Modeling of Constitutive Laws for Traditional and Innovative Building Materials

Dear Colleagues,

Studies about reliable constitutive laws to understand the mechanical response of materials used in civil engineering are needed to properly assess the load-bearing capacity and, in turn, the service life of a wide class of structures and infrastructures, with specific reference to sustainable buildings and preservation and restoration of existing buildings as well. The application of special composites and smart materials play a key role in such a context, in order to monitor the process of deformation and, in turn, the progressive damage of buildings.

The proposed Special Issue focuses on the mechanical aspects of traditional as well as innovative building materials through multidisciplinary approaches based on analytical, numerical, and experimental investigations. The issue aims at addressing mechanical behavior up to failure of traditional materials, such as concrete, metallic materials, masonry, wood, etc., as well as innovative ones, such as nano-additivated concretes and mortars, natural fiber composites, ultra-high-performance FRC, etc.

The main purpose of the proposed Special Issue is to gather consistent design tools to properly predict the performances of a wide class of materials in order to optimize their use in civil engineering and, at the same time, to promote the realization of high-quality structures, eco-friendly buildings, and, in general, to assure durability and safety of new and existing buildings in order to preserve human life and assure high indoor quality.

The topics of interest include but are not limited to:

New skills about experimental, theoretical and numerical analyses of building materials such as wood, concrete, FRC, high-performance materials, steel, masonry, etc.; mechanical analysis and modeling of cementitious (micro or nano)-composites; modeling and simulation of multifunctional high-performance materials; wearing and damage mechanics of composites; homogenization of complex materials for civil engineering; modeling of coupling of different materials in the framework of nonconventional reinforcement of structures; FE analyses of historic buildings; homogenization techniques applied to construtions and building materials; fracture mechanics of heterogeneous and complex materials; modeling of materials with microstructures; viscoelasticity and plasticity of cementitious materials; modeling of retrofitted structures under cycling loads; seismic vulnerability and structural degradation of cultural heritage; experimental characterization of conventional as well as innovative materials for buildings.

Dr. Luca Lanzoni
Prof. Dr. Vittorio Gusella
Prof. Dr. Patrizia Trovalusci
Prof. Dr. Antonella Cecchi
Prof. Dr. Valentina Salomoni
Prof. Dr. Sabrina Vantadori
Guest Editors

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