Damage detection in Ca-Non Bridge using transmissibility and artificial neural networks

This paper deals with damage detection in a girder bridge using transmissibility functions as input data to Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs). The original contribution in this work is that these two novel methods are combined to detect damage in a bridge. The damage was simulated in a real bridge in Vietnam, i.e. Ca-Non Bridge. Finite Element Method (FEM) of this bridge was used to show the reliability of the proposed technique. The vibration responses at some points of the bridge under a moving truck are simulated and used to calculate the transmissibility functions. These functions are then used as input data to train the ANNs, in which the target is the location and the severity of the damage in the bridge. After training successfully, the network can be used to assess the damage. Although simulated responses data are used in this paper, the practical application of the technique to real bridge data is potentially high.