Engineering Structures 26 (2004) 39–49

www.elsevier.com/locate/engstruct

Applications of wavelet transforms to damage detection in frame

structures
A.V. Ovanesova, L.E. Suárez ∗
Civil Engineering Department, University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez, PR 00681, USA

Received 24 October 2002; received in revised form 26 July 2003; accepted 13 August 2003

Abstract

This paper presents applications of the wavelet transform to detect cracks in frame structures, such as beams and plane frames.
A simplified review of the theory behind the wavelet transform is given, and the ability of wavelets to detect crack-like damage
in structures is demonstrated by means of several numerical examples. The method requires the knowledge of only the response
of the damaged structure, i.e. no information about the original undamaged structure is required. In addition, it is shown that the
procedure can detect the localization of the crack by using a response signal from static or dynamic loads. Moreover, the response
needs to be obtained only at the regions where it is suspected that the damage may be present. The results of the simulation show
that if a suitable wavelet is selected, the method is capable to extract damage information from the response signal in a simple,
robust and reliable way.
 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Wavelet analysis; Continuous wavelet transform; Discrete wavelet transform; Damage identification; Crack detection; Nondestructive
methods

1. Introduction to detect damage are based directly on the examination

The detection of crack-like defects in mechanical sys-
tems and civil engineering structures is a problem that
received considerable attention from engineering
researchers in the last decades [4]. The research effort
devoted to this topic is due to its practical importance.
For example, one of the most important requirements for
the proper maintenance of machinery or civil infrastruc-
ture systems is the detection of crack-like damage at the
early stages of growth. This leads to the necessity of
developing nondestructive techniques for crack detection
that are both practical and accurate.
There are a large number of nondestructive methods
for crack detection that are based on the changes in the
dynamic properties of the structure (frequencies, mode
shapes, transfer functions, etc) caused by the damage.
They are, for example, reviewed in [4]. Other techniques
∗
Corresponding author. Tel.: +1-787-832-4040, ext. 3669; fax: +1-
787-833-8260.
E-mail address: lsuarez@ce.uprm.edu (L.E. Suárez).
of the response signals. Most of these methods are based
on the use of the Fourier transform, which breaks down
a signal into constituent sinusoids of different fre-
quencies. The Fourier analysis transforms the signal
from a time-based or space-based domain to a fre-
quency-based one. Unfortunately, in transforming to the
frequency domain, the time or space information is lost
and it is impossible to determine when or where a parti-
cular event took place. To correct this deficiency, the
method that became to be known as the short-time Four-
ier transform (STFT) was proposed by Dennis Gabor
[1,5,6]. This windowing technique analyzes only a small
section of the signal at a time. The STFT maps a signal
into a 2-D function of time or space and frequency. The
transform has the disadvantage that the information
about time or space and frequency can be obtained with
a limited precision that is determined by the size of the
window. A high resolution in time or space and fre-
quency cannot be obtained simultaneously since once the
window size is chosen, it is the same for all frequencies.
A more flexible method with a variable size window
is required to determine with greater precision any parti-

0141-0296/$ - see front matter  2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.engstruct.2003.08.009
40 A.V. Ovanesova, L.E. Suárez / Engineering Structures 26 (2004) 39–49

cular features of a signal in time or space as a function
of frequency. The wavelet transform is precisely a new
way to analyze signals that overcomes the problems that
other signal processing techniques exhibit. Wavelets are
composed of a family of basis functions that are capable
of describing a signal in a localized time (or space) and
frequency (or scale) domain [1,3,6,10,12,18].
The wavelet transform, like the STFT, is a two-para-
Wavelet analysis starts by selecting from the existing
wavelet families (see Section 4) a basic wavelet function
that can be a function of space x or time t. In this paper
we will consider that the independent variable is x. This
basic wavelet function, called the ‘mother wavelet’
y (x), is then dilated (stretched or compressed) by a and
translated in space by b to generate a set of basis func-
tions ya,b(x) as follows:

冉 冊
meter transform. For time signals, the two domains of
the wavelet transform are time t and scale a. The scale 1 x⫺b
ya,b(x) ⫽ y
冑a
. (1)
a can be approximately related to the frequency w [12]. a
For the applications we are interested in, the signals to
be analyzed are function of space and the two parameters The function is centered at b with a spread proportional
of the wavelet transform are space (or position x) and to a. The wavelet transform (in its continuous or discrete
scale a. version) correlates the function f(x) with yab(x). The
The main advantage gained by using wavelets is the continuous wavelet transform (CWT) is the sum over all
ability to perform local analysis of a signal, i.e. to zoom- time of the signal multiplied by a scaled and shifted ver-
in on any interval of time or space. Wavelet analysis is sion of a mother wavelet
thus capable of revealing some hidden aspects of the data
that other signal analysis techniques fail to detect. This
property is particularly important for damage detection
applications. Moreover, due to the availability of a fast
C(a,b) ⫽
冑冕
1
a
⬁

⫺⬁
f(x) y 冉 冊
x⫺b
a
dx
(2)
transform version, the computational effort to perform
the signal transformation is reduced. Because of these
features, the wavelet transform is rising as a promising
⫽ 冕 ⬁

⫺⬁
f(x) yab(x)dx,

new method for damage identification in structures. A
report on the new wavelet-based methods for damage
identification is presented in [15].
The objective of this paper is to show the ability of
the wavelet transform to detect cracks by applying the
technique to a number of structural members and simple
structures under different loading conditions. The dam-
age identification is implemented by means of numerical
simulations. Beam finite elements with a single non-
breathing crack that runs across the width of the member
[8,13] are used in the neighborhood of the crack location
whereas the rest of the structure is modeled with conven-
tional beam elements. Although there are a number of
monographs devoted to the subject of wavelets
where the scale a and the position b real numbers and
a ⫽ 0. The results of the transform are wavelet coef-
ficients that show how well a wavelet function correlates
with the signal analyzed. Hence, sharp transitions in f(x)
create wavelet coefficients with large amplitudes and this
precisely is the basis of the proposed identification
method.
The CWT has an inverse: the inverse CWT permits
to recover the signal from its coefficients C(a,b) and is
defined as
f(x) ⫽
1
Ky 冕 冕
⬁

a ⫽ ⫺⬁
⬁

b ⫽ ⫺⬁
da
C(a,b) ya,b(x) db 2 ,
a
(3)

[1,3,10,11,14,16,18], most of them are highly mathemat-
ical in nature and focused on theoretical aspects. There-
fore, a brief introduction to the wavelet transform that
should be accessible to structural engineers is first
presented.
2. The wavelet transforms
In a nutshell, wavelets are localized waves, in other
words signals with a zero average value that drop to zero
after a few oscillations. The origin of the wavelet analy-
sis as it is known today can be traced to the work of
Alex Grossmann and Jean Morlet [9,10]. Wavelets can
be real or complex functions. Since real wavelets are
useful to detect sharp signal transitions [10], this paper
deals exclusively with them.
where the constant Ky depends on the wavelet type. One
of the drawback of the CWT is that a very large number
of wavelet coefficients C(a,b) are generated during the
analysis. Moreover, few wavelets have an explicit
expression, and most are defined with recursive equa-
tions. It can be shown [3] that the CWT is highly redun-
dant, in the sense that it is not necessary to use the full
domain of C(a,b) to reconstruct f(x). Therefore, instead
of using a continuum of dilations and translations, dis-
crete values of the parameters are used. The dilation is
defined as a = 2j and the translation parameter takes the
values b = k 2j, where (j, k)苸Z, and Z is a set of integers.
This sampling of the coordinates (a,b) is referred to as
dyadic sampling because consecutive values of the dis-
crete scales differ by a factor of 2. Using the discrete
scales one can define the discrete wavelet transform
(DWT)
 A.V. Ovanesova, L.E. Suárez / Engineering Structures 26 (2004) 39–49 41

Cj,k ⫽ 2⫺j/2 冕 ⬁

⫺⬁
f(x) y(2⫺jx⫺k)dx (4)
The new coefficients cAJ(k) are known as the level-J
approximation coefficients. The discrete version of the
reconstruction formula, eq. (7), becomes

⫽ 冕 ⬁

⫺⬁
f(x) yj,k(x)dx.
f(x) ⫽ 冘冉冘
J ⬁

cDj(k) yj,k(x) 冊 (10)

j ⫽ ⫺⬁ k ⫽ ⫺⬁
The signal resolution is defined as the inverse of the
scale 1 / a = 2⫺j, and the integer j is referred to as the
冘
⬁

level. As the level and the scale decrease, the resolution ⫹ cAJ(k) fj,k(x).
k ⫽ ⫺⬁
increases and the smaller and finer components of the
signal can be accessed. The function in the parentheses is known as the detail
The signal can be reconstructed from the wavelet function at level j:
coefficients Cj,k and the reconstruction algorithm is
冘
⬁
called the inverse discrete wavelet transform (IDWT):
Dj(x) ⫽ cDj(k) yj,k(x). (11)

冘 冘
⬁ ⬁
k ⫽ ⫺⬁
f(x) ⫽ Cj,k 2⫺j/2y(2⫺jx⫺k). (5)
j ⫽ ⫺⬁ k ⫽ ⫺⬁
The function defined by the second summation in eq.
(10) is called the approximation function at level J
Suppose that the wavelet transform Cab is only available
for small scales, say a ⬍ a 0 and we want to recover
冘
⬁

the function f(x). In this case we need the complement AJ(x) ⫽ cAJ(k) fj,k(x). (12)
of the information corresponding to C(a,b) for a ⬎ k ⫽ ⫺⬁

a 0. To obtain this information another function f(x), Eq. (10) thus tells that the original function can be
referred to as the scaling function, needs to be introduced expressed as the sum of its approximation at level J plus
[10]. Substituting y(x) by f(x) in eq. (2) one obtain a all its details up to the same level. i.e.

冘
function D(a0,b)

冕 冉 冊
⬁ f(x) ⫽ AJ(x) ⫹ Dj(x). (13)
x⫺b 1
D(a0,b) ⫽ f(x) f jⱕ J
冑a 0 a 0
dx
⫺⬁
(6) For this study, we are interested in the detail signals. As

⫽ 冕⬁

⫺⬁
f(x) fa0,b(x) dx.
it will be shown with the numerical examples, if f(x) is
a response signal, typically the deflection curve, the sig-
nals Dj(x) contain the information necessary to detect the
It can then be shown that the inverse CWT in eq. (3), i.e. cracks in the structure.
the reconstruction formula, can be divided as follows: Eqs. (8) and (9) describe the DWT whereas eqs. (11),

冕 冉冕 冊
a0 ⬁
(12) and (13) constitute the IDWT. Note that the signal
1 da f(x) is still continuous. In practice, only a sample of the
f(x) ⫽ C(a,b)ya,b(x)db (7)
Ky 0 ⫺⬁ a2 signal is available, and the numerical implementation of

冕 ⬁ the DWT and its inverse is done by means of the fast

1
⫹ A(a0,b)fa0,b(x) db.
Kya0 ⫺⬁
The scaling function does not exist for every wavelet.
The existence of the function f(x) is important for the
numerical implementation of the fast wavelet transform
discussed later.
Suppose now that the dyadic scale is used for a and
b, and consider a reference level J. Applying eq. (4) for
this case one obtains a set of coefficients
wavelet transform (FWT). The FWT is a set of algor-
ithms discovered by Stéphane Mallat [9] which make
use of the concept of low-pass and high-pass digital fil-
ters. These filters, referred to as filter banks, implement
a fast orthogonal transform that requires only O(N) oper-
ations for a signal discretized as a sequence f(n) of length
N. For the applications of the wavelet transform
described in this paper, it is not necessary to know the
details the digital filter interpretation of the FWT. The

冕
interested readers are referred to the book by Strang and
⬁
Nguyen [16] and the ‘User’s Guide of the Wavelet Tool-
cDJ(k) ⫽ f(x) yJ,k(x) dx. (8)
⫺⬁ box’ [12].
The coefficients cDJ(k) are known as the level-J detail
coefficients. Using the dyadic scale and level J, eq. (6)
yields another set of coefficients 3. Properties of wavelets

cAJ(k) ⫽ 冕 ⬁

⫺⬁
f(x) fJ,k(x) dx. (9) Many types of wavelets were developed whose fea-
tures and performance vary based on their associated
42 A.V. Ovanesova, L.E. Suárez / Engineering Structures 26 (2004) 39–49
properties [2,3]. Some of the most relevant properties
are: (1) regularity; (2) support; (3) number of vanishing
moments; and (4) symmetry. A brief definition of these
properties, including references for a more detailed
explanation, is given next.
1. Regularity is defined as follows: if r is an integer and
a function is r-time continuously differentiable at x0,
then the regularity is r. If r is not an integer, let n be
the integer such that n ⬍ r ⬍ n + 1, then function
has a regularity of r in x0 if its derivative of order n
resembles (x⫺x 0)r⫺n locally around x0. This property
is useful for getting nice features, such as smoothness,
of the reconstructed signals [11,18].
2. The support of a function is the smallest space-set
(or time-set) outside of which function is identically
zero [1,10,17,18].
3. The number of vanishing moments of wavelets deter-
mines the order of the polynomial that can be approxi-
mated and is useful for compression purposes
[1,3,11].
4. The wavelet symmetry relates to the symmetry of the
filters and helps to avoid dephasing in image pro-
cessing. Among the orthogonal families, the Haar
wavelet is the only symmetric wavelet. For biorthog-
onal wavelets it is possible to synthesize wavelet
functions and scaling functions that are symmetric or
antisymmetric [3,7,16].
4. Classification of existing wavelets
This section provides a classification of some of the
most well known wavelets. The classification is restric-
ted to those available in the Matlab Toolbox [12]
because this will be the software used later to implement
the identification methodology.
1. The Gaussian, Mexican Hat, Morlet and Shannon
wavelets represent examples of wavelets for which
the wavelet function y has an explicit expression
[3,12]. The scaling functions j do not exist, and thus
the DWT, FWT, and the discrete reconstruction are
unavailable. The analysis is limited to the CWT.
2. The Meyer wavelet is an example of infinitely regular
wavelet [2,3,11,12]. This wavelet does not have an
explicit expression for the wavelet function y. The
scaling function j exists and the DWT is possible,
although a fast algorithm (FWT) is unavailable.
3. The Haar, the Daubechies wavelets of order N, the
Symlet wavelets of order N, the Coiflet wavelets of
order N are examples of orthogonal wavelets
[2,3,12,17]. These wavelets do not have an explicit
representation for the wavelet function y, except for
the Daubechies wavelet of order 1, which is the Haar
wavelet. The existence of scaling functions j permits
to carry out the DWT using the FWT. The disadvan-
tages of this type of wavelets are their poor regularity
as well as that symmetry and exact reconstruction are
incompatible (except for the Haar wavelet) if the
same finite impulse response (FIR) filters are used for
reconstruction and decomposition [7,16]. Symmetry
in an FIR filter guarantees linearity in the frequency
response phase, a very desirable property in many
applications [14].
4. To avoid the limitations of the orthogonal wavelets,
the biorthogonal wavelets were introduced [2,3,12].
The biorthogonal wavelets are compactly supported
biorthogonal spline wavelets for which symmetry and
exact reconstruction are possible with FIR filters. Two
wavelets and scaling functions, instead of one, are
used: ȳj,k is used for the analysis to calculate the coef-
ficients C̄j,k of a signal f:
冕
C̄j,k ⫽ f(x)ȳj,k(x)dx
and yj,k is used for the synthesis to reconstruct signal
f(x) from the coefficients C̄j,k
f(x) ⫽ 冘 C̄j,kyj,k(x).
j,k
Examples are the biorthogonal wavelets of order
Nr.Nd, where Nr and Nd are the wavelet orders for
reconstruction and decomposition, respectively.
5. Procedure for crack detection
5.1. Criteria for optimal wavelet selection
To apply the wavelet transform in any application it
is important to select the most appropriate (or optimal)
wavelet for the analysis. The selection is usually done
by trial and error, but by examining the properties one
can discard many candidates and expedite the process.
To analyze the response signals in this study the optimal
wavelet was chosen according to the following criteria:
1. From the available wavelets, eliminate those that do
not allow carrying out a FWT. They are the Gaussian,
Mexican Hat, Morlet, Shannon and Meyer wavelets.
2. The orthogonal and biorthogonal wavelets remain
after the first elimination. Both permit to apply the
FWT using filter banks.
3. The requirement to satisfy symmetry and exact recon-
struction of the analyzed signal limit the choice to the
Haar wavelet and biorthogonal wavelets.
4. The two candidate wavelets have a significant differ-
ence in regularity. Thus, regularity is the last property
that singles out the wavelet to perform the analyses.
The irregularity of the Haar wavelet leaves the bior-
 A.V. Ovanesova, L.E. Suárez / Engineering Structures 26 (2004) 39–49
thogonal wavelets as the choice for the analyses (see
Case 1 (dynamic analysis) in Section 6).
5. The regularity of the different biorthogonal wavelets
increase with the wavelet order N (see point (1) in
Section 3). The wavelet available with the highest
Nr.Nd (bior6.8) is selected as the most suitable (see
Fig. 1).
5.2. Wavelet methodology for damage detection
The main idea behind the use of wavelets for struc-
tural identification purposes is based on the fact that the
presence of cracks introduces small discontinuities in the
structural response at the damaged sites [8,13,19]. Often
these discontinuities cannot be observed from the exam-
ination of the structural response, but they are detectable
from the distribution of the wavelet coefficients obtained
by the CWT or the detail signals form the DWT. The
following procedure is proposed to detect crack-like
damage in a structure by the CWT or DWT as follows.
1. Measure (or for numerical simulations, calculate) the
signal associated with the static or dynamic structural
response, usually the transverse displacements. For
the numerical simulations of frame structures, one can
use at the crack location short length elements with
reduced area and moment of inertia, or the specially
developed cracked beam elements available in the
technical literature. Alternatively, if 3D solid
elements are used, it is possible to simulate the crack
simply by removing elements or decreasing their elas-
tic modulus.
2. Using the measured signal, compute its continuous
wavelet coefficients from eqs. (2) or (4), or the detail
signals associated with the discrete transform from
eqs. (8) and (11).
3. Plot and examine the wavelet coefficients for the
CWT or the detail signals in the case of the DWT.
Provided that a suitable wavelet is selected for the
analysis (see Section 5.1), any signal discontinuity
Fig. 1. Biorthogonal wavelet: bior6.8.
43
will be detected by the distribution of coefficients on
the wavelet coefficients plot. In order to observe the
signal discontinuities, it is recommended to perform
a low-scale analysis for the CWT or a low-level
analysis for the DWT.
4. In the case of the DWT, the level at which the wavelet
analysis must be performed cannot be determined
beforehand. It depends on the nature of the signal, the
characteristics of the structure, the location, type and
severity of the damage, etc. It is suggested to try with
different levels. As it will be shown in Section 6, in
order to identify discontinuities due to cracks in sim-
ple structures, it is sufficient to perform only one level
of analysis or consider only the first level detail sig-
nal.
6. Numerical studies
The ability of wavelets to detect cracks in a structural
member and in a simple structure is demonstrated with
several numerical examples. In particular, special atten-
tion is given to the performance of the method when the
crack is close to a support or to a point of geometric
discontinuity such as a corner in a frame. The structures
chosen to present numerical results include a beam with
two fixed ends and a one-story one-bay plane frame.
Results for beams with different support conditions can
be found elsewhere [13]. It was discussed in Section 5.1
that the bior6.8 wavelet is the most suitable wavelet for
analysis. However, the Haar wavelet was also used in
some cases for comparison purposes.
6.1. Example 1: fixed-end beam
The fixed-end uniform beam shown in Fig. 2 is con-
sidered for the first example. The beam is subjected to
either a dynamic load consisting of a half-sine impulse
with magnitude 4.5 kN or a concentrated static load with
magnitude 3.5 kN both applied at the distance L f = L /
44 A.V. Ovanesova, L.E. Suárez / Engineering Structures 26 (2004) 39–49
Fig. 2. Fixed-end beam under a dynamic or static load.
2 from the left support. The geometric properties of the
beam are the following: the length is L = 3 m, the height
is h = 0.15 m, and the depth is w = 0.15 m. The crack
depth d and the crack location Lcr are varied during the
analysis. The material properties are as follows: modulus
of elasticity E = 31 GPa, mass density r = 2.3 kg / m3,
and Poisson ratio n = 0.2.
6.1.1. Frequency analysis
To estimate the effect of the crack on the natural fre-
quencies, a free vibration analysis of the fixed-end beam
without and with crack was undertaken. The finite
element model used to represent the structure with a
crack is described in [13]. The eigenfrequencies of the
damaged beam were obtained for various crack depths
and locations. Only the fundamental natural frequencies
are plotted in Fig. 3. It is observed that the crack depth
has a small effect on the frequencies, and although the
location of the crack has a more notable effect, the vari-
ations are within the range of the measurement errors.
This confirms that the natural frequencies alone cannot
be used to detect cracks, unless the magnitude of the
cracks is such that its presence is obvious. Although not
presented here, the situation is the same with the
vibration modes [13].
Fig. 3. First natural frequency of the fixed-end beam versus crack
depth.
Fig. 4. Fixed-end beam deflection at time t = 0.048 s after impact.
6.1.2. Case 1 (dynamic analysis)
The fixed-end beam in Fig. 2 is subdivided into 100
finite elements and the crack with depth d = 1.5 ×
10⫺3m is introduced at distances L cr = L / 12 (node 9)
and L/25 (node 4) from the left support. The dynamic
response of the uncracked and cracked beam at time t
= 0.048 s after an initial impact is applied is given in
Fig. 4. The deflection of the beam is smooth except near
the position of the crack (nodes 4 and 9) where a very
small perturbation can be seen. Most likely, these pertur-
bations will go undetected if the response is measured
experimentally and a simple visual inspection is conduc-
ted. When the deflection signals of the cracked beam are
analyzed with the DWT, these small disturbances are
detected by the bior6.8 wavelet (Figs. 5 and 7). Note
that in this and in the following examples, the exact
crack location is identified by the peak with the
maximum absolute value in the plots of the detail signal
calculated with the DWT. To show the effect of the type
Fig. 5. Case 1: DWT by the bior6.8 wavelet (crack at node 9).
 A.V. Ovanesova, L.E. Suárez / Engineering Structures 26 (2004) 39–49 45

Fig. 6. Case 1: DWT by the Haar wavelet (crack at node 9). Fig. 8. Case 1: DWT by the Haar wavelet (crack at node 4).

of wavelet on the detection capabilities, Figs. 6 and 8

show the results obtained applying the first wavelet dis-
covered, the well-known Haar wavelet [3,10]. In this
case the method is not quite reliable: when the crack is
at node 9, a peak is clearly evident in Fig. 6; however,
if the crack is at node 4, the corresponding peak cannot
be detected from Fig. 8. The poor regularity of the Haar
wavelet explains the inconsistent results during the
analysis compared to the bior6.8 wavelet (see point (1)
in Section 3 and Section 5.1).

6.1.3. Case 2 (static analysis)

The beam in Fig. 2 is now subdivided into 500 finite
elements and the crack is introduced at a distance L cr
= L / 12 from the left support (at node 42). The deflection
shape of the beam under a static force without and with
crack is shown in Fig. 9. After the DWT is applied to
the response signal of the uncracked beam, wavelet
analysis was able to pick up signal disturbances due to
Fig. 7. Case 1: DWT by the bior6.8 wavelet (crack at node 4).
Fig. 9. Fixed-end beam deflection due to a static load.
the load, applied at node 250, and due to the supports
at the ends (Fig. 10). Next, a crack with depth d = 1.5
× 10⫺3m is introduced to the beam at L cr = L / 12 (at
node 42) and both its presence and exact location are
detected from the cracked beam response signal by the
bior6.8 wavelet (Fig. 11).
In order to provide an alternative to the DWT as well
as to show the importance of using low-scale analysis,
the CWT is applied to the static deflection signal.
Although, as discussed previously, the CWT is redun-
dant, it can help to interpret the results. Figs. 12 and 13
show plots of the wavelet coefficients C(a,b) for the case
of the undamaged and damaged beam, respectively. In
these figures, the color at each point of the a–b domain
is associated to the magnitude of the wavelet coefficients
with the lighter color corresponding to the larger coef-
ficients and darker color to the smaller ones. In the case
of the uncracked beam, the bior6.8 wavelet detected dis-
continuities at the supports and at the point of the applied
load (Fig. 12). In the case of the cracked beam, the dis-
46 A.V. Ovanesova, L.E. Suárez / Engineering Structures 26 (2004) 39–49
Fig. 10. Case 2: DWT of the uncracked beam response by the
bior6.8 wavelet.
Fig. 11. Case 2: DWT by the bior6.8 wavelet (crack at node 42).
Fig. 12. Case 2: CWT of the uncracked beam response by the
bior6.8 wavelet.
Fig. 13. Case 2: CWT by the bior6.8 wavelet (crack at node 42).
continuity due to the crack is clearly detected (Fig. 13),
especially in a low-scale analysis (Fig. 14).
6.2. Example 2: simple plane frame
In this example the one-story, one-bay plane frame in
Fig. 15 subjected to a single static load at different pos-
itions is chosen as a case of study. The frame dimensions
are: columns’ height L column = 1.5 m, beam’s length
L beam = 2.0 m, and the crack depth is d = 1.5 × 10⫺3m.
The cross-sectional area and the moment of inertia of all
the members are A = 0.0225 m2 and I = 4.2 × 10⫺5
m4. The crack is introduced at various locations into the
column and beam. In this example, the effect of changes
in the geometry on the wavelet performance is exam-
ined. To obtain the structural response numerically, each
element of the frame is subdivided using 50 finite
elements.
Fig. 14. Case 2: low-scale analysis by the bior6.8 wavelet (crack at
node 42).
 A.V. Ovanesova, L.E. Suárez / Engineering Structures 26 (2004) 39–49
Fig. 15. One-bay plane frame under a static load.
6.2.1. Case 1
The frame with a cracked column (member 1) and
subjected to a horizontal static load applied at joint B is
first considered. The crack is introduced in the column
(member 1) at a distance L cr = L column / 4 (node 13) from
the fixed support A (Fig. 15). The wavelet transform of
the response signal is computed using the bior6.8 wave-
let and the results (the level-1 detail signal) are shown
on Fig. 16. The disturbances indicate the location in
space of the discontinuities due to the crack (node 13)
and due to the changes in the frame geometry (nodes
51, 101 and 151). A local analysis of the signal is perfor-
med in order to estimate the exact crack location by zoo-
ming-in at the suspected area of damage. The plot in
Fig. 17 now shows more clearly the exact location in
space of the discontinuity caused by the crack at node
13.
Fig. 16. Case 1: DWT of frame response by the bior6.8 wavelet
(crack at node 13).
47
Fig. 17. Case 1: zoom-in on details in Fig. 16.
6.2.2. Case 2
We consider one more time the frame with a cracked
column (member 1) subjected to a horizontal static load
applied at joint B. The purpose here is to analyze the
effect of the distance between the crack and the point
of geometry change on the performance of the wavelet
analysis. For this we locate the crack at a distance L cr
= L column / 5 (node 40) close to the corner joint B (Fig.
15). The signal coming from the static response is ana-
lyzed using the bior6.8 wavelet. Small peaks due to the
crack discontinuity can be seen on Fig. 18 and after zoo-
ming-in on the level-1 detail signal, the drastic changes
indicate the exact crack location (Fig. 19). Of course,
the much larger oscillations are known to be caused by
the change in geometry and thus are ignored.
Fig. 18. Case 2: DWT of frame response by the bior6.8 wavelet
(crack at node 40).
48 A.V. Ovanesova, L.E. Suárez / Engineering Structures 26 (2004) 39–49
Fig. 19. Case 2: zoom-in on details in Fig. 18.
6.2.3. Case 3
In the last example we consider the plane frame with
a crack in the beam (member 2) at a distance L cr =
L beam / 4 (node 64) from joint B and subjected to a verti-
cal static load applied at the middle of the beam
(member 2, node 75), as depicted in Fig. 15. The first
level detail signal obtained by applying the DWT to the
frame deflected shape is shown in Fig. 20. Once again,
the bior6.8 wavelet was used for this purpose. Here the
supports A and D (nodes 1 and 151), as well as the cor-
ner joints B and C (nodes 51 and 101) introduce large
spikes in the signal. However, a small disturbance at the
crack location (node 64) can also be observed. In order
to evaluate the exact crack location it is necessary to
zoom-in the detail signal, as shown in Fig. 21.
Fig. 20. Case 3: DWT of frame response by the bior6.8 wavelet.
(crack at node 64).
Fig. 21. Case 3: zoom-in on details in Fig. 20.
6.3. Discussion of results
A fixed-end beam and a three-member plane frame
were subjected to dynamic and static concentrated loads
and their responses were numerically calculated.
Although the detection procedure does not require
knowledge of the response of the undamaged structures,
the wavelet analysis was also applied to their response
signals. The analysis of the undamaged structures was
done to show that the discontinuities in the response sig-
nal introduced by the supports, the corners, and the
points of application of the external loads are all detected
by the wavelet transform. The static and dynamic
responses were calculated again after introducing a
crack. The responses (i.e. deflected shapes) were pro-
cessed with the wavelet transform to detect any feature
in the signals other than those associated with the normal
discontinuities. It was found that a sudden peak, which
occurs due to unknown sources, pinpoints the presence
of a crack.
For the case of a plane frame, and in order to test the
method, the responses were obtained with a load applied
at one of the corners and in the middle of the beam. It
was noticed that the position of the applied load does
not affect the performance of the proposed procedure
significantly. However, the discontinuities in the
response due to the crack are more evident if the load
is applied at the middle of the beam or column. Never-
theless, all the numerical simulations presented in the
paper and additional examples [12] not reported here
showed that the wavelet analysis is capable of revealing
the discontinuities in the response signal.
The results of the study indicated that the effective-
ness of wavelet analysis and the interpretation of the
results are sensitive to the members’ boundary con-
ditions (discontinuity due to the supports or the geometry
changes at the beam-column joints) and distance from
 A.V. Ovanesova, L.E. Suárez / Engineering Structures 26 (2004) 39–49
structural supports and joints. In some cases, a local
analysis of the signal in the vicinity of the area where the
damage is suspected was helpful to identify the crack. It
is concluded that, among those available for the present
study, the biorthogonal wavelet of order 6.8 (bior6.8) is
the most appropriate wavelet for crack detection in
beams and frames. However, more research is needed
to verify the performance of this wavelet for damage
identification in more complex structural systems.
7. Concluding remarks
Unlike other damage identification techniques, wave-
let-based methods can be applied not only to structural
members but also to full structures. In addition, the dam-
age can be detected using the static response of the struc-
tures. This is a very useful feature of the method since
it is much easier and more inexpensive to measure the
static response compared to the dynamic one. Another
fact that makes the wavelet-based methodology easy to
implement in practice is that it can be used for structural
monitoring at the expected areas of damage only. All
these properties make the method a potentially reliable
and cost-effective assessment technique that can be
applied to the maintenance of the built infrastructure
(bridges, water and gas distribution pipelines, electrical
and transmission towers, dams and other hydraulic
structures). However, further analytical research is
needed to advance the method: for example, to establish
a rigorous methodology for the selection of the optimal
wavelet and to derive a procedure to eliminate the effects
of the boundary conditions on the wavelet-based crack
identification. We have shown that the method can be
applied when the crack is near a support or a corner
joint. However, the case where the damage is actually
in the joint itself was not considered. This can be
important, for example, to detect damage in the beam-
column connections of steel buildings. Other future
extensions of the method are its applications to bi-
dimensional structures such as plates and shells. More
importantly, experimental studies are urgently needed to
validate the results obtained from the numerical simula-
tions. Real signals obtained by measuring the structural
response should be analyzed by the wavelet transform
in order to demonstrate the reliability and robustness of
the technique in the presence of noise and the unavoid-
able uncertainties associated with experimental pro-
cedures.
49
Acknowledgements
This research was supported by the Civil Engineering
Department of the University of Puerto Rico at Mayag-
uez. This support is gratefully acknowledged.
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