Dear Colleagues,

We would like to invite you to publish a paper in this Applied Sciences Special Issue titled “Identification and Measurement of Displacements and Deformations of Engineering Structures: 2nd Edition”. The purpose of this Special Issue is to compile studies detailing the knowledge, research practice, and forecast development trends in the field of the identification and measurement of the displacements and deformations of engineering structures, with particular emphasis on using measuring systems and signal processing methods to extract data results for engineering structures’ condition assessments.

The monitoring of engineering structures involves making periodic or continuous observations to estimate the object’s general state, as well as to determine the need for structural remediation, reconstruction, or destruction. This process involves the performance of different kinds of measurements using different sensors, instruments, and systems. The measurements and results must be precise and reliable, i.e., accurate and tested for significance. The measurement results represent an important parameter for assessing the condition and safety of the structures, and it is especially important for structures used beyond their designed lifetimes. Engineering structures, as well as all civil infrastructure, deteriorate during their structural lifetimes. Any kind of damage or significant deformation affects the safety of the structures, e.g., bridges, tunnels, dams, towers, skyscrapers, etc., and this can result in their closure or even collapse. There are several types of monitoring methods: construction monitoring, structural health monitoring, geotechnical monitoring, and geodetic monitoring (structural and geo-monitoring), as well as different methods for static and long-term deformation measurement.

The process of data acquisition from monitoring systems is inevitably influenced by the available technologies and their advantages and disadvantages. The usual approach used in data acquisition in relation to engineering structures is based on contact point sensors (e.g., displacement, strain gauges, tilt sensors, or accelerometers), the measurements of which are transferred via wired connections to the data acquisition hardware, which is rather complex, expensive, and time-consuming to set up. The elimination of the physical installation of sensors on different structures is very attractive, especially for structures that might not be easily or safely accessible. In addition to contact sensors, vision-based (e.g., TLS, RTS, IATS, IASTS, ground-based radar) monitoring is possibly the solution that attracts a lot of interest from civil engineers.

The combination of different sensors for the static and dynamic identification and measurement of displacements and deformations often covers sensors combined in one instrument, such as terrestrial laser scanners or total stations 

(RTS, IATS, IASTS), as well as measurement systems combining different multi-sensors systems and instruments for use in integrated solutions (GNSS, InSAR). The need for new sensor models and calibration procedures to reduce and eliminate errors and influences is clear. In addition, quality characteristics, such as precision, reliability, accuracy, completeness, robustness, integrity, or availability, may play a role. These may be seen as stand-alone quality aspects or as part of a complete quality model.

Articles dealing with state-of-the-art sensors, instruments, and systems, with best-practice examples, as well as low-cost sensors and modelling approaches and the proper handling of uncertainties with emphasis on more stringent requirements in terms of time and accuracy, may be submitted for inclusion in this Special Issue.

Dr. Boštjan Kovačić
Dr. Rinaldo Paar
Dr. Ján Erdélyi
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. Applied Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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.

• displacement, deformation measurement
• vibration monitoring
• contactless vision-based monitoring
• monitoring systems
• geodetic monitoring: structural monitoring and geo-monitoring
• modal natural frequencies
• structural health monitoring (SHM)
• finite element method (FFT)
• fast Fourier transformation (FFT)
• geodetic instruments (TS, RTS, IATS, IASTS, GNSS, TLS, LIDAR)
• sensors (accelerometers, LVDT, clinometers, strain gauges, vibrometers, speedometers, tilt sensors)
• ground-based radar interferometry
• low-cost sensors
• techniques for online real-time system condition monitoring
• spatial data analysis
• experimental and in situ measurements

• Identification and Measurement of Displacements and Deformations of Engineering Structures in Applied Sciences (10 articles)