Natural frequency is the most representative damage feature in the field of structural damage detection. Nevertheless, the functionality of natural frequency to portray damage in noise conditions has not been clarified systematically. With this concern, this study investigates the performance of natural frequency to characterize damage in beams in noisy conditions. The investigation is performed based on using natural frequencies to estimate the location and depth of a crack with its crack

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... bility modelled by fracture mechanics principles. Sensitivity to damage together with robustness against noise of natural frequency is studied through analyzing various crack scenarios incorporating noise in measurement. The observations obtained can function as a guideline for the reasonable use of natural frequencies to locate and quantify damage in beam-type structures.