Identification, Health Monitoring and Damage Detection of Structural Dynamic Systems: Results Obtained Within the European COST Research Network

This special issue presents the results of a research action organised within the framework of the European CO-operation in the field of Scientific and Technical research (COST). The COST F3 Action started on June 25, 1997 for a duration of four years with the aim of co-ordinating national funded research efforts in the field of structural dynamics. Thirteen European countries were participating in this Action: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, The Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom plus the Joint Research Centre of the European Union in Ispra, Italy and the European Commission. The research network that has been developed within COST Action F3 has allowed not only to exchange research ideas and results, but also to support young researchers in the field.

Throughout its four years of duration, COST Action F3 brought together the foremost researchers in Europe in a series of activities associated with three threads of structural dynamics :
• model updating methods ;
• structural health monitoring and damage detection ;
• identification of non-linear systems.

These activities included the organisation of major international conferences, the exchange of research staff through Short Term Scientific Missions and the organisation of benchmarking exercises. It is the latter activity which concerns this special issue. Thirty-one papers from altogether seven European countries are presented.