Model Based Damage Detection in an Automotive Exhaust Hanger Component

Abstract

The field of health monitoring of structures may have possible benefits for many industries. In this work, we analyze damage induced in an automotive exhaust hanger component. Damage in this system is defined as a crack development and propagation at a specific location. It is proposed and demonstrated in this work that a selected group of modal frequencies and their collective behavior is a suitable measure of tracking the damage. It is also shown in this work, via experimental and computational observations, that the second moment of inertia is very sensitive to the damage induced. Future work will include developing a predictive model for damage in this automotive exhaust system component.