Structural response reconstruction based on empirical mode decomposition in time domain

In this paper, a new method for structural response reconstruction of critical locations using measurements from remote sensors is developed. The method is based on the empirical mode decomposition with intermittency criteria and transformation equations derived from finite element modeling. Dynamic responses measured from usage monitoring system or sensors at available locations are decomposed into modal responses directly in time domain. Transformation equations based on finite element modeling are used to extrapolate the modal responses from the measured locations to critical locations where direct sensor measurements are not available. The modal superposition method is employed to obtain dynamic responses at critical locations. A numerical beam example is used to demonstrate the overall reconstruction procedure. Following this, a practical structure scale problem is used to validate the effectiveness and accuracy of the proposed method. Effects of sensor locations, the number of sensors, high damping ration, closely space modes and the noise level in measurement are studied in detail. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.