Abstract: Damages on a cantilever beam are simulated. Vibration mode analysis is by using commercial finite element software, and the analysis shows the sensitivity of the change ratio of the first order mode shape to the locationand severity of structure damages. Hereby, the change ratio of the first order mode shape is presented as the indicator for structure damage detection. A successful identification of the location and severity of a structure damage isachieved by using artificial neural network.

Key words: structure damage, modal parameter, signature for damage detection, neural network, emulation