Symmetry and Finite Element Method in Civil Engineering

A special issue of Symmetry (ISSN 2073-8994). This special issue belongs to the section "Engineering and Materials".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2025 | Viewed by 575

Special Issue Editors

School of Highway, Chang'an University, Xi'an, China
Interests: bridge engineering; steel and composite bridge; concrete-filled steel tubular bridge; structural analysis; fatigue assessment; long-life design theory
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Guest Editor
School of Civil Engineering, Fujian University of Technology, Fuzhou, China
Interests: green ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC); steel-UHPC composite structure in bridge engineering; concrete-filled steel tube (CFST) structure; CFST and CFST melan arch bridge
School of Highway, Chang'an University, Xi'an, China
Interests: steel–concrete composite girder bridges; concrete-filled steel tubular bridges; steel bridges; bridge temperature action; long-life design theory
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
College of Civil Engineering & Architecture, China Three Gorges University, Yichang, China
Interests: UHPC materials and structural applications; solid waste recycling and utilization; concrete-filled steel tube composite structures

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Symmetry principles and the finite element method (FEM) play pivotal roles in advancing civil engineering, offering innovative solutions for structural design, material behavior analysis, and dynamic response prediction. Symmetry simplifies complex problems, reduces computational costs, and enhances design efficiency, while the FEM is indispensable for simulating real-world engineering challenges. However, the integration of symmetry-driven approaches with modern FEM techniques remains underexplored, particularly in optimizing sustainable and resilient infrastructure. This Special Issue seeks to bridge this gap by showcasing cutting-edge research at the intersection of symmetry, computational mechanics, and civil engineering applications.

We seek the submission of papers that explore how symmetry principles enhance FEM-based modeling, optimization, and analysis in civil engineering systems. Topics include symmetry-aware FEM algorithms, applications in structural optimization, material homogenization, and dynamic/thermal analyses, as well as case studies demonstrating efficiency gains in large-scale projects. This Special Issue aligns with the journal’s focus on computational methods and structural innovation, aiming to foster interdisciplinary dialogue and promote sustainable engineering practices.

Original research articles are welcome, covering themes such as symmetry in structural design, FEM advancements, topology optimization, multiscale modeling, and AI-driven simulations. Submissions addressing challenges in symmetry preservation, computational scalability, and real-world validation are encouraged.

We look forward to receiving your contributions, thus advancing this transformative field.

Dr. Lei Jiang
Prof. Dr. Cong Li
Dr. Jiang Liu
Dr. Jian Yang
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 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

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. Symmetry 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 2400 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

  • symmetry
  • finite element method
  • civil engineering
  • structural optimization
  • computational mechanics
  • material modeling
  • dynamic analysis
  • sustainable design
  • multiscale simulation
  • topology optimization

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

21 pages, 7386 KB  
Article
Numerical Analysis of Failure Mechanism in Through Tied-Arch Bridges: Impact of Hanger Damage and Arch-Beam Combination Parameters
by Bing-Hui Fan, Qi Sun, Su-Guo Wang, Qiang Chen, Bin-Bin Zhou and Jin-Qi Zou
Symmetry 2025, 17(11), 1823; https://doi.org/10.3390/sym17111823 - 30 Oct 2025
Viewed by 182
Abstract
To investigate the influence mechanism of hanger damage and arch-beam combined parameters on the failure behavior of tied-arch bridges, this study employs an advanced damage failure model within the LS-DYNA. A comprehensive simulation of the entire failure process was conducted, considering the coupled [...] Read more.
To investigate the influence mechanism of hanger damage and arch-beam combined parameters on the failure behavior of tied-arch bridges, this study employs an advanced damage failure model within the LS-DYNA. A comprehensive simulation of the entire failure process was conducted, considering the coupled effects of hanger damage parameters and structural parameters of the arch-beam system, using a tied-arch bridge as the engineering case. The primary innovation of this study lies in overcoming the limitations of previous research, which has largely been confined to single hanger failure or static parameter analysis, by achieving, for the first time, dynamic tracking and quantitative identification of structural failure paths under the coupled influence of multiple parameters. The results demonstrate that both the severity and spatial distribution pattern of hanger damage significantly influence the structural failure mechanism. When damage is either uniformly distributed across the bridge or relatively concentrated—particularly when long hangers experience severe degradation—the structure becomes susceptible to cascading stress redistribution, substantially increasing the risk of global progressive collapse. This finding provides a theoretical foundation for developing risk-informed maintenance and repair strategies for hangers. It is therefore recommended that practical maintenance efforts prioritize monitoring the condition of long hangers and regions with concentrated damage. Furthermore, variations in arch-beam combined parameters are shown to have a significant effect on the structure’s collapse resistance. For the case bridge studied herein, the original design parameters achieve an optimal balance between anti-collapse performance and economic efficiency, underscoring the importance of rational parameter selection in enhancing system robustness. This work offers both theoretical insights and numerical tools for evaluating and optimizing the collapse-resistant performance of under-deck tied-arch bridges, contributing meaningful engineering value toward improving the safety and durability of similar structures. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Symmetry and Finite Element Method in Civil Engineering)
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