A Testing Field for Studies of Environmental and Operational Effects in Structural Damage Localization of Mechanical Structures

Methods of structural health monitoring (SHM) are often challenged by changing environmental and operational conditions (EOC). This paper presents a novel experimental testing field specifically designed for studying the effects of EOC on black box vibration-based output-only SHM methods. The experimental testing field consists of two identical mechanical structures that are exposed to mass and stiffness perturbations: one in a controllable laboratory setup and one under the influence of varying EOC in a field setup. The paper demonstrates the feasibility and usefulness of the dual experimental testing field for studies about EOC influences on SHM. The results of a preliminary study of the occurring EOC in the field setup are presented, and a modular measurement system that provides high-quality data is introduced. By providing the experimental acceleration data, a new experimental benchmark dataset for various studies and future use in the field of SHM is presented.