carried out for different damage scenarios. The obtained spectrum of vehicle acceleration is used to locate the damage.