Call for papers: "Methods of Determining Structural Damage in Engineering Structures"

For a special issue of the Int. J. of Lifecycle Performance Engineering.

Structural damage can be considered as weakening of a structure which negatively affects its performance in supporting loadings and which could cause undesirable stresses, displacements or vibrations on the structure. In all cases damage can severely affect safety and serviceability of the structure. There are many examples all over the world of structures that were affected by structural damage including, in some cases, those resulting in complete collapse with many people injured.

Consequently, structural monitoring and damage detection are areas of current interest in civil, mechanical and aerospace engineering. Visual inspection has been the most common method used in detecting damage in a structure. However, the increasing size and complexity of structures in recent decades has reduced the efficiency of the visual inspections. Moreover, visual inspection techniques are inadequate for structures in which the damage is invisible to human eyes.

In recent years, localised experimental procedures were developed, such as the rebound hammer test, acoustic or ultrasonic methods, magnetic field methods, radiographs, eddy-current and thermal field methods. Global monitoring techniques based on changes in vibration characteristics or on structural responses of structures are also being analysed.

This special issue aims to bring together a state-of-the-art representation of recent advances in the methods of determining structural damage in engineering structures. By sharing experiences in the successes, challenges and pros and cons in the development and implementation of various techniques, it also hopes to promote the best practice in performing competent detection of structural damage for both investigative and professional purposes.

Topics include but are not limited to:

• Structural health monitoring
• Non-destructive testing (NDT) methods
• System identification
• Vibration-based methods: natural frequencies, modes of vibration, damping, etc.
• Laboratory and field testing
• Numerical simulation and modelling
• Lifecycle performance of structures
• Degradation and aging of structural materials
• Studies of causes of structural damage: corrosion, fatigue, etc. 

Important Dates
Submission of manuscripts: 30 September, 2013
Notification to authors: 30 December, 2013
Final versions due: 28 February, 2014