A great deal of work has been done in the area of damage identification in structures using changes of modal parameters before and after damage. Most of the developments have been based on beam theory and applied to beam-like or truss structures. Few researchers have made contributions to damage identification of plate-like structures employing a damage index method, especially for timber structures. In this paper, experimental investigations on a laboratory timber bridge using damage index method for plate-like structures are reported. Experimental modal analysis was performed to extract essential modal parameters from test data. Mode shape curvatures derived from the mode shapes were utilised in a damage index method for plate-like structures to detect single and two damage scenarios in a timber bridge. The purpose of the study is to explore feasibility of using modal strain energy based methods for damage identification of plate-like structures. The results show that the damage index method for plate-like structures using higher modes provides reasonable damage localisation for single and multiple damage cases.
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