Conventional and Emerging Methods in Structural Monitoring: Bridging the Past and Future

A special issue of Buildings (ISSN 2075-5309). This special issue belongs to the section "Construction Management, and Computers & Digitization".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 10 August 2026 | Viewed by 1585

Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Structural Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim 7491, Norway
Interests: pantograph-catenary interaction; structural monitoring; computer vision; deep learning
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Guest Editor
School of Civil Engineering, Chongqing Jiaotong University, Chongqing 400074, China
Interests: intelligent construction of bridges; intelligent operation; bridge performance improvement and reinforcement; development of novel materials; digital twins

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Guest Editor
Department of Civil Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, China
Interests: digital twins; structural integrity; prognostic assessment; transformer; wind energy structure; bridge engineering; intelligent operation and maintenance

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Guest Editor
Institute of Smart City and Intelligent Transportation, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu 611756, China
Interests: Bridge engineering; Wind engineering; Track engineering; Probability evaluation; Train safety assessment and prediction
Department of Civil and Airport Engineering, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 211106, China
Interests: structural health monitoring; computer vision; vibration measurement; smart construction; artificial intelligence

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Structural monitoring is crucial for ensuring the safety, durability, and resilience of civil infrastructure, including bridges, buildings, dams, and tunnels. While traditional methods (e.g., strain gauges and accelerometers) have long been the backbone of structural health monitoring (SHM), rapid advancements in sensing technologies, data analytics, and automation are revolutionizing the field. Many industries still depend on traditional systems due to their reliability; however, innovative techniques (e.g., computer vision, wireless sensor networks, and digital twins) offer unprecedented precision, scalability, and cost efficiency. The rise of AI/ML, IoT, and big data analytics has enabled predictive maintenance and real-time decision-making. This Special Issue seeks to critically examine the synergies and trade-offs between conventional and emerging approaches, fostering a multidisciplinary dialogue to address pressing challenges in infrastructure resilience, sustainability, and safety.

Potential topics for this issue include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Traditional techniques: strain gauges, accelerometers, and manual visual inspections.
  • Innovative solutions: computer vision, drone-based inspections, optical fiber sensors, IoT-enabled networks, and AI-driven damage detection.
  • Hybrid approaches: integration of traditional systems with emerging technologies.
  • Case studies: real-world applications demonstrating reliability and cost-effectiveness.

Dr. Tengjiao Jiang
Dr. Shaorui Wang
Dr. Junlin Heng
Dr. Ming Wang
Dr. Kui Luo
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-anonymized 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 health monitoring
  • predictive maintenance
  • nondestructive evaluation
  • sensor technologies
  • computer vision
  • artificial intelligence
  • deep learning

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

22 pages, 3903 KB  
Article
Monitoring–Modeling Integrated Assessment of Temperature-Induced Prestress Variations in Prestressed Concrete Beams During Construction
by Chengjun Li, Ke Zeng, Tao Zhang, Xiao Tang and Nuo Xu
Buildings 2026, 16(6), 1095; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings16061095 - 10 Mar 2026
Viewed by 394
Abstract
Prestressed concrete (PSC) beams are widely used in bridges and large structures due to their high load-bearing capacity and crack resistance. However, owing to their complex construction process, they are highly sensitive to temperature variations. Implementing temperature monitoring at this stage helps assess [...] Read more.
Prestressed concrete (PSC) beams are widely used in bridges and large structures due to their high load-bearing capacity and crack resistance. However, owing to their complex construction process, they are highly sensitive to temperature variations. Implementing temperature monitoring at this stage helps assess the actual mechanical behavior and effective prestress of the beam, providing a reliable basis for construction control and prestress adjustment. This study aims to investigate the mechanical performance of a bidirectionally stiffened composite tensioning and anchoring system developed earlier by the research team during the construction phase and to elucidate the effect of temperature on the mechanical behavior of pretensioned prestressed concrete beams. By deploying a monitoring system integrated with high-precision sensors, synchronized temperature and displacement data during tensioning, pouring, and curing stages were obtained. Field-measured data were used to validate finite element models under different thermal load conditions. The results indicate that the heat of hydration of concrete causes a temperature difference of 12.0 °C at the end form, leading to a maximum displacement of 0.2 mm at the top of the anchor plate. Notably, a temperature change of 22 °C induces a prestress fluctuation of 0.12% to 0.3%. The numerical model demonstrates strong accuracy, with the highest agreement with experimental data and an error of less than 7.5%. These findings provide a scientific basis for compensating prestress losses and controlling the deformation of prestressed concrete beam structures, playing a critical role in ensuring the long-term safety and performance of structures under complex working conditions. Full article
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