Optimization of Sensor Locations for Homogeneous Beams in Structural Health Monitoring Using Isogeometric Analysis and Differential Evolution

This work introduces a numerical approach to the optimization of sensor placement for homogeneous beams in Structural Health Monitoring (SHM). In which, the displacements through the beam height are represented by a generalized shear deformation theory (GSDT) based on the third-order polynomial function. Meanwhile, the displacements through the beam length are approximated by B-spline functions within the Isogeometric analysis. Accordingly, the position of measurement sensors concerning degrees of freedom (DOFs) defined at control points is determined by maximizing the sum of the terms in the Modal Assurance Criterion (MAC) which is built by eigenvectors obtained by the full model and a model order reduction (MOR) utilizing the second-order Neumann series expansion (SNSE). Differential Evolution (DE) is utilized as an optimizer. A simply supported beam is investigated to illustrate the current methodology’s reliability. Obtained results have indicated that the current paradigm can be utilized for the sensor location optimization of other structures with potential applications to the SHM.