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Detecting nonlinear behaviour using the volterra series to

assess damage in beam-like structures

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JOURNAL OF THEORETICAL
AND APPLIED MECHANICS
49, 3, pp. 905-926, Warsaw 2011

DETECTING NONLINEAR BEHAVIOUR USING THE

VOLTERRA SERIES TO ASSESS DAMAGE IN BEAM-LIKE
STRUCTURES

Cecilia Surace
Politecnico di Torino, Dept. of Structural and Geothecnical Engineering, Torino, Italy
e-mail: [email protected]

Romualdo Ruotolo
Politecnico di Torino, Torino, Italy
e-mail: [email protected]

David Storer
FIAT Research Center, Torino, Italy
e-mail: [email protected]

Using the example of a cracked cantilever beam, this paper illustrates

a means of identifying damage in structures using the so-called higher
order Frequency Response Function (FRFs) which are based on the Vol-
terra series. It is well known that, when a beam subject to a dynamic
excitation vibrates, a transverse “breathing”crack present in the beam
can change the state (from open to closed and vice-versa), causing non-
linear dynamic behaviour. A simple model of a cracked cantilever be-
am vibrating in its first mode is proposed. Across the frequency range
which encompasses the first mode of vibration, it is possible to model
the response characteristics of a cracked beam using a relatively simple
asymmetric bilinear oscillator. As described in this article, it is possible
to use these higher order FRFs to characterise the nonlinear behaviour
of the cantilever beam and investigate the qualitative relation with the
parameters of the fault such as entity and location. In this study, the
case of single harmonic excitation has been considered initially. Then,
a new characteristic function, again based on the higher order FRFs, is
proposed for detecting the crack by exploiting the fact that due to the
second-order nonlinear behaviour, two harmonic inputs combine to exci-
te the sum of their frequencies. Comparisons are made between results
derived using the simple model described and those obtained from a FE
model simulating some experimental tests on the beam.
Key words: breathing crack, nonlinear oscillation, Volterra series, higher
order Frequency Response Functions
906 C. Surace et al.

1. Introduction

In the past, a series of studies illustrated that a crack in a structure such as

a beam may cause the structure to exhibit nonlinear behaviour if the crack
is open during a part of the response and closed over the remaining intervals.
Nonlinear behaviour of this type has been confirmed by experimental testing
(Gudmunson, 1983), the published results indicating also that the natural
frequencies of a cracked beam cannot be simulated accurately using a model
of a crack which is always open. In practice, an alternately opening and closing
or ‘breathing’ crack gives rise to natural frequencies of the beam which fall in
the range between those corresponding to the always-open and always-closed
(i.e. undamaged) cases.
In recent years, relatively in-depth studies on beams with a breathing crack
have been undertaken from both analytical and experimental viewpoints. Fri-
swell and Penny (1992) simulated the nonlinear behaviour of a beam vibrating
in its first mode of vibration using a simple one degree-of-freedom model with
bilinear stiffness. Shen and Chu simulated the dynamic response of simply
supported beams with a breathing crack by using a bilinear equation of mo-
tion for each mode of vibration, and then analysing the response spectra in
order to detect changes as a potentially useful means of damage assessment
(Chu and Shen, 1992; Shen and Chu, 1992). Krawczuk and Ostachowicz simu-
lated the breathing crack using springs with periodically time-varying stiffness
(Ostachowicz and Krawczuk, 1990) and analysing the forced vibrations using
the harmonic balance technique to solve the nonlinear equations of motion
(Krawczuk and Ostachowicz, 1994). The technique of harmonic balance has
been used also by Pugno et al. (2000) in an attempt to study the case of several
breathing cracks.
In (Bovsunovsky and Surace, 2005), the authors analyse, from both an
experimental and numerical standpoint, the forced vibrations of beams with
a breathing crack, demonstrating that one of the main distinctive features
of such a vibration system are the occurrence of super-harmonic resonances,
the significant nonlinearity of the vibration responses (displacement, accele-
ration, strain etc.) at these super-harmonic resonances, and the fact that the
presence of a crack can cause the damping to increase. In particular, the super-
harmonics, which arise because of the nonlinearity, are much more sensitive to
the presence of the crack than the change of natural frequencies and modesha-
pes (by one or even two orders of magnitude). Furthermore, in (Bovsunovskii
et al., 2006) also the sub-harmonic resonances were considered to be potential
indicators of damage in structures.
 Detecting nonlinear behaviour using the Volterra series... 907

In a series of studies dating back to the 1980’s, it has been found that
higher order FRFs defined using the Volterra Series provide an extremely sen-
sitive means of quantifying nonlinear behaviour in systems. In general, the
Volterra series forms a solid mathematical foundation for describing the dy-
namic behaviour of a class of nonlinear systems which can be represented by
polynomial equations of motion. For application to the bilinear oscillator used
to model the cracked beam, it is necessary to approximate the restoring force
of the system with a polynomial function in order to define a corresponding
Volterra Series and the respective higher order FRFs. Furthermore, since the
form of these FRFs is directly related to the coefficients of terms of the poly-
nomial function in the governing equations of motion, it should be possible to
determine the correlation between the higher order FRFs and the crack depth
and/or position.
Of relevance, particularly as concerns practical implementation, it was fo-
und in early studies by the authors of this article that certain key features of
the nonlinear behaviour of structures could be identified relatively easily by
exciting the system with a simple sinusoidal forcing function and measuring
so-called higher order Transfer Functions (TFs) again based on the Volterra
Series (Storer, 1991). Since even relatively slight damage in structural systems
can cause sufficient nonlinear dynamic behaviour to be detected, it may be
feasible to use experimentally determined higher order TFs as a means of de-
tecting the presence of damage in structures at a relatively early stage. On
this basis, in (Ruotolo et al., 1996) a step-sine test on a cantilever beam with a
closing crack was simulated numerically and the amplitude response of higher
order TFs was computed and proposed as a measurable characteristic function
to be used to identify damage in a structure in practice.
The previous work has also focused on how to represent a cantilevered be-
am with a breathing crack analytically. In (Crespo et al., 1996; Ruotolo, 1997;
Ruotolo et al.,1999; Ruotolo et al., 1999) a single degree-of-freedom model of
the beam is presented and the bilinear restoring force is approximated with a
fourth-order polynomial, enabling the principal diagonals of the higher order
FRFs to be expressed directly. (The same principle was re-proposed by Chat-
terjee, 2010 and Chatterjee, 2010 in more recent work on this subject in which
the bilinear restoring force is approximated by a second-order polynomial.)
The aim of the present paper is to describe a simple single degree-of-
freedom model of the nonlinear cracked beam (that to date has only been
presented by these authors in conference proceedings) which is extended to
study the case of two harmonic excitations in order to analyse also the ef-
fect of their combination due to the nonlinear behaviour. The results derived
908 C. Surace et al.

analytically on the simple model are also compared with those obtained by
simulating an experimental test using a nonlinear finite-element model of the
beam. The results serve to demonstrate that the breathing crack can be detec-
ted defining characteristic functions related to the higher order FRFs based
on the Volterra Series.

2. A simple nonlinear model of a cracked beam

2.1. The bilinear oscillator

In order to model the dynamic behaviour in bending of a simple cantilever

beam with a transverse crack it is assumed that the crack has infinitely small
width. An oscillating force applied perpendicularly to the beam with respect
to its axis will cause the beam to bend and it can be assumed that a crack on
the upper side of the beam will remain closed when the beam bends upwards
but open when the beam bends downwards, as shown in Fig. 1. In general,
when the crack opens, the stiffness reduces as compared to when the crack is
closed.

Fig. 1. Beam with a ‘breathing’ crack

In order to represent the first mode of vibration of a beam, it is appropria-

te to consider a single degree-of-freedom system with constant mass m and
stiffness k when the crack is closed and k − δk when the crack is open, i.e.
a bilinear restoring force that is a function of the variable y(t) representing
the free end displacement of the beam (Fig. 2). To determine the dynamic
response of this system, it is possible to integrate the equations of motion in
the time domain by switching between the two formulations of stiffness func-
tions depending on whether y(t) > 0 or y(t) < 0 (Fig. 3) (Friswell and Penny,
1992).
 Detecting nonlinear behaviour using the Volterra series... 909

Fig. 2. Single degree of freedom bilinear oscillator

Fig. 3. Bilinear restoring force

Fig. 4. Response cycle for the bilinear oscillator

For the dynamic motion of this simple system to periodic excitation, it

is appropriate to consider that one response cycle is composed of two partial
cycles corresponding to the two stiffness formulations respectively. Using Td /2
to denote the duration of the partial cycle when the crack is open, and Tu /2
corresponding to when the crack is closed, the total period of the response
cycle is: Te = (Td + Tu )/2 (Fig. 4). Since Te = 2π/ωe , the previous equation
can be written
ωd ωu
ωe = 2
ωd + ωu
910 C. Surace et al.

such that oscillations occur at a frequency which does not correspond to the
natural frequencies both of the cracked and of the uncracked beam.

2.2. A single degree of freedom model for harmonic inputs

At this stage, it is necessary to quantify the alteration in the stiffness of

the beam due to the presence of the crack. The equation of motion of the beam
can be written

∂ 2  d2 v(z, t)  ∂ 2 v(z, t)
EI + ρA = f (z, t) (2.1)
∂z 2 dz 2 ∂t2
Assuming that
f (z, t) = 0 v(z, t) = v(z)ejΩt (2.2)

the response behaviour can be determined by introducing the boundary condi-

tions at the fixed end, where the vertical displacement and rotation are zero,
and at the free end where the moment and shear are zero, it is possible to
calculate the natural frequency Ωn of the beam and the corresponding mode-
shapes vn (z) which, for convenience, can be expressed in the non-dimensional
form
ZL
ρAvn2 (z) dz = 1 (2.3)
0

Considering the forcing term

f (z, t) = x(z)ejωt (2.4)

in which x(z) represents the spatial distribution of the force applied to the
beam and indicating by index I the first mode of vibration, if ω ¬ ΩI , the
dynamic response can be determined using the modal decomposition

v(z, t) = vI (z)yI (t) (2.5)

the dynamic response can be considered to be the product of the term vI (z)
which expresses the spatial evolution and the term yI (t) which expresses the
evolution in time.
Substituting (2.5) in (2.1), multiplying both sides by v1 (z) and integrating
along the length of the beam

mÿI (t) + kyI (t) = Xejωt (2.6)

 Detecting nonlinear behaviour using the Volterra series... 911

which represents the forced oscillations of a SDOF system in which,

ZL ZL
2
m= ρAvI2 (z) dz =1 k= EIvI′′ (z) dz
0 0
(2.7)
ZL
X= x(z)vI (z) dz
0

Using this simple model, it is possible to calculate the response yI (t) to an

excitation with spatial distribution x(z) and frequency ω; given yI (t), it is
possible to determine the dynamic response of the whole beam using (2.5).
Parameters k and m are associated with the undamaged beam, and to
determine the characteristics of the cracked beam it is possible to apply the
following equation (Ruotolo, 1997)

[EIvI′′ (z0 )]2

δνI = −
kT

where δνI is the variation caused by the crack of the eigenvalue of the first
mode of the undamaged beam, z0 is the position of the crack and 1/kT is the
flexibility of a spring equivalent to the crack whose value is calculated using
basic fracture mechanics notions. Using the relation between the variation in
the eigenvalue and the change in the stiffness (Ruotolo, 1997)

δνi δki
=
νi ki

which is valid assuming the structure does not experience a change in mass,
it is possible to determine the variation in stiffness

δνI
δk = k (2.8)
νI

relative to the first mode of vibration of the structure. Since ν1 = k/m and
from (2.3) m = 1, it is possible to write that

[EIvI′′ (z0 )]2

δk = δνI = − (2.9)
kT

Using (2.9) and (2.8), it is possible to determine the stiffness of the cracked
beam.
912 C. Surace et al.

The equation of motion of the beam with the ‘breathing’ crack can be
written as
mÿI (t) + cẏI (t) + r[yI (t)] = Xejωt (2.10)
in which the elastic restoring force r[yI (t)] can be expressed as
(
kyI yI < 0
r(yI ) =
(k − δk)yI yI ­ 0
p
introducing the damping term cẏI (t) with c = 2ζm k/m, in which ζ is the
modal damping coefficient.
In certain situation, it may be appropriate to approximate the nonlinear
term in the interval ∆ = [−∆0 , ∆0 ] with a polynomial series of the order n
i.e. n
ki yIi
X
r(yI ) ≃ (2.11)
i=0
It is possible to re-write equation (2.10) in a polynomial form (upto 4th order)
using the orthogonal polynomials of Forsythe (Forsythe, 1957)
r(yI ) ≃ k0 + k1 yI + k2 yI2 + k3 yI3 + k4 yI4 (2.12)

with
15 δk 105 δk
k0 = − δk∆0 k1 = k − k2 = −
256 2 128 ∆0
(2.13)
105 δk
k3 = 0 k4 =
256 ∆30
In practice, the term k0 in series (2.12) can be neglected when no static force
is applied to the structure.
The amplitude of the response, in which equation (2.11) should approxi-
mate the elastic restoring force, varies with the excitation frequency ω. Thus
it is necessary that the limits of the interval ∆ depend on ω
X
∆0 (ω) = (2.14)
k + jcω − mω 2
Substituting (2.12)-(2.14) in equation (2.10), it is possible to formulate the
following equation of motion
 δk  105 δk
mÿI (t) + cẏI (t) + k − yI (t) − y 2 (t)
2 128 ∆0 (ω) I
(2.15)
105 δk
+ y 4 (t) = Xejωt
256 ∆30 (ω) I
 Detecting nonlinear behaviour using the Volterra series... 913

Furthermore, supposing the beam is excited with two harmonic inputs with
amplitude X1 and X2 and frequencies ω1 and ω2 whose sum is smaller than
the first natural frequency, the equation of motion will be
 δk  105 δk
mÿI (t) + cẏI (t) + k − yI (t) − y 2 (t)
2 128 ∆0 (ω1 , ω2 ) I
(2.16)
105 δk
+ y 4 (t) = X1 ejω1 t + X2 ejω2 t
256 ∆0 (ω1 , ω2 ) I
3

In this case ∆0 is given by the amplitude of the dynamic response due to both
excitations at frequencies ω1 and ω2 . By approximating the response of the
nonlinear oscillator to frequency ωi with the response of the corresponding
linear oscillator
Xi
∆0i (ωi ) = (2.17)
k + jcωi − mωi2

it follows that the amplitude of the response of the linear oscillator to both
excitations with frequency ω1 and ω2 will be

X1 X2
∆0 (ω1 , ω2 ) = ∆01 + ∆02 = 2 + (2.18)
k + jcω1 − mω1 k + jcω2 − mω22

3. The Volterra series and higher order Frequency Response

Functions

3.1. Defining higher order FRFs from the Volterra series

Recently, investigations into the behaviour of nonlinear structures have

used the concepts of higher order Frequency Response Functions (FRFs) de-
fined from the Volterra series (Gifford and Tomlinson, 1989), a mathematical
basis for the analysis of differential equations with polynomial-type nonline-
arities (Schetzen, 1980). The Volterra series extends the familiar concept of
the convolution integrals for linear systems to a series of multi-dimensional
convolution integrals necessary for polynomial-type nonlinearities. For any li-
near system, with an input x(t) and output y(t), the convolution integral is
written Z
y(t) = h(τ )x(t − τ ) dτ (3.1)
914 C. Surace et al.

Correspondingly, for a nonlinear Volterra system, the Volterra series is written

Z ZZ
y(t) = h1 (τ1 )x(t − τ1 ) dτ1 + h2 (τ1 , τ2 )x(t − τ1 )x(t − τ2 ) dτ1 dτ2
Z Z n
(3.2)
Y
+ ··· hn (τ1 , . . . , τn ) x(t − τi )′ , dτ1 . . . dτn
i=1

In the analysis of linear systems, the relationship between the Impulse Respon-
se Function, h(τ ), and the FRF H(ω) is well known, and since the first term
in the series has exactly the same form as the linear convolution integral, the
first order FRF can be realised with the conventional one-dimensional Fourier
Transform
Z∞
H1 (ω1 ) = h1 (τ1 )e−jω1 τ1 dτ1 (3.3)
−∞

A similar relationship can be defined for all the kernels, hn (τ1 , . . . , τi ), in the
Volterra series by using Multi-dimensional Fourier Transforms
Z Z
Hn (ω1 , . . . , ωn ) = ··· hn (τ1 , . . . , τn )e−j(ω1 τ1 +...+ωn τn ) dτ1 . . . dτn (3.4)

The series of multi-dimensional higher order FRFs defined in this way provides
a very general representation of this class of polynomial nonlinear systems
and can be used to explain how systems excited by, for example, a broadband
random signal tend to distribute energy between frequencies in a way that
reflects the type of nonlinearity present in the system.

3.2. Higher order FRFs for harmonic inputs

For a nonlinear system which can be represented by the Volterra series,

the response to a single harmonic input x(t) = Xejωt can be written
y(t) = H1 (ω)Xejωt + H2 (ω, ω)X 2 ej2ωt + . . . + Hn (ω, . . . , ω)X n ejnωt (3.5)
In this case, only the leading diagonals of the higher order FRFs ne-
ed to be considered in order to represent the response spectra, i.e. where
ω1 = ω2 = . . . = ωn . These functions, denoted Hn (ω, . . . , ω), become one-
dimensional in frequency and can be determined using the one-dimensional
Fourier Transform. Thus using Y (ω) to denote the fundamental spectral line
of the output y(t), and Y (nω) as the n-th order harmonic at n times the
input frequency, the diagonal of the n-th order FRF can be defined as
2n−1 Y (nω)
Hn (ω, . . . , ω) = (3.6)
[X(ω)]n
 Detecting nonlinear behaviour using the Volterra series... 915

Furthermore, the multi-dimensional second-order FRF can be used to quantify

the interaction between any two harmonic components of the input signal. For
the input x(t) = X1 eω1 t + X2 eω2 t , the displacement can be written

y(t) = H1 (ω1 )X1 ejω1 t + H2 (ω2 )X2 ejω2 t + H2 (ω1 , ω1 )X12 ej2ω1 t
(3.7)
+H2 (ω2 , ω2 )X22 ej2ω1 t + 2H2 (ω1 , ω2 )X1 X2 ej(ω1 t+ω1 t) + . . .

and the second order FRF can be defined as

Y (ω1 + ω2 )
H2 (ω1 + ω2 ) = (3.8)
X1 (ω1 )X2 (ω2 )

4. Identifying higher order FRFs for the cracked beam via

harmonic probing

4.1. Expressing the higher order FRFs analytically

Using the technique of harmonic probing that consists in introducing for-

mulation (3.5) into equation of motion (2.15), and equating the coefficients,
it is possible to obtain closed-form expressions for each of the functions
Hn (ω, . . . , ω) in terms of different parameters of the system
1
H1 (ω) = H2 (ω, ω) = −k2 H12 (ω)H1 (2ω)
k1 + jcω − mω 2
H3 (ω, ω, ω) = −2H1 (ω)H2 (ω, ω)k2 H1 (3ω) (4.1)
H4 (ω, . . . , ω) = −[k2 (H22 (ω, ω) + 2H1 (ω)H3 (ω, ω, ω)) + k4 H14 (ω)]H1 (4ω)

It is important to observe that, since the different stiffness coefficients ki are

related to the depth and position of the crack, the form of higher order FRFs
can be used to characterise the damage present in a structure.
The expression for H2 (ω1 , ω2 ) can be obtained by subsituting y(t),
ẏ(t) and ÿ(t) into equation (2.16) and equating the coefficients of
X1 X2 exp[j(ω1 t + ω1 t)]

H2 (ω1 , ω2 ) = −k2 H1 (ω1 )H1 (ω2 )H1 (ω1 + ω2 ) (4.2)

H2 (ω1 , ω2 ) for values of ω1 + ω2 = ΩI is proposed here for the first time as an

indicator of damage, exploiting the fact that the nonlinear behaviour exhibited
due to the presence of the crack causes two harmonics to combine and excite
the sum of their respective frequencies.
916 C. Surace et al.

4.2. Application and results

The first two fourth order FRFs illustrated in Figs. 5 and 6 were calculated
for a beam with the following characteristics: Young’s Modulus 1.8·1011 N/m2 ,
density 7850 kg/m3 , length 0.7 m and square cross-section 0.02 m × 0.02 m,
and different damage configurations (L denotes the distance of the crack from
the fixed end of the beam) shown in Table 1.

Fig. 5. Higher order FRFs for damage conditions 1 ( — ) and 2 ( − · − )

Table 1. Damage Configurations

Configuration Depth [mm] L1 [m]
1 4 0.15
2 8 0.15
3 8 0.25
 Detecting nonlinear behaviour using the Volterra series... 917

Fig. 6. Higher order FRFs for damage conditions 2 ( — ) and 3 ( − · − )

In particular, Fig. 5 shows damage cases 1 and 2, where the crack is in the
same position but has two different depths, while Fig. 6 presents damage cases
2 and 3 where the crack has the same depth but two different positions. As
can be observed from the results, the amplitude of the different higher order
FRFs alters significantly depending on how the depth or location of the crack
varies.
In Fig. 7, the absolute value of H2 (ω1 , ω2 ), the function proposed here as
a new indicator of damage, is plotted for values of ω1 + ω2 = ΩI . Also in
this case the amplitude of this function depends on the intensity of damage.
The advantage of this indicator function lies in the fact that it is possible to
select an infinite number of frequency couple combinations (ω1 , ω2 ) so as to
excite a resonance of the system (eg. the first resonance ΩI in this case). In
general, the nonlinear behaviour exhibited at a resonance is more evident for
a nonlinear stiffness function and therefore potentially more sensitive to the
presence of the crack than the diagonal H2 (ω, ω) shown in Figs. 5 and 6 which
corresponds to resonant behaviour only at ΩI /2 and ΩI .
918 C. Surace et al.

Fig. 7. Second order FRF with two harmonic inputs for damage conditions
1 ( −− ), 2 ( — ), and 3 ( − · − )

5. Simulation of a stepsine test on the cracked beam

5.1. FE model of the cracked beam

In order to establish the validity of the higher order FRFs obtained in

Section 4, considering a simple degree-of-freedom model of the beam, a stepsine
test has been simulated using a FEM of the cracked beam presented in the
paper by Ruotolo et al., (1996).
For the sake of completeness, the model is presented very shortly in this
subsection.
In the simulations it was supposed that the damage affected just the stiff-
ness matrix of the element containing the crack and not the global mass and
the damping matrices M and C. Undamaged sections of the beam were model-
led by Euler-type finite elements with two nodes and two degrees-of-freedom
(transverse displacement and rotation) at each node. For the section with the
crack, the finite element proposed in reference (Qian et al., 1990) has been
used.
In order to model accurately the nonlinear behaviour of the beam, it is
necessary to determine the precise moment that the beam changes state, i.e.
when the crack opens or closes. In the results presented, it has been assumed
that the change between fully-open and fully-closed takes place instanteously,
giving rise to a bilinear-type stiffness nonlinearity.
When the crack closes and its interfaces are completely in contact with
each other, the dynamic response can be determined directly using the global
 Detecting nonlinear behaviour using the Volterra series... 919

stiffness matrix of the uncracked beam Ku . However, when the crack opens,
the stiffness matrix of the cracked element must be introduced in replacement
at the appropriate rows and columns of the global stiffness matrix Kd .
In the numerical simulation, the change of state is imposed in terms of the
beam curvature at the cracked section: the crack is assumed to be open if the
curvature is in the positive sense, otherwise it is closed. Under the action of
the excitation force, alternate crack opening and closing causes the equations
of motion of the cracked beam to be nonlinear

Mÿ(t) + Cẏ(t) + Ky(t) = x(t) (5.1)

where
K = Ku − δ∆K (5.2)
and by denoting the changes in the global stiffness matrix due to the crack

∆K = Ku − Kd (5.3)

with (
1 when the crack is open
δ=
0 when the crack is closed
For the numerical simulations presented, the nonlinear equations of motion
for the cracked beam rewritten in an incremental form have been solved with
an implicit time integration scheme and modified Newton iteration according
to Bathe and Gracewski, (1981).

5.2. Higher order Transfer Functions for sinusoidal inputs

In practice, it is difficult to measure higher order FRFs of a system directly

(Gifford and Tomlinson, 1989). Several techniques have been developed for
measuring higher order Transfer Functions (TFs) of a system which can be
related to the ideal higher order FRFs (Storer, 1991). The most fundamental
technique uses a single sine wave input. This approach to measure TFs is
straightforward, and the relationship between TF and FRF can be explained
and interpreted.
Considering the output time signals in terms of the displacement y(t), the
response to the sinusoidal forcing x(t), the n-th order TFs can be determined
using the single, dimensional Fourier transform of the time signals

2n−1 Y (nω)
TF n (ω) = (5.4)
[X(ω)]n
920 C. Surace et al.

The term Y (ω) is the fundamental output term at the input frequency ω, and
Y (nω) is the n harmonic term in the spectrum of the output. Each term in
the spectra is a complex quantity, and the TFs convey both gain and phase
information regarding the transfer of energy between frequencies. Equation
(5.4), expressing higher order TFs, can be compared with equation (3.5) which
defines the corresponding higher order FRFs. A stepped frequency sine test is
a convenient way to measure these TFs both in simulations and in practical
testing.
Comparison of equations (3.6) and (5.4) indicates the close relationship
between the higher order FRFs defined from the Volterra series which are
unique for the system, and the higher order TFs which can be measured easily
in practice. The difference arises since the TFs are determined physically by
inputting a sinewave to the system

X jωt
x(t) = X sin(ωt) = (e − e−jωt ) (5.5)
2

rather than the ideal harmonic x(t) = Xejωt . Two harmonic terms are pre-
sent in the sinewave which can interact in a nonlinear system and give rise to
’degenerative’ effects influencing the measurement of lower order TFs. These
effects are thought to originate the classical distortion phenomenon observed
on Transfer Functions measured during stepped-sine tests on nonlinear struc-
tures (Storer and Tomlinson, 1993).
In an analogous way to the case of a single sinusoidal input expressed in Eq.
(5.4), when two sinusoidal excitations of frequencies ω1 and ω2 are applied,
the second order TF is experimentally calculated as

Y (ω1 + ω2 )
TF 2 (ω1 , ω2 ) = (5.6)
X1 (ω1 )X2 (ω2 )

This equation can be compared with equation (3.8) which represents the cor-
responding higher order FRF. Accordingly TF 2 (ω1 , ω2 ) is proposed as a novel
indicator of damage that can be measured during a stepped-sine test, again
exploiting the fact that the two sinsoidal inputs combine to excite the sum of
their frequencies as a result of the nonlinear behaviour caused by the presence
of the crack.

5.3. Application and results

Using the nonlinear model described in a Section 5.1 to simulate the time
domain response of the cracked beam, the higher order TFs were determined
 Detecting nonlinear behaviour using the Volterra series... 921

using the procedure outlined in Section 5.2. In order to simulate a stepped-

sine test on the beam, the frequency of the sinusoidal excitation was varied
over the range from 0.2 to 1.4ΩI (being ΩI the first natural frequency of the
equivalent linear system). The results are shown in Figs. 8 and 9 corresponding
to damage conditions 1 and 2, and 2 and 3, respectively. Figures 8 and 9 can

Fig. 8. Higher order FRFs for damage conditions 1 ( — ) and 2 ( − · − )

be compared with the results shown in Fig. 5 and 6 which show the diagonals
of higher order Frequency Response Functions obtained analytically via har-
monic probing. The comparison indicates a generally close agreement between
the corresponding functions. Focusing on the first order TF (Figs. 8a and 9a),
very little variation can be observed as the depth of the crack increases, indi-
cating that this particular function, which corresponds to that conventionally
measured during a stepped-sine test on a structure, is not particularly sen-
sitive to the presence of the damage. Instead, the second- and fourth-order
TFs demonstrate a high degree of sensitivity to the crack size and position.
Indeed, as shown in Fig. 8b, the peaks of the second-order function increase
by a factor of between 4 and 5 in damage case 2 when compared to case 1.
922 C. Surace et al.

Fig. 9. Higher order TFs for damage conditions 2 ( — ) and 3 ( − · − )

(In cases 1 and 2 the damage is in the same location but the depth of the
crack in case 2 is twice that of case 1.) The fourth-order TF also increases to a
similar extent (see Fig. 8d). Moreover, in Fig. 9b, the peaks of the second-order
function increase by a factor of 2 in damage case 2 when compared to case 3.
(In cases 2 and 3 the crack depth is the same but the location of the crack in
case 2 is closer to the clamped end than in case 3.)
The principal conclusion that can be drawn from these results is that
higher order TFs and FRFs defined from the Volterra series may provide a
highly-sensitive and practically useful indicator of the presence and extent of
damage in a structure. In this context, the functions are basically detecting the
nonlinear behaviour which, in this case, can be attributed to the presence of
the breathing crack. Most importantly, the second- and fourth-order functions
are already sensitive to the lowest level of damage, and increase significantly as
the crack depth increases. The noise, which can be observed in the higher order
TFs, in particular in the third- and fourth-order functions, can be attributed to
the fact that the level of damping was low i.e. ξ = 0.005 (in order to represent
the damping of a steel beam in a nominally realistic manner) causing the
 Detecting nonlinear behaviour using the Volterra series... 923

transient behaviour to be exhibited for a long duration each time the frequency
of excitation is varied; correspondingly, the transient ’noise’ on the simulated
response pollutes the highly-sensitive higher order functions which are defined
under the assumption that steady-state conditions have been reached (Storer
and Tomlinson, 1993).
As mentioned before, this paper proposes a novel characteristic function
as a means for detecting the crack. Figure 10 illustrates the second order
function of Eq. (5.6), i.e. in which the two sinusoidal inputs combine due
to the second-order nonlinear behaviour to excite the first natural frequency
of the beam. Figure 10, obtained again by simulating a physically realisable
stepped-sine test, can be compared to Fig. 7, the nominally equivalent function
determined analytically through harmonic probing; although differences do
occur, probably as a result of higher order contributions or ’interference’ to the
function shown in Fig. 10, the same overall characteristic form can be observed
in both cases. Most importantly, the functions shown in Figs. 7 and 10 are again
highly sensitive to the position and extent of the breathing crack (of course
these functions are zero when the beam is linear i.e. undamaged).

Fig. 10. Second order TF with two sinusoidal inputs for damage conditions
1 ( −− ), 2 ( — ), and 3 ( − · − )

6. Conclusions

This research proposes the use of higher order Frequency Response Functions
(FRFs) derived from the Volterra series to detect nonlinear behaviour which
can be attributed to the presence of damage in structural systems. In the pre-
vious research, it was observed that the higher order FRFs are extremely sen-
924 C. Surace et al.

sitive indicators of nonlinear dynamic behaviour in general. Using the example

of a cracked cantilever beam with a transverse one-edge non-propagating clo-
sing crack, the results present in this article serve to demonstrate that the
shape of higher order functions, both when defined analytically directly from
a single dof model using harmonic probing and when determined using a nu-
merical simulation on a nonlinear finite element model, depend upon the size
and the position of the crack. Thus, the higher order FRFs the principal diago-
nals of which can be estimated experimentally in a stepped- or swept sine test,
may form the basis for a relatively sensitive structural damage-identification
procedure.
Furthermore, this paper proposes a new characteristic function, again ba-
sed on the higher order FRFs, for detecting damage by exploiting the fact
that due to the second-order nonlinear behaviour, in this case caused by the
presence of damage, two sinusoidal inputs combine to excite the sum of their
frequencies. In particular, by selecting the frequencies of the inputs accordin-
gly, it is possible to excite the first natural frequency of the beam through this
second-order nonlinear combination. Based on this principle, a characteristic
function has been proposed which, in a similar way to the diagonals of the
higher order FRFs, may provide a useful indicator of the presence and extent
of damage in a structure by detecting its nonlinear behaviour.

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Wykrywanie nieliniowych zjawisk za pomocą szeregu Volterry podczas

oceny uszkodzeń konstrukcji belkowych

Streszczenie

Na przykładzie belki wspornikowej z karbem, przedstawiono metodę identyfikacji

uszkodzenia za pomocą tzw. funkcji częstości odpowiedzi (Frequency Response Func-
tion – FRF) wyższego rzędu opartych na szeregu Volterry. Ogólnie wiadomo, że belka
z „oddychającym” karbem poddana wymuszeniu dynamicznemu drga w sposób nie-
liniowy poprzez zmiany stanu (pomiędzy otwarciem i zamknięciem karbu). W pracy
omówiono prosty model belki wspornikowej z tego typu uszkodzeniem pozwalają-
cy na analizę pierwszej postaci drgań. W zakresie częstości obejmujących pierwszą
postać własną belki możliwe jest określenie charakterystyk dynamicznych układu po-
przez zamodelowanie go jako względnie prostego oscylatora bi-liniowego. Wykazano,
że zastosowanie funkcji FRF wyższego rzędu pozwala na identyfikację nieliniowych
zjawisk w uszkodzonej belce oraz jakościową ocenę rodzaju tego uszkodzenia i jego
lokalizacji. W pierwszej części pracy scharakteryzowano drgania belki w przypadku
wymuszenia harmonicznego. Następnie wprowadzono nową funkcję charakterystycz-
ną – także opartą na FRF – do wykrywania karbu na podstawie nieliniowej odpo-
wiedzi drugiego rzędu, w której dwie składowe harmoniczne wymuszenia nakładają
się, pobudzając częstość wynikającą z ich sumy. Przeprowadzono analizę porównaw-
czą pomiędzy wynikami otrzymanymi z zaproponowanego modelu oraz modelu MES
symulującego badania eksperymentalne układu.

Manuscript received March 11 2011; accepted for print June 1, 2011

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