Abstract: A finite element model of simply-supported beam is built by ANSYS;the displacement response of the beam is used to make wavelet packet analysis with MATLAB to get the curvature difference of WP-E (wavelet packet energy);and the studies on the effects of different parameters on damage recognition results of simple beam bridge are carried out, such as damage locations, damage level, measuring point density and speed of moving loads. For the condition of less measuring points, a method of arranging the measuring points by two steps is proposed. The normalized curvature difference of WP-E is made to study the robustness of this method to noise. The results show that the wavelet packet-energy method is effective and accurate in the damage detection of simply supported beam.

Key words: simply supported beam, wavelet packet-energy, damage simulation, damage identification