Vibration based structural health monitoring in fibre reinforced composites employing the modal strain energy method

The feasibility of a vibration based damage identification method is investigated. The Modal Strain Energy method is applied to a T–beam structure. The dynamic response of an intact structure and a damaged, delaminated structure is analysed employing a commercially available Finite Element package. This study presents an experimental validation of the numerical model developed and focusses further on the influence of the size of the delamination and the location. In particular, the incorporation of the torsion modes in the damage identification and localization is investigated.