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Application of genetic algorithms for a new approach for seismic building monitoring: integrated measurement systems with physical and virtual sensors

A novel approach for seismic monitoring of buildings is presented. Starting from the seismic recordings of a small number of physical accelerometers, a high number of virtual sensors can be created, making it possible to get a more complete and refined evaluation of the post-seismic damage. The main...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Bulletin of earthquake engineering 2022-07, Vol.20 (9), p.4293-4317
Main Authors: Acunzo, G., Fiorini, N., Spina, D., Dolce, M.
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:A novel approach for seismic monitoring of buildings is presented. Starting from the seismic recordings of a small number of physical accelerometers, a high number of virtual sensors can be created, making it possible to get a more complete and refined evaluation of the post-seismic damage. The main novelty of the proposed method lies in the fact that the mathematical model which simulates the seismic response of the building, in order to create the virtual sensors, is not a classic finite element model, but it has a purely experimental origin and it is built directly from the vibrations of the building measured in its ordinary operating conditions. A preliminary condition for the virtual sensors creation is to perform a one-time ambient vibrations measurement, by installing temporary physical sensors where the desired physical and virtual sensors of the permanent monitoring system will be located. Once the building modal parameters are identified from the one-time measurement, a predictive seismic modal model of the building can be implemented, according to the basic concept of the so-called Seismic Model from Ambient Vibrations (SMAV) already presented by the authors in other papers. As well known, when a building is hit by a seismic shock, its apparent natural frequencies and levels of damping vary according to the oscillations amplitude, as a result of its non-linear behavior. The key point in the proposed approach is precisely to identify such varied parameters by using a model updating procedure, based on genetic algorithms, which aims at best reproducing the structural response measured by the small number of physical sensors, by applying the same seismic excitation suffered by the real building to the model. The seismic excitation has to be measured at the base of the building by a physical sensor installed on the ground, that must therefore necessarily be included in the monitoring system together with the sensors arranged on the structure. The calibrated model permits to evaluate the structural response also in the virtual sensors, thus providing a measurement integrated system for a more complete post-event damage assessment of the monitored building. The use of the genetic algorithm is fundamental for the reliability of the updating process, avoiding errors due to the presence of local minima or to the over-reliance of the solution on the initial choice of the parameters. The proposed approach has been initially tested with some numerical simul
ISSN:1570-761X
1573-1456
DOI:10.1007/s10518-021-01300-z