Numerical Simulations and Experimental Studies in Historical Buildings

A special issue of Heritage (ISSN 2571-9408). This special issue belongs to the section "Architectural Heritage".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 April 2026 | Viewed by 881

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
ENEA Centro Ricerche Casaccia, Rome, Italy
Interests: seismic engineering; shake table testing; vibration monitoring

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Guest Editor
Department of Civil, Computer Science and Aeronautical Technologies Engineering, Roma Tre University, Via Vito Volterra 62, 00146 Rome, Italy
Interests: structural assessment ans strengthening; composite materials; structural health monitoring; experimental testing of materials and structures; numerical modelling of structures; architectural and archeological heritage

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Historical buildings are among the most significant types of cultural heritage assets in urban and non-urban environments in many parts of the world. At the same time, even today, they often continue to have a functional role, albeit with an altered intended use, acting as institutional or residential buildings, or even as workplaces and offices. Their geometrical complexity and material heterogeneity make them often a real challenge for conservationists and engineers to investigate and analyze through proper and representative numerical models. Additionally, there usually is a lack of information about their construction, design, material properties, etc., making their proper modelling still more complicated. The architectural value of these structures makes such challenge particularly fascinating from both scientific and cultural standpoints.

This Special Issue aims to present the most recent and advanced methodologies and case studies related to the numerical modelling of historical buildings, as well as their structural analysis and assessment. Additionally, the contributions of experimental studies to characterizing the material properties and the structural behavior of historical buildings must be considered crucial to calibrating and updating numerical models and are strongly welcomed. Special interest will be devoted to the new trends in the field, including the application of artificial intelligence (AI).

Both original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following topics:

  • New trends in numerical modelling of historical buildings;
  • Application of AI in numerical modelling of historical buildings;
  • Case studies in numerical modelling of historical buildings;
  • Calibration and updating of numerical models by experimental data;
  • Experimental characterization of historical building material properties;
  • Experimental validation methods of numerical models of historical buildings.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Ivan Roselli
Dr. Stefano De Santis
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. Heritage is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly 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 1800 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

  • numerical modelling
  • model calibration
  • model updating
  • historical buildings
  • historical material properties
  • experimental validation of numerical models

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

16 pages, 3678 KB  
Article
Safeguarding Heritage Under Conflict: Numerical Investigation of the Blast Response of the Aleppo Citadel Minaret
by Donna Al Sououb, Matteo Salvalaggio, João M. Pereira, Michel Chalhoub and Paulo B. Lourenço
Heritage 2026, 9(3), 101; https://doi.org/10.3390/heritage9030101 - 4 Mar 2026
Viewed by 568
Abstract
Man-made hazards pose serious threats to the safety and preservation of heritage structures. With armed conflict becoming increasingly prominent, it is urgent to enhance our understanding of how these structures respond under extreme conditions to drive conservation strategies. The Citadel of Aleppo in [...] Read more.
Man-made hazards pose serious threats to the safety and preservation of heritage structures. With armed conflict becoming increasingly prominent, it is urgent to enhance our understanding of how these structures respond under extreme conditions to drive conservation strategies. The Citadel of Aleppo in Syria, placed on the List of World Heritage in Danger in 2013 due to the civil war, tragically exemplifies the vulnerability of cultural heritage in times of conflict. In such a framework, this study focuses on the Minaret of the Ayyubid Great Mosque of the Citadel of Aleppo as a representative masonry tower to investigate the effects of man-made threats. Based on a 3D finite element model built in the Abaqus/Explicit environment, blast scenarios associated with aviation bombs and human-borne improvised explosive devices (IEDs) were simulated. The Conventional Weapons Effects (CONWEP) model was used to assess the structural response to blast pressures, also as a function of charge size, standoff distance, and modelling parameters (mesh size, strain rate). This study’s outcomes provide insights into the potential damage caused by aviation bombs and IED attacks, advancing the understanding of the vulnerability of tower-like masonry structures to such hazards while also informing future conservation strategies. Full article
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