Materials mechanical characterizations and structural diagnoses by inverse analyses

Mechanical damages in structures, in structural components of plants and in industrial products usually imply changes of parameters which have central roles in computational modelling apt to assess safety margins with respect to service loading. Such parameters may depend also on the production processes in industrial environments. In this chapter, the parameter identification methodology by inverse analyses is dealt with under the following limitations: experiments at macroscale level, deterministic approaches, statical external actions and time independence in material behaviours. Semiempirical approaches frequently adopted in codes of practice are not dealt with here. The inverse analysis methods outlined here are centered on computational simulations of tests (namely, direct analyses), sensitivity analyses for the optimal design of experiments, model reduction procedures and other provisions apt to make fast and economical the parameter estimation in engineering practice. The applications summarized here as examples concern structural diagnoses based on indentation tests, in situ diagnostic experiments on concrete dams and laboratory mechanical characterization of membranes and laminates.