Structural damage detection with wavelet support vector machine: Introduction and applications

Based on wavelet packet decomposition and conditions of the support hector kernel function, a non-linear wavelet basis is introduced to construct the kernel function of support vector machine (SVM), and a tighten wavelet support vector machine (WSVM), which has strong generalization ability is obtained. Wavelet packet decomposition is applied to the structural response signals under ambient vibration, feature vectors are obtained by feature extraction according to wavelet energy spectrum. The feature vectors are used for training and classification as the inputs of the tighten SVM. Hence, a new structural damage detection method called complete WSVM is established. This method is used to a single-layer spherical lattice dome for damage detection. The structural damage location and degree can be detected and classified, and the result is highly accurate. This approach has some advantages, such as engineering oriented, low cost and convenient. Copyright (c) 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.