Structural Mechanics of Regularity and Irregularity in Masonry Constructions
A special issue of Symmetry (ISSN 2073-8994). This special issue belongs to the section "Engineering and Materials".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2026 | Viewed by 132
Special Issue Editors
Interests: masonry structures; experimental analysis; structural mechanics; earthquake engineering; computational modelling; nonlinear static procedures
Interests: earthquake engineering; heritage; vulnerability analysis; masonry structures; nonlinear analysis; computational modelling; nonlinear static procedures
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
We are pleased to invite you to submit a contribution to a Special Issue entitled “Structural Mechanics of Regularity and Irregularity in Masonry Constructions” that will be published in Symmetry.
In seismic design, structural regularity is widely regarded as a prerequisite for reliable performance. Accordingly, seismic design codes encourage adopting simple and box-like configurations for masonry buildings to promote structural regularity. However, perfect regularity is rarely attainable in practice due to functional requirements, economic constraints, and architectural preferences. Even in nominally regular or symmetric buildings, masonry anisotropy, discontinuities, and morphology of load-bearing walls, as well as the size, number and distribution of openings introduce directional stiffness and strength variations that are progressively reconfigured with damage accumulation. As a result, irregularity in masonry is inherent, and its mechanics and response must be understood rather than avoided.
Within this framework, this Special Issue aims to advance the understanding of irregularity in masonry constructions as a concept, foster research on their implications on structural behaviour, and to provide a platform for discussing the analytical, numerical, and experimental challenges associated with evaluating the response of such systems.
We welcome contributions addressing research areas including, but not limited to, the following areas:
- Characterization of regularity/irregularity in masonry structures in terms of geometry, stiffness, strength, material, load path, damage, and morphology, beyond traditional plan- or elevation-based definitions.
- Influence of openings, asymmetric layouts, discontinuities, material variability, or asymmetric loading scenarios.
- Advanced numerical modelling techniques of masonry structures with regularity/irregularity.
- Nonlinear analysis of masonry structures, including static or dynamic procedures.
- Experimental studies on masonry structures or components with regularity/irregularity.
- Performance-based assessment of masonry structures.
- Soil–structure interaction effects on masonry structures exhibiting geometric or settlement-induced irregularities.
- Complex masonry structures, such as architectural heritage buildings, bridges, towers, and other infrastructures.
- Multi-hazard assessment, combining environmental and mechanical load scenarios, such as interaction of earthquake with differential settlement, wind, flooding, or temperature hazard.
- Relevant case studies, lessons learned from monitoring, interventions, or retrofitting.
We look forward to receiving your valuable contributions.
Dr. Abide Aşıkoğlu
Dr. Francesco Parisse
Dr. Nicoletta Bianchini
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. 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
- masonry structures
- regularity and irregularity in masonry
- nonlinear analysis
- numerical modelling of masonry
- experimental testing of masonry
- performance-based assessment
- multi-hazard structural assessment
- soil–structure interaction
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