AI-Driven Structural Health Monitoring and Inspection for Civil and Hydraulic Infrastructure

Dear Colleagues,

Civil structures and infrastructures, including bridges, high-rise buildings, dams, hydraulic facilities, and underwater components, are critical to the global economy and public safety. Ensuring their longevity and performance demands increasingly sophisticated monitoring and inspection strategies. Following the success of our previous Special Issue on fundamental techniques and systems, this new volume aims to explore the digital and intelligent transformation of Structural Health Monitoring (SHM), driven by groundbreaking advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI), smart sensor networks, and robotics.

The future of SHM lies in moving beyond traditional sensing and data collection towards intelligent perception, autonomous inspection, and predictive maintenance. This AI empowerment is particularly vital for the management of large-scale critical infrastructure, where access is challenging and failure consequences are severe. This Special Issue seeks to highlight cutting-edge research and applications that leverage these technologies to create safer, more resilient, and self-aware infrastructure systems.

We invite submissions of original research and comprehensive reviews that address, but are not limited to, the following emerging topics:

AI and Machine Learning for SHM: Novel algorithms for automated defect detection (e.g., crack, spalling in dams and underwater structures), damage classification, anomaly diagnosis, and predictive analytics using vision, vibration, acoustic, and multi-modal sensor data.

Robotics for Autonomous Inspection: Development and deployment of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs), and climbing robots for contactless, high-resolution data acquisition in hazardous or inaccessible environments (e.g., dam faces, underwater piers).

Smart Sensing and IoT for Infrastructure: Next-generation sensor technologies, wireless networks, and Internet of Things (IoT) frameworks enabling real-time, continuous monitoring and data fusion for intelligent water conservancy projects and mega-structures.

Digital Twins and Virtual Models: Creation of high-fidelity digital replicas for simulation, scenario testing, lifecycle management, and integrating AI-driven insights for decision support.

Case Studies in Intelligent Infrastructure: Field applications and validation studies demonstrating the integration of AI, robotics, and smart sensing in dam safety monitoring, underwater structure assessment, and the broader vision of smart, resilient cities.

This Special Issue will provide a platform to disseminate innovations that bridge the gap between advanced computational intelligence, robotic systems, and practical civil engineering, ultimately driving the development of futuristic and self-diagnosing infrastructure.

Prof. Dr. Fei Kang
Prof. Dr. Yonglong Li
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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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.

• structural health monitoring
• damage identification
• advanced computational intelligence
• robotic systems
• civil engineering
• diagnosing infrastructure