Structural dynamic identification and damage detection

Dynamic methods are a powerful tool for studying the behaviour of existing structures and their health conditions. The practical application, however, often raises subtle questions related to the accuracy and completeness of experimental data, the complexity of the mechanical modelling and, ultimately, the inverse nature of the problems that leads to ill-conditioning and non-uniqueness. This chapter addresses some of these aspects, and presents a short overview of the topic, with particular emphasis on dynamic structural identification and damage detection.