Identification of damage in beam and plate structures using parameter‐dependent frequency changes

Damage of a structure affects its stiffness properties and induces a shift in the free frequency spectrum. In the paper, an additional parameter is introduced, such as concentrated elastic or rigid support and mass. The evolution of natural frequencies is analyzed for varying parameter values with respect to damage location. This frequency variation is used in assessing the location and magnitude of damage by introducing the damage indices or by solving the identification problem requiring the minimization of the parameter dependent distance functional. The first part of the paper is concerned with the sensitivity analysis of damage indices with respect to support or mass location. The second part deals with the identification problem for which the specific examples are treated.