Abstract：In this paper, the technology of phase space reconstruction in chaotic theory is introduced and applied in the structural damage detection and health monitoring. The feasibility of the damage detection method based on the topology of phase space is analyzed using a 1-demention oscillator. The results indicate that the differences of topology of phase spaces are obvious between the initial system and the damaged ones with changing stiffness. Using the technology of phase space reconstruction in nonlinear chaotic attractor field, the dynamic responses are directly displayed into phase space. Using the changes of phase space topology of intact and damaged responses，a new damage feature is extracted. In order to demonstrate the method, a dynamic experiment on circular arch is designed. The experimental results indicate that this method can successfully identify the location and the quantification of the damage, and the new feature is much more sensitive than signature analysis approaches. This method can calculate the value of the feature using single dynamic response, which can be used in the structural health monitoring as a global damage feature to monitor the existence of damage and the structural health status.
2013, Vol. 34 
