Fault Diagnosis of Civil Engineering Structures using the Bond Graph Approach

This paper develops a fault diagnosis methodology for civil engineering structures based on the bond graph approach. The bond graph theory provides a modeling framework that includes parametric models of the physical system and the sensors. Structural faults are modeled as abrupt or gradual damage in structural components. Sensor faults are modeled as biases or drifts from true measurements. Fault detection uses a statistical method to identify significant deviations of measurements from nominal behavior of the structure. Fault isolation is carried out by comparing predicted effects of hypothesized faults with observed behavior of the structure. Numerical illustrations of fault diagnosis of a frame structure driven by time-varying loads are provided.