Operational modal analysis and earthquake engineering

Operational Modal Analysis (OMA) techniques are powerful and versatile and applications in technical literature are becoming frequent. In the present paper a number of case studies will be reviewed in order to point out the effectiveness of such procedures in the earthquake engineering area. Assessment of seismic performance of structures and characterization of their dynamic behaviour in operational conditions will be analyzed and the interaction between experimental tests and finite element modelling will be discussed. Moreover, attention will be focused on the role of modal parameter identification for damage assessment of structures. Potential of output-only technique in the field of Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) and damage assessment of structures will be discussed and its actual integration within fully automated SHM systems will be described.