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Structural Safety and Stability of Buildings: Novel Methods, Materials, and...
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Structural Safety and Stability of Buildings: Novel Methods, Materials, and Measurements—2nd Edition

A special issue of Buildings (ISSN 2075-5309). This special issue belongs to the section "Building Structures".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 December 2025 | Viewed by 2042

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Chaofan Yao

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Civil Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu 610031, China
Interests: tunneling; underground space engineering; earthquake engineering; geotechnical engineering
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Chuang Zhao

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310000, China
Interests: soil dynamics; transportation geotechnics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Yan Li

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
State Key Laboratory of Geo-Hazard Prevention and Geo-Environment Protection, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu 610059, China
Interests: engineering geology; geo-hazard; geotechnical engineering
Dr. Wenli Lin

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Transportation, Southeast University, Nanjing 211189, China
Interests: geotecnical engineering; soil mechanics; experimental geotechnics

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The structural safety and stability of buildings are paramount concerns in today's rapidly urbanizing world. In recent years, various novel methods, materials, and measurements have been developed in order to enhance the safety and stability of buildings, thus protecting lives and properties. However, more methods, materials, and measurements are required to adapt to diverse structural forms and complex strata.

This Special Issue, entitled “Structural Safety and Stability of Buildings: Novel Methods, Materials, and Measurements—2nd Edition”, aims to collect novel research regarding the structural safety and stability of buildings. We welcome the submission of original research articles or reviews whose scope includes, but is not limited to, the following topics: the performance of buildings and structures, the evaluation of the structural safety and stability of buildings, new theoretical and experimental methods, innovative materials that enhance the performance of buildings, and novel measurements to protect buildings and structures. Moreover, we welcome submissions that present advanced intelligent algorithms or sensing techniques.

Some related research was published in the previous edition of this Special Issue, which can be accessed using the following link:

https://www.mdpi.com/journal/buildings/special_issues/33M33KQ60R

Dr. Chaofan Yao
Dr. Chuang Zhao
Dr. Yan Li
Dr. Wenli Lin
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. Buildings 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 2600 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

  • structural safety
  • stability of buildings
  • performance evaluation
  • novel methods
  • new materials
  • novel measurements
  • soil structure interation
  • underground structure stability

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Related Special Issue

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 2809 KB  
Article
Physical Modeling of a Novel Rigid Bottom Wall to Mitigate the Damage of Shallow Tunnels in Normal Faults
by Chaofan Yao, Yulin Liu, Yifei Zhang, Suyuan Liu, Wenbo Yang and Deping Guo
Buildings 2025, 15(22), 4156; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings15224156 - 18 Nov 2025
Viewed by 212
Abstract
Tunnels are threatened by fault deformation. Currently, there is a lack of mitigation strategies for shallow tunnels crossing active faults in overlying soils. The study proposed a novel rigid bottom wall to mitigate the damage of shallow tunnels in normal faults. The rigid [...] Read more.
Tunnels are threatened by fault deformation. Currently, there is a lack of mitigation strategies for shallow tunnels crossing active faults in overlying soils. The study proposed a novel rigid bottom wall to mitigate the damage of shallow tunnels in normal faults. The rigid bottom wall is a reinforced concrete wall, installed below the inverted arch. Two physical tests with and without the wall were conducted to investigate the effectiveness of the novel structure. The results show that the rigid bottom wall can protect the tunnel subjected to normal faulting. The function of the rigid bottom wall is to increase the relative tunnel–soil stiffness. The tunnel with the rigid bottom wall experienced a longer deformed length during faulting. With a longer deformed length to accommodate the fault deformation, the tunnel was in a safer state with smaller rotation and bending strain. The maximum rotation and the maximum bending strain decreased 45% and 40%, respectively. In addition, the rigid bottom wall seemed to change the locations of the tunnel–fault cross point and potential failure point of the tunnel. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Structural Safety and Stability of Buildings: Novel Methods, Materials, and Measurements—2nd Edition)
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27 pages, 13439 KB  
Article
Study on Evolution Laws of Lining Mechanical Behavior in Mountain Tunnels Under Heavy Rainfall Conditions
by Ke An, Zhenwei Wang, Xueyong Zhou, Lilong Liu, Yongqi Zhen, Wei Meng and Yuanfu Zhou
Buildings 2025, 15(21), 3970; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings15213970 - 3 Nov 2025
Viewed by 272
Abstract
This study reveals the evolution of the mechanical behavior of tunnel lining under the influence of heavy rainfall through field monitoring and coupled fluid-solid numerical simulations. Field monitoring shows that after 14 h of rainfall, the maximum vertical tensile stress increment at monitoring [...] Read more.
This study reveals the evolution of the mechanical behavior of tunnel lining under the influence of heavy rainfall through field monitoring and coupled fluid-solid numerical simulations. Field monitoring shows that after 14 h of rainfall, the maximum vertical tensile stress increment at monitoring point 2 reached 0.55 MPa. The simulation results indicate that when the rainfall intensity is 1.11 × 10−5 m/s and the rainfall duration lasts for 36 h, the principal stress increment at the sidewall monitoring point is 2.34 MPa (exceeding the tensile strength of C30 concrete of 1.43 MPa). Based on these findings, the suggested threshold for rainfall-induced checks is a single-day rainfall of ≥80 mm or continuous rainfall of ≥10 h. It is recommended to monitor once every 3 days during normal conditions and once every 2 h during heavy rainfall. When the permeability coefficient of the loosened zones increases from 2.05 × 10−6 m/s to 6.48 × 10−5 m/s, the principal stress at the sidewall decreases by 41%. It is suggested to reduce the blind drainage spacing on the sidewalls to 3–4 m. The model reproduces the observed stress increment within a 10% error margin. These results may provide a valuable reference for tunnel design, monitoring, and reinforcement in regions prone to heavy rainfall. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Structural Safety and Stability of Buildings: Novel Methods, Materials, and Measurements—2nd Edition)
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24 pages, 8957 KB  
Article
Inversion of Physical and Mechanical Parameters of Surrounding Rock Mass in Foundation Pits Using a PSO-BP Neural Network
by Gang Li, Wei Xiao, Yanlin Liang, Qiyin Gu, Junxin Jiang, Wei Meng and Yuanfu Zhou
Buildings 2025, 15(19), 3499; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings15193499 - 28 Sep 2025
Viewed by 371
Abstract
In foundation pit engineering, precise determination of the physical–mechanical parameters of the surrounding rock is essential for reliable simulation of rock deformation and anchor cable forces. A foundation pit engineering project in Shapingba District, Chongqing, was selected as a case study. A numerical [...] Read more.
In foundation pit engineering, precise determination of the physical–mechanical parameters of the surrounding rock is essential for reliable simulation of rock deformation and anchor cable forces. A foundation pit engineering project in Shapingba District, Chongqing, was selected as a case study. A numerical model was developed using FLAC3D, and 64 working conditions were designed via orthogonal experiments to serve as training samples. Global optimization inversion of the samples was performed using a BP neural network enhanced by particle swarm optimization. Using selected monitoring data of surrounding rock displacement and anchor cable forces, inversion was conducted to determine the physical–mechanical parameters of the foundation pit surrounding rock, and the FLAC3D model inputs were subsequently updated. Finally, simulated results were validated against field measurements. The maximum relative error of surrounding rock displacement reached 8%, with only 3% at the pit center. The largest settlement occurred in the eastern section, where the relative error was 5%. For anchor cable forces, the maximum relative error was 7.9%. This study employed a PSO-BP neural network to invert the physical–mechanical parameters of the foundation pit surrounding rock and introduced a two-stage validation using measured displacements and anchor cable forces. The approach enhances inversion accuracy and provides a practical reference for similar foundation pit engineering applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Structural Safety and Stability of Buildings: Novel Methods, Materials, and Measurements—2nd Edition)
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20 pages, 10249 KB  
Article
The Effect of Cementation on Microstructural Evolution and Particle Characteristics of Calcareous Sand Under Triaxial Loading
by Wanying Wang, Jiepeng Huang, Degao Chen, Qingzi Luo and Bingxiang Yuan
Buildings 2025, 15(12), 2041; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings15122041 - 13 Jun 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 870
Abstract
Calcareous sands are widely distributed across the South China Sea’s continental shelf and coastlines. Understanding their mechanical behavior and microstructural evolution under cementation is critical for coastal engineering applications. While previous studies have investigated cemented calcareous sands, the comparative analyses of particle breakage [...] Read more.
Calcareous sands are widely distributed across the South China Sea’s continental shelf and coastlines. Understanding their mechanical behavior and microstructural evolution under cementation is critical for coastal engineering applications. While previous studies have investigated cemented calcareous sands, the comparative analyses of particle breakage and microstructural characteristics between cemented and pure sands remain limited. This study combines triaxial compression tests with X-ray CT scanning and Digital Volume Correlation analysis to systematically examine both material types. Pre- and post-loading CT scans enabled the detailed tracking of microstructural transformations. Results demonstrate that cemented specimens exhibit higher strength–stiffness properties with strain-softening behavior compared to pure sand under 200 kPa confining pressures. A quantitative analysis revealed greater particle breakage in cemented sand, while pure sand showed more pronounced increases in particle sphericity and the aspect ratio during deformation, accompanied by reduced porosity variation along specimen height (coefficient of variation decreased from 15.2% to 12.8% for pure sand. Microstructural analysis indicated moderate increases in pore sphericity and reduced anisotropy in both materials. Fractal dimension analysis demonstrated more significant structural reorganization in cemented sands. Both materials exhibited increases in key morphological parameters, including the throat equivalent radius, channel length, pore equivalent radius, and coordination number, with changes being more substantial in cemented sands. Within shear band regions, cemented sands displayed marked reductions in pore and throat quantities. These findings elucidate fundamental relationships between cementation effects and micro–macro mechanical responses, providing theoretical support for geotechnical applications involving calcareous sands. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Structural Safety and Stability of Buildings: Novel Methods, Materials, and Measurements—2nd Edition)
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