Structural Health Monitoring of Cracked Beam by the Dual ReciprocityBoundary Element Method

In this paper a 2D boundary element model is used to characterize the transient response ofa piezoelectric based structural health monitoring system for cracked beam. The BE model is writtenfor piezoelectric non-homogeneous problem employing generalized displacements. The dualreciprocity method is used to write the mass matrix in terms of boundary parameters only. Themultidomain boundary element technique is implemented to model non-homogeneous and crackedconfiguration, unilateral interface conditions are also considered to prevent the physical inconsistenceof the overlapping between interface nodes belonging to the crack surfaces. To assess the reliabilityand the effectiveness of the model numerical analyses are carried out on the modal and dynamicresponse of undamaged beam and results are compared with finite element calculations. Electricalresponse of piezoelectric sensors are then reported for different crack configurations in comparisonwith the undamaged case.