Abstract
A new method is proposed for the fault detection and health monitoring of smart structures. The Eigensystem Realization Algorithm (ERA), a time-domain system identification algorithm, is applied to detect a system failure by monitoring variation the eigenvalues of the estimated system matrix. Numerical simulations and hardware experiments are carried out for a flexible cantilever beam equipped with piezoelectric actuators and sensors. The results show that the present method is feasible to detect a small variation of the stiffness parameter.
