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Buildings
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Advanced Research on Structural Multi-Hazard Risk and Disaster Prevention
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Advanced Research on Structural Multi-Hazard Risk and Disaster Prevention

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2026 | Viewed by 1632

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Zhongwei Hu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Resources and Civil Engineering, Northeastern University, Shenyang 110004, China
Interests: vibration control; smart disaster prevention; structural dynamics; advanced material; seismic engineering; material mechanics; intelligent optimization
Dr. Erjiang Cui

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Civil Engineering, Hunan University of Science and Technology, Xiangtan 411199, China
Interests: structural health monitoring; damage detection; deterioration repair of in-service structures and seismic reinforcement with UHPC
Dr. Zhang Ge

E-Mail
Guest Editor
School of Civil Engineering, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing 100044, China
Interests: seismic mitigation; resilience improvement of engineering structures
Dr. Chenzhi Ma

E-Mail
Guest Editor
School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Nevada, Reno, NV 89512, USA
Interests: structural fire engineering; life-cycle cost; performance-based design; fire risk analysis; wildland-urban-interface fires

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Engineering structures are exposed to various hazards during their service life, including earthquakes, strong winds, fires, and flooding. These hazards differ significantly in their spatiotemporal characteristics and underlying mechanisms. Moreover, complex coupling effects or cascading disaster processes may occur between different hazard types. Such phenomena pose serious threats to the safety of both structures and human beings. Currently, research on the multi-hazard effects and resilience theory of engineering structures remains limited. Additionally, the applicability and reliability of existing resilience enhancement approaches under complex disaster scenarios require further investigation and improvement.

This Special Issue aims to systematically explore advanced research on the resilience assessment and disaster mitigation of engineering structures under multiple hazards. It emphasizes the integration of theoretical analysis, experimental investigations, numerical simulations, and machine learning techniques to reveal the damage mechanisms and failure evolution patterns of structures under single or coupled hazards. Furthermore, the issue highlights the need for innovative strategies to enhance structural disaster resilience, including the application of high-performance, disaster-resistant materials, advanced vibration control devices, performance-based design methodologies, and intelligent disaster monitoring systems.

We sincerely welcome submissions of original, innovative research from scholars worldwide. This Special Issue particularly encourages (but is not limited to) contributions in the following areas:

  1. Resilience assessment of individual buildings and building clusters under natural and human-induced hazards;
  2. Analysis of coupled multi-hazard effects and cascading disaster processes;
  3. Large-scale experimental investigations of structural behavior under extreme conditions;
  4. Disaster prevention technologies based on advanced materials, structural systems, and vibration control devices;
  5. Research on materials, components, and systems to enhance structural fire resilience;
  6. Performance evaluation and optimization of resilient enhancement methods;
  7. Intelligent monitoring and sensing technologies for structural multi-hazard responses;
  8. Applications of machine learning in structural multi-hazard analysis and mitigation solutions.

By compiling innovative research on multi-hazard analysis, resilience assessment, and disaster-prevention technologies, this Special Issue seeks to advance theoretical and methodological developments in structural disaster prevention. The contributions in this issue will also provide academic support for improving the safety and resilience of engineering structures throughout their life cycles.

We warmly invite researchers and practitioners from both academia and industry to share their expertise and latest results.

Dr. Zhongwei Hu
Dr. Erjiang Cui
Dr. Zhang Ge
Dr. Chenzhi Ma
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

  • resilience assessment
  • multi-hazard risk analysis
  • large-scale experiment
  • disaster mitigation strategies
  • vibration control
  • fire risk analysis
  • wildland–urban–interface fire
  • performance-based design
  • intelligent monitoring and sensing
  • machine learning

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

Published Papers (2 papers)

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21 pages, 9568 KB  
Article
A Multiscale FE Framework for Flood–Structure Interaction: Integrated Hydraulic Actions and Structural Damage Prediction
by Umberto De Maio, Fabrizio Greco, Paolo Lonetti and Paolo Nevone Blasi
Buildings 2026, 16(8), 1503; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings16081503 - 11 Apr 2026
Viewed by 341
Abstract
Flood and flash flood events can generate severe hydraulic actions on civil structures, requiring modeling strategies able to link flow features to structural damage. This paper proposes a two-scale numerical framework based on advanced finite element modeling to assess the vulnerability of structures [...] Read more.
Flood and flash flood events can generate severe hydraulic actions on civil structures, requiring modeling strategies able to link flow features to structural damage. This paper proposes a two-scale numerical framework based on advanced finite element modeling to assess the vulnerability of structures subjected to inundation and flood-driven impact. At the macroscale, the flood propagation and the interaction with the built environment are simulated through the depth-averaged Shallow Water Equations, adopting a time-explicit interface treatment to capture the evolution of the free surface. The macroscale model provides time-dependent water depth and flow velocity along the external surfaces of the structure, which are then used to derive hydrostatic and hydrodynamic actions, also in comparison with code-based formulations. At the mesoscale, these actions are transferred to a detailed structural model to investigate the nonlinear mechanical response of the building. Structural components are described through a coupled damage–plasticity constitutive law, enabling the prediction of stiffness degradation, cracking-driven damage patterns, and the identification of the most critical structural zones under flood loading. The proposed workflow is finally applied to a real structure located in the municipality of Cosenza (Italy), demonstrating the capability of the approach to combine hydraulic intensity measures with physics-based structural damage assessment, supporting scenario analyses and risk mitigation evaluations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Research on Structural Multi-Hazard Risk and Disaster Prevention)
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29 pages, 5539 KB  
Systematic Review
A Systematic Review of Digital Technologies for Emergency Preparedness in Buildings
by Jiahan Wang, Don Amila Sajeevan Samarasinghe, Diocel Harold M. Aquino and Fei Ying
Buildings 2026, 16(4), 856; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings16040856 - 20 Feb 2026
Viewed by 894
Abstract
Natural and human-made hazards are increasing due to global warming and human activities. Occupant evacuation in complex buildings remains challenging due to unfamiliar building layouts, communication failures, and unpredictable occupant behavior. Therefore, this study aims to explore how integrating digital technologies enhances emergency [...] Read more.
Natural and human-made hazards are increasing due to global warming and human activities. Occupant evacuation in complex buildings remains challenging due to unfamiliar building layouts, communication failures, and unpredictable occupant behavior. Therefore, this study aims to explore how integrating digital technologies enhances emergency preparedness, supports occupant decision-making during evacuation, and improves occupants’ situational awareness. We conducted a PRISMA-guided systematic literature review across Scopus, IEEE Xplore, and ProQuest Discover, analyzing 31 high-quality journal articles relevant to the research. The focus was on integrating digital technologies to support occupant situational awareness and evacuation outcomes. This review explores the integration of Internet of Things (IoT), Building Information Modeling (BIM), Virtual Reality (VR) /Augmented Reality (AR), Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Digital Twins (DTs) for emergency preparedness, supporting real-world applications. This review highlights three research questions: (1) Evaluate how current digital technologies affect occupant emergency preparedness in buildings; (2) Identify the challenges that limit the effectiveness of digital technologies across key emergency preparedness stages; (3) Understand how digital technologies can support occupant emergency preparedness. The review compiles evidence and presents a conceptual framework to support the integration of digital technologies into occupant-focused emergency preparedness, providing practical guidance for the future direction of risk management research. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Research on Structural Multi-Hazard Risk and Disaster Prevention)
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