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Applied Sciences
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Application of Electromagnetic Prospecting in Civil and Environmental Engineering
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Application of Electromagnetic Prospecting in Civil and Environmental Engineering

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 March 2026 | Viewed by 2389

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Haiyan Yang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Resources and Geosciences, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou 221116, China
Interests: transient electromagnetic method; time-domain electromagnetic method; electrical resistivity tomography
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Shuanggui Hu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Resources and Geosciences, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou 221116, China
Interests: frequency-domain electromagnetic method; gravity and magnetic method; numerical simulation; deep learning

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Many applications in civil and environmental engineering require indirect information about the soil or structure, either for exploration purposes or to monitor transient processes; this information is often derived from geophysical data. Non-invasive or minimally invasive electrical and electromagnetic sensing methods, among other techniques, have become particularly popular in these disciplines, especially for observing and determining the structural changes related to water content, resistivity, or material properties. The application of these methods is not limited to this field and can also be used in the laboratory. The increasing popularity of non-invasive or minimally invasive electrical and electromagnetic sensing methods is mainly due to their success.

Therefore, this Special Issue invites technical papers focusing on electric and electromagnetic data analysis using both physics-based and data-driven techniques and their applications to yield high-resolution resistivity structures for civil and environmental engineering.

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Electric and EM data processing, simulation, inversion, and interpretation;
  • Artificial intelligence, machine learning, and deep learning applications on electric and EM data analysis;
  • Integrated analysis and interpretation with other geoscientific data (e.g., seismic, potential field, rock physics, geochemistry, and outcrop measurements);
  • Field case studies highlighting the value of information extracted from electric and EM data in civil and environmental engineering.

Prof. Dr. Haiyan Yang
Dr. Shuanggui Hu
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Applied Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • electric and electromagnetic measurement methods
  • applications in civil and environmental engineering
  • artificial intelligence, machine learning, and deep learning
  • data processing, simulation, inversion, and interpretation

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

27 pages, 7457 KiB  
Article
Three-Dimensional Imaging of High-Contrast Subsurface Anomalies: Composite Model-Constrained Dual-Parameter Full-Waveform Inversion for GPR
by Siyuan Ding, Deshan Feng, Xun Wang, Tianxiao Yu, Shuo Liu and Mengchen Yang
Appl. Sci. 2025, 15(15), 8401; https://doi.org/10.3390/app15158401 - 29 Jul 2025
Viewed by 197
Abstract
Civil engineering structures with damage, defects, or subsurface utilities create a high-contrast exploration environment. These anomalies of interest exhibit different electromagnetic properties from the surrounding medium, and ground-penetrating radar (GPR) has the potential to accurately locate and map their three-dimensional (3D) distributions. However, [...] Read more.
Civil engineering structures with damage, defects, or subsurface utilities create a high-contrast exploration environment. These anomalies of interest exhibit different electromagnetic properties from the surrounding medium, and ground-penetrating radar (GPR) has the potential to accurately locate and map their three-dimensional (3D) distributions. However, full-waveform inversion (FWI) for GPR data struggles to simultaneously reconstruct high-resolution 3D images of both permittivity and conductivity models. Considering the magnitude and sensitivity disparities of the model parameters in the inversion of GPR data, this study proposes a 3D dual-parameter FWI algorithm for GPR with a composite model constraint strategy. It balances the gradient updates of permittivity and conductivity models through performing total variation (TV) regularization and minimum support gradient (MSG) regularization on different parameters in the inversion process. Numerical experiments show that TV regularization can optimize permittivity reconstruction, while MSG regularization is more suitable for conductivity inversion. The TV+MSG composite model constraint strategy improves the accuracy and stability of dual-parameter inversion, providing a robust solution for the 3D imaging of subsurface anomalies with high-contrast features. These outcomes offer researchers theoretical insights and a valuable reference when investigating scenarios with high-contrast environments. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Application of Electromagnetic Prospecting in Civil and Environmental Engineering)
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18 pages, 11036 KiB  
Article
Three-Dimensional Numerical Study on Fracturing Monitoring Using Controlled-Source Electromagnetic Method with Borehole Casing
by Qinrun Yang, Maojin Tan, Jianhua Yue, Yunqi Zou, Binchen Wang, Xiaozhen Teng, Haoyan Zhao and Pin Deng
Appl. Sci. 2025, 15(15), 8312; https://doi.org/10.3390/app15158312 - 25 Jul 2025
Viewed by 258
Abstract
Hydraulic fracturing is a crucial technology for developing unconventional oil and gas resources. However, conventional geophysical methods struggle to efficiently and accurately image proppant-connected channels created by hydraulic fracturing. The borehole-to-surface electromagnetic imaging method (BSEM) overcomes this limitation by utilizing a controlled cased [...] Read more.
Hydraulic fracturing is a crucial technology for developing unconventional oil and gas resources. However, conventional geophysical methods struggle to efficiently and accurately image proppant-connected channels created by hydraulic fracturing. The borehole-to-surface electromagnetic imaging method (BSEM) overcomes this limitation by utilizing a controlled cased well source. Placing the source close to the target reservoir and deploying multi-component receivers on the surface enable high-precision lateral monitoring, providing an effective approach for dynamic monitoring of hydraulic fracturing operations. This study focuses on key aspects of forward modeling for BSEM. A three-dimensional finite-volume method based on the Yee grid was used to simulate the borehole-to-surface electromagnetic system incorporating metal casings, validating the method of simulating metal casing using multiple line sources. The simulation of the observation system and the frequency-domain electromagnetic monitoring simulation based on actual well data confirm BSEM’s high sensitivity for monitoring deep subsurface formations. Critically, well casing exerts a substantial influence on surface electromagnetic responses, while the electromagnetic contribution from line sources emulating perforation zones necessitates explicit incorporation within data processing workflows. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Application of Electromagnetic Prospecting in Civil and Environmental Engineering)
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19 pages, 7369 KiB  
Article
Freezing Behavior of Clayey Sand and Spatiotemporal Evolution of Seasonally Frozen Soil Distribution in the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau
by Yunlei Xu, Haiyan Yang, Jianhua Yue, He Wei, Rongqi Che, Qibao Duan, Shulong Zhou and Meng Sun
Appl. Sci. 2025, 15(13), 7498; https://doi.org/10.3390/app15137498 - 3 Jul 2025
Viewed by 345
Abstract
Seasonally frozen soils are widely distributed across the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau and play a crucial role in regional hydrological processes, ecosystem stability, and infrastructure development. In this study, a custom-designed freeze–thaw apparatus was employed to investigate the freezing behavior of clayey sand with varying [...] Read more.
Seasonally frozen soils are widely distributed across the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau and play a crucial role in regional hydrological processes, ecosystem stability, and infrastructure development. In this study, a custom-designed freeze–thaw apparatus was employed to investigate the freezing behavior of clayey sand with varying initial volumetric water contents. The relationship between electrical resistivity and unfrozen water content was examined through laboratory tests, while six-month resistivity monitoring tests were conducted in a representative frozen soil region of the plateau. The results show that the freezing points for samples with initial volumetric water contents of 30%, 18.5%, and 10% were −2.34 °C, −4.69 °C, and −6.48 °C, respectively, whereas the thawing temperature remained approximately −4 °C across all cases. A strong inverse correlation between resistivity and unfrozen water content was observed during the freezing process. Moreover, the resistivity exhibited a typical U-shaped trend with increasing initial water content, with a minimum level observed at 6~10%. Field resistivity profiles demonstrated limited variation between July and September, while in December, a pronounced thickening of the transition zone and an upward shift in the high-resistivity layer were evident. These findings enhance the understanding of the freeze–thaw mechanisms and the spatiotemporal evolution of frozen soils in high-altitude environments. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Application of Electromagnetic Prospecting in Civil and Environmental Engineering)
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18 pages, 28482 KiB  
Article
Forward Modeling Analysis in Advanced Exploration of Cross-Hole Grounded-Wire-Source Transient Electromagnetic Method
by Jiao Zhu, Zhihai Jiang, Maofei Li, Zhonghao Dou and Zhaofeng Gao
Appl. Sci. 2025, 15(5), 2672; https://doi.org/10.3390/app15052672 - 2 Mar 2025
Viewed by 909
Abstract
To address the challenge of accurately detecting hidden water inrush hazards ahead of working faces, a cross-hole transient electromagnetic (TEM) method utilizing a grounded-wire source is proposed. The technique positions a step-current-driven grounded-wire source within a working-face borehole, while electrode arrays in adjacent [...] Read more.
To address the challenge of accurately detecting hidden water inrush hazards ahead of working faces, a cross-hole transient electromagnetic (TEM) method utilizing a grounded-wire source is proposed. The technique positions a step-current-driven grounded-wire source within a working-face borehole, while electrode arrays in adjacent boreholes measure secondary electric field responses. This configuration minimizes interference from metal supports or machines, thereby enhancing the signal-to-noise ratio of the TEM signals. A theoretical analysis based on the unstructured finite-element (FE) method is used to investigate the configuration. The collected data are processed using differential techniques, and the results confirm the method’s effectiveness in detecting anomalies. This paper investigates the response of our cross-hole method to anomalies in terms of size, resistivity contrasts, and spatial location, with anomaly boundaries quantitatively delineated via first-order differential analysis. This significantly enhances the capability of TEM detection in identifying anomalies. A comparison between our cross-hole method and the traditional roadway–borehole TEM method, using the trapped column model, demonstrates that the proposed cross-hole device more effectively locates anomalies and improves accuracy. Furthermore, this technique enables the formation of a 3D observation framework by utilizing existing boreholes, presenting promising prospects for future applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Application of Electromagnetic Prospecting in Civil and Environmental Engineering)
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