Damage assessment based on static and dynamic responses applied to foundation beams

Abstract

Foundations are a vital part of structures. Over time, the foundations can deteriorate due to unforeseen overloads and/or settlements, resulting in the appearance of cracks in the concrete. These cracks produce changes in the static and dynamic behavior of the affected foundation, which alter its load carrying capacity. In this work, non-destructive techniques of relative simplicity of application are presented for the detection, location, and quantification of damage, using numerical models, solved with the finite element method and Power Series. For this, two types of parameters are used: static (displacement and elastic curvature) and dynamics (natural frequencies). In the static analysis, the damage detection is done by means of a finite elements model representing a beam supported on an elastic foundation with a discrete crack that varies in length and location. With regard to dynamic analysis, the governing equations of the model are presented and a method based on Power Series is used to obtain the solution for a data set, which could be the Winkler coefficient, the location of the crack or the frequency. In order to validate the proposed methodologies, these techniques are applied to data obtained from laboratory tests.