Soil deformability plays a critical role in amplifying or mitigating the impacts of natural hazards such as earthquakes, tsunamis, cyclones, landslides, and liquefaction. These geotechnical conditions significantly influence the performance of structures and infrastructure systems, thereby affecting the overall resilience of civil communities. In particular, the soil–structure interaction (SSI) can alter the dynamic responses, damage patterns, and failure mechanisms. As a result, SSI has direct implications for economic losses, service disruptions, recovery timelines, and long-term functionality.

This mini-symposium focuses on advancing the understanding of how SSI influences the resilience across multiple scales, from individual structural components to complex infrastructure networks and interconnected lifelines. Emphasis is placed on both direct losses (e.g., structural damage) and indirect consequences (e.g., downtime, reduced accessibility, and cascading failures). Contributions that explore analytical, numerical, and experimental approaches to modeling SSI effects under multi-hazard scenarios, as well as probabilistic and performance-based frameworks for resilience assessment are invited. The session also aims to highlight emerging methodologies that integrate geotechnical uncertainties into resilience metrics, enabling more realistic predictions of system behavior during and after extreme events. Case studies demonstrating the role of soil conditions in past disasters, innovative design strategies that account for SSI, and approaches for enhancing recovery and adaptation will be of particular interest.

The increasing complexity of modern infrastructure systems and the growing exposure to multi-hazard events necessitate the development of advanced computational approaches for structural dynamics, vibration mitigation, and resilience assessment. Recent advances in computational mechanics, data-driven modeling, structural control technologies, and smart infrastructure systems have significantly enhanced the ability to predict, monitor, and improve structural performance under extreme loading conditions. This minisymposium aims to provide an interdisciplinary forum for researchers and practitioners working on advanced computational methods, structural dynamics, and vibration control technologies for resilient infrastructure subjected to earthquake, wind, impact, blast, climate-induced, and other multi-hazard loading scenarios.
Contributions addressing theoretical developments, numerical methodologies, experimental investigations, hybrid simulation techniques, and practical engineering applications are particularly encouraged.

Topics of Interest

• Structural dynamics and computational mechanics
• Passive, active, semi-active, and hybrid vibration control
• Seismic protection and earthquake-resistant systems
• Smart materials and adaptive structures
• Data-driven and AI-assisted computational methods
• Digital twins and structural health monitoring
• Uncertainty quantification and reliability analysis
• Reduced-order and surrogate modeling
• Multi-hazard and multi-physics simulations
• Hybrid simulation and experimental methods
• Performance-based and resilience-oriented design
• Real-time monitoring and control systems
• High-performance computing for large-scale dynamic systems
• Innovative applications in resilient and smart infrastructure

Expected Outcomes

The minisymposium is expected to foster interdisciplinary collaboration among researchers in computational mechanics, structural dynamics, earthquake engineering, structural control, and smart infrastructure systems, while promoting recent advances and emerging research directions in resilient infrastructure engineering.

Modern seismic design approaches generally rely on the controlled development of damage in selected structural components to dissipate earthquake input energy. Although this philosophy is effective in preventing collapse, it may lead to significant direct and indirect losses, long repair times, residual drifts, and difficulties in restoring buildings to full functionality after severe earthquakes. The development of low-damage and self-centering systems is therefore a key research direction for next-generation earthquake-resilient structures.

This minisymposium aims to collect recent advances in the modelling, analysis, design, experimental validation, and performance assessment of self-centering and low-damage steel structures. Particular attention will be devoted to systems combining supplemental energy dissipation and re-centering capability, including self-centering eccentrically braced frames, replaceable links, friction-based devices, post-tensioned systems, rocking mechanisms, smart dampers, and hybrid solutions.

The minisymposium is inspired by the research framework of the PRIN project RS4 – Resilient and Sustainable Structures with Superior performances in high Seismicity areas, which focuses on self-centering damage-free eccentrically braced frames, combining seismic dampers and self-centering components to dissipate earthquake energy while preventing permanent misalignments in steel structures. The project explicitly targets experimental, numerical and analytical studies with potential impact on design practice and regulations.

The transition towards climate-neutral and circular construction requires a new generation of structural systems that are not only safe under extreme events, but also demountable, reusable, repairable and reversible. Conventional seismic and multi-hazard design approaches often rely on ductility, redundancy and controlled damage, which can conflict with the principles of circular economy, reuse and long-term material value preservation. In this context, the integration of computational structural dynamics, nonlinear modelling, multi-hazard assessment and design for disassembly is becoming essential.

This minisymposium aims to gather contributions dealing with demountable, reusable and reversible steel structures subjected to seismic and multi-hazard actions. The focus will be on computational and experimental methods for systems conceived to remain elastic or nearly undamaged, to minimize downtime, to enable post-event re-alignment, and to extend the service life of structural components.

The minisymposium is conceived within the framework of the RFCS project TIMELESS – Technologies for Immutable Multi-hazard rEversibLE Steel Structures, whose goal is to develop sustainable and multi-hazard resilient steel buildings through demountable, reusable and reversible solutions for floors, joints and frames, integrating high-strength steel, shape memory alloys and smart sensors. TIMELESS explicitly aims to reduce environmental impact, extend the lifetime and value of constructions, and support circular-economy-oriented steel structures.

Predicting the dynamic behavior of parameterized systems through advanced model order reduction techniques has gained large popularity over the past decades. Structure changes include material or geometric modifications due to uncertainties, or design iterations to improve the dynamic properties of industrial systems. Computational models for such cases include parameter-dependent finite element models able to describe changes in material properties and mesh morphing. Within this framework, parametric reduced-order models (PROMs) are becoming crucial to achieve numerical simulations in affordable times. Thus, this minisymposium focuses on advanced PROMs in structural dynamics.

Relevant topics include:

• Interpolation methods.
• Data-driven techniques.
• Substructuring.
• Nonlinear structures.
• Multi-physics problems.

This mini-symposium explores the broad role of rocking systems in structural engineering, from the  behavior of historical constructions to recent advances in resilient design and seismic retrofitting.  Within the current shift toward performance-based and life-cycle-oriented design, rocking  mechanisms offer an effective alternative to conventional linear elastic and dissipative approaches, enabling damage control, re-centering capability, and improved resilience. 

The session will present recent analytical, numerical, and experimental studies addressing both  fundamental aspects and practical applications, including rocking blocks, subassemblies, and full  structural systems. Contributions will highlight key challenges, design strategies, and emerging  solutions for the implementation of rocking-based technologies in modern engineering practice. 
 

Following the success of the previous three editions, this is the fourth minisymposium on Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning in Design and Assessment of Structures. The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) techniques in developing predictive models for the design, analysis, and assessment of structures continues to gain significant momentum. This minisymposium aims to provide a forum for researchers and practitioners to exchange ideas, present recent advances, and discuss emerging challenges in the application of AI and ML to structural engineering.
Contributions are particularly encouraged in, but not limited to, the following areas:

• AI and ML algorithms for the automatic extraction of closed-form design formulae;
• Machine learning models for the assessment, analysis, and design of structures and engineering materials;
• Data analytics, visualisation, and interpretation techniques for understanding the mechanical behaviour and performance of structures.

One of the primary objectives of this minisymposium is to stimulate discussion on how AI and ML methods can support engineers in designing, assessing, and managing safer, more resilient, and more sustainable infrastructure in both low- and high-seismic regions.

Recent seismic, flood, fire and blast events have underscored the significant vulnerability of unreinforced masonry (URM) structures, particularly affecting strategic buildings and cultural heritage sites. The structural assessment of URM structures under these catastrophic events requires complex analyses modelling the heterogeneous material, boundary conditions, interaction of structural/nonstructural elements, in-plane and out-of-plane mechanisms. During the last decades, multiple modelling techniques were developed to assess the structural safety against these dynamic actions, with the aim of predicting and limiting potential failures, as well as designing non-invasive and sustainable strengthening retrofits. This minisymposium focuses on methodologies and tools for assessing the performance of existing masonry structures during catastrophic events such as floods, fire, blasts and earthquakes. We welcome analytical, experimental, and numerical research, alongside case studies and traditional/advanced assessment approaches. The session also explores both conventional and innovative rehabilitation techniques designed to mitigate seismic, flood, fire and blast risks in masonry structures, including multi-hazard analysis.

Research topics include (but are not limited to):

• Modelling strategies (limit analysis method, applied element method, discrete element method, finite element method, rigid block theory, …)
• Seismic/blast/flood/fire vulnerability assessment approaches
• Sustainable retrofitting solutions for masonry structures
• Efficiency of low-impact interventions
• Parametric analyses for the optimization of effectiveness, costs, and impact of retrofits
• Innovative strengthening systems vs traditional retrofits
• Experimental investigation and modeling of integrated retrofits
• Analytical and computational strategies for the identification and strengthening of local mechanisms in masonry buildings
• Soil-structure interaction in masonry structure modelling
• Case studies of masonry structures and cultural heritage under catastrophic events
• Experimental tests simulating structures under catastrophic events
• Multi-hazard analysis

A substantial portion of the existing bridge stock was built between the 1950s and 1970s according to outdated seismic design criteria and is currently affected by material degradation and increasing traffic demands. Considering the strategic role of bridges within transportation networks, enhancing their seismic resilience has become a major priority worldwide. This challenge is driving the development of retrofit solutions that are not only effective and reliable, but also cost-efficient, and capable of minimizing traffic interruptions (i.e., rapidly deployable).

In recent years, emerging technologies such as UHPC/UHPFRC and FRP/FRCM composites, seismic isolation and supplemental damping devices, Structural Health Monitoring (SHM), digital twins, and AI-assisted calculations are opening new perspectives for the retrofit and assessment of existing bridges.

This Mini-Symposium (MS) aims to foster dialogue between academia and practitioners by promoting the dissemination of innovative, implementable, and resilient retrofit strategies. Contributions addressing analytical, numerical, experimental, and field-based investigations are encouraged. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

• advanced strengthening techniques based on FRP, FRCM, UHPC/UHPFRC, and smart materials;
• novel seismic isolation and supplemental damping systems;
• performance-based, multi-hazard, and AI-driven engineering approaches;
• Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) and digital-twin-assisted assessments;
• restoration solutions for aged and deteriorated infrastructure;
• code developments, guidelines, and practical implementation challenges;
• significant case studies and lessons learned from engineering practice.

The proposed MS seeks to contribute to the advancement of seismic resilience strategies for bridge infrastructure by bridging state-of-the-art research developments with real-world engineering applications.

Damage to non-structural elements (NSEs) in buildings often governs the total economic losses, downtime, and loss of functionality caused by earthquakes. Consequently, NSE-related topics have emerged over the last decade as major research and professional priorities in earthquake engineering. Proper seismic analysis is essential for defining the seismic demands on NSEs, including accelerations, displacements, and interstory drifts, which are required for their reliable seismic design. As a result, continuous improvements have been made in both the state of the art and engineering practice. However, important gaps in current knowledge still exist, often leading to unsatisfactory NSE performance, as repeatedly confirmed through post-earthquake assessments. Therefore, significant efforts are still needed to provide designers with reliable methodologies, design tools, and performance-oriented approaches applicable within the framework of modern performance-based earthquake engineering.

This minisymposium aims to provide an interdisciplinary platform for researchers, practicing engineers, architects, and code developers to discuss recent advances, unresolved challenges, and future directions related to the seismic analysis, design, performance, and assessment of NSEs in buildings. The minisymposium will particularly encourage contributions addressing experimental and numerical investigations, innovative protection technologies, and emerging digital tools that can enhance seismic resilience and functionality.

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

• Seismic demands and floor response spectra;
• Experimental investigations and numerical analyses;
• NSE assessment, fragility evaluation, and retrofit strategies;
• Performance-based seismic design approaches;
• Code development and international practice;
• Seismic protection technologies for NSEs;
• Emerging technologies, including BIM, monitoring, digital twins, and AI applications.

By bringing together recent scientific advances and practical engineering experience, the minisymposium intends to foster international collaboration and to contribute to the development of more reliable, resilient, and sustainable seismic design methodologies for NSEs in the built environment.

The session is aimed at assessing the seismic vulnerability and the effects of anthropic vibrations of pieces of art, art collections and exposition’s buildings. Special attention will be paid to the propagation of the seismic excitation from the expositive buildings’ foundation to the effective location of each artwork. Indeed, seismic excitation is largely affected by the bodies crossed by the seismic waves, both the buildings and the containers used for exhibition. The anthropic vibrations derive from many sources: visitors’ circulation, railway and road traffic, including underground, and temporary heavy construction works (e.g., metro tunnelling excavation, renovation of museums), or transportation of art masterpieces to different sites.

The assessment of the dynamic response of the buildings requires careful investigation, especially when they consist of historical and monumental constructions, which often present a high complexity both in the geometry and in the constructive properties.

• The containers used for exhibition, in turn, deserve a dedicated attention, since their role is often neglected, whilst they play a crucial role in the dynamic response of the art goods, damping or amplifying their dynamic loading.
• The session collects all the contributions, both theorical and experimental, devoted to this subject, ranging from general issues to specific case studies.
• The main topics of the session include:
• Dynamic monitoring and/or analysis of masterpieces, artifacts and art collections
• Dynamic monitoring and/or analysis of historical-monumental buildings
• Seismic assessment of masterpieces, artifacts and art collections
• Seismic assessment of historical-monumental buildings
• Analysis of the effects of anthropic vibrations on artistic goods
• Design of innovative devices for increasing the seismic safety of art collections and monumental buildings
• Preventive conservation guidelines to reduce the detrimental effects of anthropic vibrations on museum objects

Three main contributors in scientific research improvements are experimental tests, numerical studies, and theoretical investigations. In view of the number of publications in reputable journals, for researches related to earthquake engineering and structural dynamics, the share of numerical studies is higher than the experimental and theoretical efforts. From the other side of view, the problems under study in academia and practice are becoming larger and more complex, day by day. As the consequence, despite the advancements in computational technology and facilities, the efficiency of numerical computations is of very high importance. Considering this, the aim of this mini-symposium is to bring together ideas from around the globe on the efficiency of numerical computations in earthquake engineering and structural dynamics. The organizer hopes the participants leave the mini-symposium, COMPDYN 2027, and Greece, with good memories, new scientific information, and plans for mutual collaborations.

Keywords: Earthquake Engineering, Structural Dynamics, Computational Methods, Computational Efficiency, Computational Effort, Accuracy

Soil liquefaction remains one of the most significant geotechnical hazards affecting the performance of civil infrastructure during earthquakes. Despite decades of research, recent earthquakes and advances in experimental and computational methods continue to reveal new insights into liquefaction mechanisms and their implications for engineering practice. At the same time, the increasing availability of high-quality field observations, laboratory test data, and advanced numerical simulation tools has enabled the development of improved procedures for liquefaction assessment and performance evaluation.

This minisymposium aims to provide a forum for researchers and practitioners to present and discuss recent advances in liquefaction assessment methods, with emphasis on approaches that enhance the reliability of seismic hazard and risk evaluations. Contributions are invited on topics including, but not limited to, liquefaction triggering assessment, in-situ and laboratory characterization of liquefiable soils, constitutive modelling and numerical simulation of liquefaction phenomena, performance-based and probabilistic assessment methodologies, data-driven and machine-learning approaches, liquefaction-induced ground deformation, soil–structure interaction and system effects, and the application of centrifuge and large-scale experimental data to model validation and engineering practice.

The minisymposium seeks to foster interdisciplinary and intersectoral dialogue on both fundamental scientific challenges and practical engineering applications. Contributions from academia, research institutions, and industry will highlight current developments and future directions in the assessment and mitigation of liquefaction hazards.

The mitigation of earthquake-induced structural responses remains a central objective in earthquake engineering. Within this context, seismic isolation and energy dissipation systems constitute two of the most widely investigated and implemented approaches for reducing seismic demands and enhancing structural performance. Recent developments in both fields have stimulated the emergence of hybrid configurations that combine isolation mechanisms with supplemental energy dissipation devices, aiming to achieve improved displacement control, vibration attenuation and overall seismic performance under a broad range of excitation characteristics.

Current research efforts focus on the development, analysis and implementation of isolation and energy dissipation systems employing conventional and advanced isolation devices, supplemental damping mechanisms, negative stiffness elements and inerter-based technologies. At the same time, advances in computational modelling, optimization methodologies and experimental assessment have contributed to the improved understanding and practical implementation of these systems in buildings, bridges and critical infrastructure.

This minisymposium encourages the submission of research papers presenting new findings in the fields of analysis, design, modelling, optimization, experimental investigation and practical implementation of seismic isolation and energy dissipation systems.

Topics relevant to this minisymposium include, but are not limited to:

• Analysis, design and application of seismic isolation systems
• Energy dissipation devices and supplemental damping technologies
• Hybrid systems combining seismic isolation and energy dissipation mechanisms
• Isolation and energy dissipation systems incorporating negative stiffness elements, inerters, tuned mass dampers
• Numerical modelling and simulation of isolation and energy dissipation devices
• Optimization and performance-based design methodologies
• Experimental characterization and qualification testing of isolation and energy dissipation systems
• Applications to buildings, bridges and critical infrastructure

The scope of this minisymposium concerns recent developments in vibration control technologies for the seismic protection and performance enhancement of existing structures. Growing demands for upgrading aging infrastructure, combined with the limitations of conventional strengthening approaches, have stimulated significant research activity towards the development of supplemental control systems capable of reducing seismic demands while minimizing structural interventions.

Recent advances include passive, semi-active and active vibration control strategies employing supplemental damping, oscillating masses, inerter-based mechanisms, negative stiffness elements and hybrid control configurations. These technologies provide effective alternatives for mitigating structural responses, reducing seismic vulnerability and improving the overall performance of buildings and infrastructure subjected to earthquake excitations.

This minisymposium encourages the submission of research papers presenting new findings related to analytical developments, computational modelling, optimization methodologies, experimental investigations and practical applications of vibration control systems for seismic protection and retrofit of existing structures.

Relevant topics include, but are not limited to: a) seismic retrofit and performance enhancement of existing structures through vibration control technologies, b) passive, semi-active and active vibration control systems, c) tuned mass dampers, tuned inerter dampers and other inerter-based devices, d) negative stiffness mechanisms and hybrid vibration absorbers, e) advanced numerical modelling and simulation of vibration control systems, f) optimization and performance-based design methodologies, and g) experimental testing, validation and qualification of energy dissipation devices and control systems.

Extreme loading conditions—including earthquakes, impacts, explosions, fire, floods, windstorms, and other natural or anthropogenic hazards—may cause severe damage to or collapse of buildings, bridges, and critical infrastructure. Understanding structural performance beyond conventional design conditions is therefore essential to improve safety, robustness, and resilience. This Mini-Symposium invites contributions on the modelling, analysis, design, retrofit and risk/resilience-based optimization of structures subjected to single- or multi-hazard scenarios. Topics include collapse and progressive collapse mechanisms, lessons learned from structural failures, resilience-based design, risk-informed retrofit strategies, and multi-objective optimization approaches balancing safety, losses, costs, functionality, and sustainability. Contributions based on experimental investigations, case studies, numerical developments, and practical engineering applications are welcome.

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

• Structural response under single- or multi-hazard natural and anthropogenic scenarios, including impact, blast, fire, flash floods, windstorm.
• Progressive and disproportionate collapse mechanisms.
• Threat-independent and threat-dependent analysis.
• Robustness and resilience of buildings, bridges and critical infrastructure.
• Failure analysis of historical and recent structural collapse events.
• Analytical and Numerical Methods (e.g., finite element methods, discrete element methods, applied element methods, particle-based and multi-physics approaches).
• Experimental investigations and case studies.
• Performance-based and resilience-based design, robustness assessment, loss estimation and functionality recovery.
• Risk, uncertainty quantification and reliability assessment.
• Multi-objective optimization for design, retrofit and risk mitigation strategies.
• Monitoring, digital twins and artificial intelligence for collapse prediction and structural safety.

The rapid expansion of offshore wind energy has stimulated significant research activity towards the development of safe, reliable and economically viable offshore wind systems. The increasing deployment of offshore wind farms in deeper waters has introduced new challenges associated with structural behaviour, foundation design, hydrodynamic loading, aeroelastic interactions and long-term performance under complex environmental conditions. At the same time, the growing size of wind turbines and the emergence of floating concepts have further increased the importance of advanced modelling, analysis and design methodologies.

Offshore wind structures are characterized by complex dynamic interactions between aerodynamic, hydrodynamic, structural and control mechanisms. These interactions govern important aspects of structural response, including fatigue accumulation, serviceability performance, ultimate load resistance and operational reliability. Consequently, recent research efforts have focused on the development of advanced numerical models, optimization methodologies, monitoring techniques and vibration mitigation strategies capable of improving the structural performance and economic viability of offshore wind energy systems.

This minisymposium encourages the submission of research papers presenting recent advances in the analysis, design, modelling, optimization, monitoring and performance assessment of offshore wind structures. Contributions addressing both fixed-bottom and floating offshore wind systems are particularly welcome.

Topics relevant to this minisymposium include, but are not limited to:

• Analysis, design and reliability assessment of offshore wind structures,
• Fixed-bottom and floating offshore wind systems,
• Monopile, jacket and floating platform systems for offshore wind turbines,
• Aero-hydro-servo-elastic modelling and coupled dynamic analysis,
• Structural dynamics, fatigue assessment and life-cycle performance of offshore wind structures,
• Vibration mitigation, energy dissipation systems and structural control technologies,
• Tuned mass dampers, inerter-based devices, negative stiffness systems and hybrid vibration absorbers,
• Numerical modelling, optimization and digital technologies for offshore wind applications,
• Hybrid offshore wind and wave energy systems.

Concrete structures and infrastructures must satisfy two demands that are increasingly discussed together but rarely addressed jointly: long-term sustainability under everyday service conditions, and resilience when subjected to exceptional events such as earthquakes, impact, blast, fire, or extreme climatic actions. Ageing infrastructure, stricter environmental targets, and the growing frequency of extreme events make it essential to rethink how concrete structures are designed, assessed, retrofitted, and monitored throughout their life cycle.

Recent advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), Digital Twins, and data-driven computational methods are opening new opportunities for enhancing both the sustainability and resilience of concrete infrastructure. These technologies enable improved structural assessment, damage detection, predictive maintenance, uncertainty quantification, life-cycle optimization, and rapid post-event decision-making, while supporting the transition toward smarter and more sustainable infrastructure systems.

This minisymposium aims to bring together researchers and practitioners working on the structural, material, computational, and data-driven aspects of this challenge. Contributions are welcome on topics including life-cycle and durability assessment, low-carbon and recycled concrete materials, performance-based and resilience-based design, numerical and experimental methods for dynamic and extreme loading, structural health monitoring, digital twins, AI-assisted structural assessment, machine-learning approaches for damage detection and prognosis, surrogate modelling, uncertainty quantification, predictive maintenance, retrofitting and strengthening strategies, and risk and life-cycle cost analysis for concrete infrastructure (buildings, bridges, industrial and energy facilities).

Particular attention will be given to the integration of physics-based and data-driven approaches, including hybrid modelling frameworks that combine numerical simulations with monitoring data, sensor networks, computer vision, and AI algorithms for infrastructure management. Both numerical/computational studies and experimental work are encouraged, as well as contributions bridging sustainability metrics with structural safety, robustness, resilience, and intelligent asset management indicators.

The goal is to foster discussion across communities that often work in isolation durability and sustainability researchers, structural dynamics and extreme-loading specialists, computational scientists, and AI researchers, around a shared question: how can concrete infrastructure be made simultaneously greener, smarter, safer, and more resilient throughout its service life?

Masonry structures and infrastructures represent a major part of the built environment, including historic buildings, bridges, towers, churches, monuments, and cultural heritage assets. Many of them were built before modern design codes and are highly vulnerable to natural and anthropic hazards such as earthquakes, floods, landslides, environmental degradation, climate change effects, and human-induced actions.

Their preservation requires integrated approaches combining historical knowledge, experimental testing, numerical modelling, monitoring, structural assessment, and compatible strengthening solutions. In this context, Structural Health Monitoring and Non-Destructive testing play a key role in understanding actual conditions, detecting damage, supporting maintenance, and guiding interventions.

Recent advances in computational mechanics, digital technologies, and data science — including numerical modelling, digital twins, Bayesian methods, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and big-data analytics — are opening new opportunities for managing uncertainties and supporting reliable decision-making.

This mini-symposium aims to discuss recent advances in the assessment, monitoring, conservation, and strengthening of masonry structures and infrastructures, with particular attention to cultural heritage exposed to seismic and multi-hazard risks.

Topics include constitutive modelling, structural assessment, numerical strategies, homogenization and multi-scale approaches, SHM, NDT, dynamic identification, uncertainty quantification, damage detection, model updating, digital twins, Bayesian methods, AI and machine learning, big-data analytics, restoration, strengthening, and retrofitting strategies.

Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) and damage assessment of civil structures and infrastructures are increasingly relying on visual data acquired through imaging systems and advanced sensing technologies. Visual inspection remains one of the most widely adopted approaches for identifying and evaluating surface structural damage, due to its effectiveness, flexibility, and direct interpretability by domain experts. The growing availability of high-resolution imaging devices, spanning from cameras to unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), significantly improves the quality and the quantity of visual data that can be collected and evaluated for structural assessment purposes. At the same time, the rapid development of computer vision (CV) and artificial intelligence (AI) techniques, including convolutional neural networks and vision transformer architectures, has enabled the automation of inspection, damage detection, and condition assessment tasks, providing new opportunities for the management of existing infrastructure systems. The adoption of these approaches in engineering practice is still limited by concerns related to their robustness and transparency. In fact, the increasing complexity of AI-based models often makes their decision making process difficult to interpret, raising critical questions regarding their reliability and practical applicability in safety-critical engineering contexts. Consequently, the scientific community is progressively focusing from purely performance-driven solutions toward methodologies combining high predictive accuracy with interpretability, explainability, and physical consistency.

This Mini symposium brings together researchers, practitioners, and policymakers to present recent advances and real-world applications on the latest advances, although not exclusively, in the application of CV, AI, and explainable AI techniques for damage identification, condition assessment, and infrastructure management. Contributions will span multiple methodologies enhancing transparency, interpretability, and reliability of AI-based approaches, fostering a stronger integration between data-driven models and engineering expertise.

The expected contributions may include (but are not limited to):

• CV techniques for structural damage detection and assessment.
• Explainable and interpretable AI methods for civil engineering applications. 
• UAV-based inspection and monitoring of structures and infrastructures. 
• Cloud-to-FEM approaches for physics-driven condition assessment.
• Deep learning and vision transformer models for structural health monitoring.
• AI-driven approaches for defects detection, classification, and quantification.
• Novel point cloud segmentation for high-fidelity numerical modelling. Reliability, robustness, and uncertainty quantification in AI-based inspection systems. 
• Digital twins and AI-enhanced monitoring frameworks. 
• Human-centric AI for structural engineering applications. 
• Real-world applications and case studies on structures infrastructures.

The conservation and structural assessment of historic masonry assets represent a critical and multifaceted challenge, frequently demanding the support of advanced and reliable numerical modeling strategies [1]. This session intends to gather international experts dedicated to progressing computational methods for heritage structures and infrastructure. Contributions exploring recent advancements in both continuous and discrete modeling frameworks [2], as well as novel modeling approaches for simulating the dynamic response and rocking behavior of masonry assemblages [3] are invited. Advancements in simplified, practitioner-focused tools, including macro-element and equivalent frame formulations [4], are equally welcome. Furthermore, the mini-symposium focuses on simulation strategies to assess vulnerabilities in historic structures and infrastructure, such as masonry bridges, accounting also for the long term effects of environmental weathering, and the integration of numerical models with structural health monitoring systems. These computational strategies may be applied across a diverse range of the built environment, including buildings, monuments, and infrastructure. Digital twin paradigms and artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms that support decision-making in the conservation of structures conservation are finally encouraged.

REFERENCES

[1] D’Altri, A.M., Sarhosis, V., Milani, G. et al. (2020) Modeling Strategies for the Computational Analysis of Unreinforced Masonry Structures: Review and Classification. Arch Computat Methods Eng 27, 1153–1185
[2] Gatta, C., Nale, M., Addessi, D., Benvenuti, E., & Sacco, E. (2025). Large displacement analysis of masonry structures coupling enhanced virtual elements and damage-friction interfaces. Computers & Structures, 313, 107749.
[3] Ghezelbash, A., Sharma, S., D'Altri, A.M., Lourenço, P.B., Rots, J. G., & Messali, F. (2025). Challenges in High‐Fidelity Implicit Block‐Based Numerical Simulation of Dynamic Out‐of Plane Two‐Way Bending in Unreinforced Brick Masonry Walls. Earthquake Engineering & Structural Dynamics.

This mini symposium aims to bring together researchers, academics and practitioners working on advanced computational modelling strategies for the assessment of damage evolution, failure mechanisms and collapse behaviour of historical structures. An accurate simulation of structural response after cracking up to severe damage and collapse remains a major challenge in computational mechanics, particularly in the presence of complex geometries, existing constructions, extreme loading conditions and highly nonlinear phenomena.

The session will focus on both methodological developments and engineering applications, with particular emphasis on theoretical formulations, numerical implementation strategies, model calibration and validation, and practical case studies. Particular attention will be devoted to discrete, coupled discrete-continuum and physics-based modelling approaches capable of capturing discontinuities, large displacements, contact interaction, fragmentation and collapse mechanisms in a robust and computationally effective manner.

The mini-symposium intends to provide a forum for discussing recent advances in collapse-oriented structural analysis, covering applications to historical or ordinary constructions of particular relevance and/or vulnerability - such as buildings, castles, churches, temples, amphitheatres, arch bridges, tunnels, and aqueducts - subjected to normal or abnormal actions. Emphasis will be placed on innovative numerical methodologies, critical comparisons between modelling strategies, and the use of advanced computational tools for structural assessment of existing constructions and forensic analysis of structural failures and collapses.

We welcome contributions that push the boundaries of current research and demonstrate significant advancements in the following related topics, including but not limited to:

• Theoretical and computational formulations for damage, fracture and collapse modelling.
• Discrete, applied element, rigid-body-spring, discrete/finite element and coupled discrete-continuum approaches.
• Physics-based and mechanically consistent simplified models for nonlinear structural analysis.
• Structural safety assessment based on damage/collapse simulation.
• Computational modelling of historical structures and archaeological sites and/or ordinary buildings of particular importance or high vulnerability conditions.
• Simulation of large displacements, contact interaction, separation, fragmentation and debris formation.
• Model calibration and validation against experimental tests, monitoring data or documented case studies.
• Comparison between discrete, continuum and coupled modelling strategies, including finite element-based approaches.
• Computational tools and workflows for performance assessment, safety evaluation and forensic engineering.
• Practical applications and case studies demonstrating the use of advanced computational methods in real-world structural engineering problems.

The session is intended to foster scientific exchange, encourage collaboration between researchers and practitioners, and identify future research directions for the integration of advanced computational approaches into reliable and efficient engineering assessment frameworks.

Probabilistic structural assessment often requires extensive nonlinear dynamic simulations to account for uncertainties in natural hazards, structural properties, exposure, and capacity models. Although high-fidelity finite element models can accurately reproduce complex inelastic and hysteretic behaviour, their use may be computationally prohibitive for regional-scale studies, performance-based design, refined soil-structure interaction analyses, real-time assessment, and emergency management.

Reduced-order and surrogate modelling strategies have therefore emerged as promising approaches for alleviating this computational burden while retaining the response features relevant to the intended application. These approaches range from the condensation of dynamic degrees of freedom and the simplification of hysteretic response mechanisms in finite element models to data-driven surrogates based on deterministic or statistical formulations. However, the resulting computational gains may be accompanied by reduced accuracy and systematic biases that can propagate into structural performance and risk analyses. Their development must therefore balance computational efficiency, predictive accuracy, and the level of resolution required by the application. Rigorous calibration, validation, and bias and uncertanty quantification are consequently essential to ensure reliable predictions.

This Mini-Symposium provides a forum for discussing recent advances in reduced-order and surrogate modelling for computational and structural dynamics. Relevant contributions may address, but are not limited to:

    • formulation and calibration of reduced-order and surrogate models;
    • methods for accounting, or reducing for model bias and uncertanties;
    • validation against high-fidelity numerical models and/or experimental data;
    • computationally demanding applications, including fragility analysis and regional-scale assessment;
    • case studies on structural response assessment under seismic, tsunami, debris-flow, and other hazard scenarios.

Seismic retrofitting of existing structures and infrastructures (e.g., buildings, aggregates, stocks, bridges, and viaduct) remains one of the most pressing challenges in earthquake engineering. A large portion of the built environment in seismic-prone regions was designed without adequate seismic provisions, leaving entire urban areas exposed to significant earthquake-induced losses. Modern societies urgently require sustainable, resilient, and cost effective retrofitting strategies. Achieving such goals depends evermore on the development and implementation of next-generation, innovative retrofit technologies, as well as robust frameworks capable of evaluating their effectiveness across multiple spatial scales, from individual buildings to entire urban territories.

This Mini-Symposium brings together researchers, practitioners, and policymakers to present recent advances, experimental evidence, emerging AI-based algorithms, and real-world applications of seismic retrofit systems tackling multiple objectives. The session focuses explicitly, although not exclusively, on two complementary research frontiers: (a) the development and evaluation of innovative retrofit solutions at the building or infrastructure scale; (b) the quantification and optimisation of renovation impacts across building portfolios and infrastructure networks.

Contributions will span multiple structural typologies, highlighting both component-level retrofit interventions and integrated retrofit concepts. Studies presenting integrated building-to regional methodologies, combining structural assessment, cost–benefit analysis, and phased intervention scenarios, are particularly encouraged. Discussions can also revolve around experimental testing and validation of retrofit technologies, design methodologies in line with Eurocode 8 and international standards, multi-hazard resilience and performance-based retrofit design.

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

• Emerging materials and technologies for next-generation seismic retrofitting
• Sustainable and cost-effective solutions for seismic resilience
• Experimental testing and validation of retrofit technologies
• AI-based algorithms for seismic assessment and retrofit design and/or optimisation 
• Seismic strengthening of reinforced concrete, steel, masonry, and timber structures 
• Component-level retrofit solutions
• Integrated retrofit concepts (e.g., modular exoskeletons) 
• Portfolio- and urban-scale seismic risk mitigation strategies
• Cost-benefit analysis and optimisation of retrofit interventions
• Phased renovation and resilience enhancement scenarios 
• Design approaches aligned with Eurocode 8 and international standards
• Multi-hazard resilience and performance-based retrofit design
• Case studies and real-world applications of seismic retrofit projects
• Building-to-regional frameworks for evaluating retrofit effectiveness and societal impact
• Policy, governance, and decision-support tools for large-scale retrofit programmes.

Timber construction has experienced remarkable growth over the last decades, driven by the development of engineered wood products such as glued laminated timber (Glulam), cross laminated timber (CLT), laminated veneer lumber (LVL), and other innovative solutions. Beyond their structural performance, timber-based systems play a key role in the transition toward more sustainable and resilient built environments. The renewable nature of wood, its capacity for carbon storage, reduced embodied energy, and compatibility with circular economy principles make timber an attractive solution for addressing the environmental challenges faced by the construction sector. Combined with their favourable strength-to-weight ratio and excellent seismic performance, these characteristics have fostered the widespread adoption of timber structures across both traditional timber-producing countries and regions where timber construction has only recently emerged, including the Mediterranean area.

At the same time, increasing attention is being devoted to the use of timber in the rehabilitation and upgrading of the existing building stock. Timber-based solutions have proven effective for the seismic strengthening and energy retrofitting of masonry and reinforced concrete buildings, vertical extensions, and the preservation of historic timber structures. Furthermore, ongoing research continues to explore innovative structural systems, advanced connection technologies, hybrid solutions, digital design and manufacturing processes, and performance-based approaches for seismic design.

This mini-symposium aims to provide a forum for researchers, engineers, and practitioners to present and discuss recent advances in the field of timber structures in seismic-prone areas.

Contributions are welcome on topics including, but not limited to:

• theoretical, experimental, and numerical investigations on the seismic behaviour of timber based structural systems;
• seismic performance, modelling, and design of innovative and traditional connection systems;
• timber-based solutions for the seismic and energy retrofit of existing masonry, reinforced concrete, and steel buildings; 
• lightweight vertical timber additions on existing buildings; 
• conservation and preservation: assessment, diagnostic, structural health monitoring, restoration, and strengthening techniques for existing and historic timber structures in seismic regions; 
• multi-storey and high-rise timber buildings, including hybrid structural systems;
• code provisions, design guidelines, recent regulatory developments, and future research needs.

The minisymposium seeks to foster interdisciplinary exchange and to highlight emerging challenges and opportunities for advancing the seismic resilience, sustainability, and broader application of timber structures worldwide.

Bio-based and low-carbon materials are increasingly relevant for both new construction and the retrofit of existing buildings and infrastructure. This minisymposium focuses on computational methods for the modelling, design and retrofit of bio-based structural and non-structural systems, including timber, bamboo, cork, hemp-lime, straw, mycelium, natural-fibre composites, bio-based insulation and hybrid low-carbon assemblies. Particular attention is devoted to structural safety, seismic and dynamic performance, durability, material variability, connections, interfaces and the interaction between load-bearing elements, façades, infills, claddings, partitions and envelope systems. The objective is to discuss how numerical modelling, experimental validation, optimization, uncertainty quantification and data-driven approaches can support safe, resilient, circular and sustainable renovation strategies.

Topics of interest

• constitutive, multi-scale and finite-element modelling of bio-based materials and hybrid assemblies;
• computational design and optimization of bio-based structural elements, envelopes and connections; 
• performance-based retrofit of existing RC, masonry, steel, timber and hybrid buildings using bio-based or low-carbon solutions;
• seismic, dynamic, wind, vibration, impact and multi-hazard assessment of structural and non-structural components;
• modelling and testing of interfaces, anchors, façades, claddings, infills, partitions and envelope-to-structure connections; 
• uncertainty quantification, reliability, Bayesian inference and robust design for materials with natural variability;
• SHM, NDT, digital twins, machine learning, surrogate models and model updating for bio-based and retrofitted systems; 
• life-cycle assessment, circular design, reuse, reversibility, design for disassembly and code/standardization needs.

Expected outcome

The minisymposium will create a focused forum linking computational mechanics, earthquake engineering, materials science, architecture and sustainability assessment. It will emphasize practical routes for translating bio-based materials and retrofit technologies into reliable structural and non-structural applications.

Keywords bio-based materials; modelling; design; retrofit; structural elements; non-structural components; seismic performance; computational mechanics; optimization; digital twins; uncertainty quantification; circular construction; life-cycle assessment.

Soil-Structure Interaction (SSI) can decisively affect the response of civil infrastructure under both static and dynamic loading, and disregarding it does not necessarily yield more conservative results: in certain cases SSI can amplify, rather than reduce, structural demand.

As infrastructure advances into more demanding settings and confronts intensifying hazards — from seismic action and slope instability to climate-driven changes in groundwater and foundation settlements — high-fidelity SSI modelling has shifted from an academic exercise to an engineering necessity.

This Mini-Symposium brings together academics and practising engineers to review the state of the art in physical testing, analytical formulations, computational methods, and landmark case studies addressing SSI across scales. Given its inherently interdisciplinary character, it seeks to bridge applied seismology, geotechnical engineering, and structural modelling, fostering more resilient infrastructure design.

Key Topics of Interest:

For all types of engineering structures (i.e. above-ground as well as fully/partially buried ones, retaining walls, other slope stabilisation configurations, foundation systems, etc.), we welcome original contributions addressing, but not limited to, the following thematic areas:

• Experimental Validation: Centrifuge testing, large-scale 1g physical models, reduced-scale testing strategies and full-scale field monitoring of SSI systems.
• Numerical Modelling: Finite difference (FD), finite element (FEM), boundary element (BEM), discrete element (DEM), spectral element (SEM), and multi-scale approaches;

           - Modelling of the geotechnical response: Non-linear soil behaviour, cyclic degradation, liquefaction and settlement phenomena;
           - Modelling of the structural response: beam-column elements, fibre elements, shells, solids and advanced nonlinear constitutive formulation;
           - Modelling the interaction: Macro elements, spring/dashpot systems, and direct modelling of interface slip and gap opening/closing;
          - 3D Physics-based simulations: Direct source-to-structure modelling of earthquake ground motion.

• Dynamic SSI (DSSI): Wave propagation induced kinematic and inertial interaction, liquefaction induced effects, and the impact of DSSI on structural response.
• Static SSI: Settlement-induced structural response, soil-induced damage mechanisms, and computation of the lateral force-deformation response of SSI systems.
• Structure-Soil-Structure Interaction: Interaction in dense urban environments and infrastructure networks through large-scale numerical models.
• Structural Assessment and Resilience:

         - Vulnerability: damage and near-collapse assessment of soil-structure systems;
         - Progressive damage and residual capacity: evaluated under both static and dynamic loading;
          - Validation of numerical models: through experimental benchmarks;
          - Uncertainty quantification: reliability-based assessment and sensitivity analyses.

Emerging Approaches:

- AI-based approaches: machine learning, and data-driven methods for prediction, assessment, and decision support in SSI problems;
- Digital twins: structural health monitoring, sensing, and condition assessment of infrastructure interacting with soil;

The urgent need for resilient and environmentally sustainable buildings represents one of the major societal challenges of the 21st century. Non-structural elements (including architectural elements, mechanical and electrical equipment, building contents) play a critical role in determining post-earthquake consequences, often accounting for economic losses that exceed those associated with structural damage. At the same time, within the broader framework of sustainable development, upgrading specific non-structural systems, for example building envelopes, has the potential to significantly reduce carbon emissions throughout a building’s life cycle. As a result, creating resilient and eco-friendly components, and developing multi-criteria design methods accounting for non-structural elements, is essential to ensure public safety, mitigate economic and environmental risks, and align with sustainability goals. Despite growing interest in performance-based approaches, the practical implementation of performance-based design for non-structural elements remains a significant challenge, requiring further advances in both design methodologies and technological solutions.

This mini symposium aims to highlight recent advances in design methods, technologies and practical applications related to non-structural elements. Contributions are welcomed on topics including, but not limited to: (a) Multi-hazard and multi-criteria design methods accounting for non-structural performance indicators; (b) AI-based approaches for design and optimization of non-structural solutions; (c) Experimental and numerical studies dealing with innovative low-damage low-carbon non-structural technologies; (d) Integrated non-structural solutions for performance-based design of new and retrofitted buildings. The target audience includes academics, researchers and professionals from various fields, including architecture, civil engineering and sustainability, who are interested in designing, constructing and maintaining eco-friendly, safe and resilient systems.

Transportation, water, energy, and communication systems form interdependent networks whose performance during and after extreme events governs the functionality of entire communities. While component-level performance has
traditionally driven design and assessment practice, growing evidence shows that network-level behaviour (including how damage propagates, cascades, and is recovered across interconnected systems) can dominate societal consequences of natural or anthropogenic hazards. Capturing these network effects requires moving beyond single-asset risk metrics toward probabilistic frameworks that explicitly model topology, interdependency, redundancy, and the dynamics of repair and recovery.

This Minisymposium invites academics and practitioners to present theoretical developments and/or case-study applications addressing the probabilistic analysis, risk- and resilience-informed design, and recovery modelling of network infrastructure systems subject to earthquakes and multi-hazard scenarios.

The topics of this symposium include, but are not limited to:

• Earthquake and multi-hazard network infrastructure analysis
• Risk-, loss-, and/or resilience-targeted network infrastructure design and retrofit
• Repair, recovery, and maintenance modelling in network resilience frameworks
• Advanced single- and multi-hazard network recovery analysis
• Case study applications of the above topics

Active and passive control strategies are recognized as key solutions for improving the seismic performance of both new and existing structures. Over the past decades, advances in dampers, isolation devices, rocking systems and computational modelling have expanded the range of available options for seismic protection. At the same time, the growing need for resilient communities has broadened the scope of seismic design, extending it from the safety of individual structures to the resilience of the built environment at territorial scale. This calls for design approaches that can address different levels of seismic intensity while supporting robust and adaptable structural behavior.

This Minisymposium aims to bring together academics, researchers, practitioners and manufacturers working on seismic mitigation and rehabilitation, with a particular focus on numerical modelling, experimental validation and design applications. Contributions are welcome on novel mitigation systems, retrofit procedures, and recent developments in the modelling and performance evaluation of anti-seismic devices. By promoting exchange between research and practice, the session seeks to highlight current advances, identify remaining gaps, and support the development of more effective solutions for resilient seismic design.

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

• advances in numerical modelling of active and passive seismic control systems;
• nonlinear dynamic analysis and performance-based design of controlled structures;
• design procedures for seismic retrofit using active and passive devices;
• experimental validation and numerical–experimental correlation of anti-seismic devices;
• reliability, robustness and uncertainty analysis of seismic control systems.

This special session focuses on the scientific and engineering challenges associated with the sustainable lifecycle management of transport infrastructures, including bridges, viaducts, tunnels, railway systems, road networks, ports, airports and other critical assets supporting mobility and economic development. Many existing transport infrastructures are ageing, exposed to increasing traffic demand, environmental degradation, natural hazards and climate change effects, while full replacement is often neither economically feasible nor environmentally sustainable. This scenario calls for advanced strategies aimed at preserving, maintaining, upgrading and renewing existing assets through integrated assessment, monitoring, control, maintenance, optimal retrofit and smart management.

The session aims to bring together researchers, designers, infrastructure owners, operators, public authorities and industry stakeholders to discuss innovative methods for evaluating and improving the safety, performance, resilience and sustainability of transport infrastructures throughout their service life. Contributions are invited on structural and functional assessment, damage detection, reliability and risk analysis, performance based maintenance, dynamic response under traffic, wind, seismic and environmental actions, vibration control, structural health monitoring, digital twins, artificial intelligence and machine learning, data informed decision making, and smart asset management.

Special emphasis will be placed on the role of artificial intelligence, emerging digital technologies and advanced engineering tools in supporting the transition from reactive maintenance to predictive, risk informed and performance based infrastructure management. Topics of interest include data driven assessment, sensor based monitoring, model updating, uncertainty quantification, decision support systems, optimal intervention planning, innovative retrofit solutions, smart materials and devices, and technologies for vibration mitigation and structural control. Contributions combining advanced numerical modelling, experimental investigations, field monitoring and well documented case studies are especially welcome.

Machine learning is rapidly changing the way structural dynamics and earthquake engineering problems are formulated, solved, and transferred into research and professional practice. Data-driven models, physics-informed learning, probabilistic machine learning, surrogate modelling, and digital-twin workflows are increasingly used to support simulation, monitoring, risk assessment, decision-making, and design of civil infrastructure and the built environment.

This Mini-Symposium, proposed under the activities of ML Academy, aims to provide a focused forum for researchers, practitioners, and educators working at the intersection of machine learning, computational mechanics, structural dynamics, earthquake engineering, structural health monitoring, and architectural engineering. The session will emphasize technically rigorous contributions where machine learning is not used as a black box, but as a computational tool integrated with mechanics, uncertainty quantification, experimental evidence, and engineering interpretation.

The session will welcome methodological papers, benchmark studies, reproducible workflows, educational experiences, software tools, and engineering applications. Particular attention will be given to the reliability, generalization, validation, explainability, and practical deployment of machine-learning methods for structural and infrastructure systems.

Topics of Interest

• machine learning and artificial intelligence for structural dynamics and earthquake engineering;
• physics-informed, mechanics-informed, and hybrid data-driven modelling approaches;
• surrogate models, reduced-order models, emulators, and computational acceleration for nonlinear dynamic analysis;
• probabilistic machine learning, Bayesian updating, uncertainty quantification, reliability, fragility, and risk assessment;
• structural health monitoring, vibration-based identification, operational modal analysis, sensor fusion, and damage detection;
• digital twins for buildings, bridges, infrastructure systems, and architectural-engineering applications;
• machine-learning-based seismic assessment, performance-based design, retrofit, resilience, and post-event decision support;
• data-driven modelling of materials, components, structural and non-structural elements, and multi-scale systems;
• integration of experimental testing, numerical simulation, field monitoring, and open benchmark datasets;
• explainable, trustworthy, and generalizable machine-learning models for engineering applications;
• generative AI, agentic workflows, coding assistants, and automation for computational structural engineering;
• education, training, reproducible notebooks, open-source software, and dissemination activities in ML for civil engineering and architecture.

Expected Contributions

The Mini-Symposium will encourage contributions that clearly state the engineering problem, the available data and/or simulation basis, the learning strategy, the validation protocol, and the limits of applicability. Submissions presenting reproducible workflows, benchmark datasets, open educational material, and critical comparisons with established mechanics-based approaches are particularly encouraged.

Following the EOS minisymposium line at COMPDYN 2025, this Mini-Symposium is proposed as a focused forum for OpenSees users and developers to present recent methodological, computational, and applied developments in earthquake engineering. Contributions illustrating how OpenSees supports innovative research, engineering practice, experimental validation, and the development of new modelling capabilities are particularly encouraged.

The Mini-Symposium aims to strengthen the OpenSees community within COMPDYN by connecting modelling advances, software development, experimental validation, uncertainty quantification, and engineering applications. Particular emphasis will be placed on reproducible workflows, open-science practices, interoperability, and the transfer of research-grade developments into robust tools for analysis, design, assessment, and retrofit. This special session is proposed under the activities of the Eurasian OpenSees Association (EOS).

Relevant topics include, but are not limited to:

• modelling challenges and computational solutions in earthquake engineering;
• implementation of constitutive models, finite elements, and analysis algorithms;
• deterministic and probabilistic assessment of materials, structures, and infrastructure;
• numerical-experimental comparisons, benchmark studies, and model validation;
• applications in structural and geotechnical earthquake engineering;
• seismic assessment, design, and retrofit of structural and non-structural elements;
• material modelling and applications to reinforced concrete, steel, timber, masonry, composite, recycled, and bio-based materials;
• integration with computational intelligence, surrogate modelling, and machine-learning methods;
• graphical user interfaces, pre-/post-processing tools, and complementary software for OpenSees;
• open-science practices, open data, benchmarking, and reproducible workflows within the OpenSees ecosystem;
• case studies and applications to engineering practice.

Civil infrastructures have gained great importance for local and regional economies because of the major role of communication and networking in modern society. The accurate assessment of their integrity from a comprehensive perspective is, indeed, increasingly encouraged by stakeholders and governments. In this regard, the behaviour of critical assets such as bridges represents a key issue when analysing the resilience of transportation networks and the evaluation of their performance decay over time allows for avoiding catastrophic events. This symposium aims to contribute to structural degradation analysis, structural health monitoring and network resilience assessment. The subjects addressed are fundamental bullet points for a broad resilience assessment and the design of retrofit interventions for infrastructures at both local and global levels.

The topics included in this symposium include, but are not limited to:

• Traditional monitoring techniques to detect damage or degradation
• Numerical models for the analysis of the effects of degradation on the structural performance of bridges
• Advanced performance decay analysis of bridges over their lifespan
• Structural health monitoring, also by the use of interferometric satellite data
• Smart monitoring by using machine learning techniques
• Data-driven or Model-based algorithms for structural health monitoring
• Monitoring by means of photogrammetric technologies (e.g. crack detection or digital image correlation) and Computer Vision approaches
• Resilience assessment for networks of infrastructures

The structural assessment of existing masonry buildings and infrastructures is often carried out from a single-hazard perspective, with seismic actions considered independently of other potentially interacting hazards. In real-world scenarios, however, masonry structures may be exposed to multiple natural and human-induced hazards acting simultaneously or sequentially.

Settlements, landslides, floods, scour, and other hazards may induce cracking, deformation, stiffness degradation, or local instability before an earthquake occurs, potentially reducing the residual seismic capacity. Conversely, earthquakes may trigger additional hazards, including landslides, liquefaction, fires, and tsunamis, which may cause further damage. A multi-hazard assessment is therefore necessary to account for the effects of different hazards, their potential interactions, and the progressive accumulation of damage.

This mini-symposium aims to bring together researchers and practitioners working on the multi-hazard assessment of existing masonry structures. The discussion will focus on methodologies, computational tools, experimental approaches, and case-study applications addressing structural response, vulnerability, and risk from a multi-hazard perspective.

Topics may include, but are not limited to:

• Seismic assessment of masonry structures previously affected by other hazards, such as settlements, landslides, floods, and scour;
• Assessment of masonry structures under cascading scenarios in which earthquakes trigger landslides, liquefaction, fires, tsunamis, or other secondary events;
• Modelling and assessment of hazard interaction and damage accumulation at the structural-element level, including walls, bridge piers, arches, and vaults;
• Multi-hazard assessment at different spatial scales: individual structural elements, buildings and infrastructures,  and urban areas;
• Applications to different types of masonry structures, including ordinary buildings, cultural heritage assets, bridges, and critical or strategic infrastructures.

Effective earthquake risk mitigation requires an integrated pathway from the characterization of seismic sources and ground motions to structural performance assessment and retrofit decision-making. Earthquake scenarios, ground motion variability, near-fault effects, local site conditions, and uncertainties in seismic demand strongly influence structural response and should therefore be incorporated into computational frameworks for risk and resilience evaluation and intervention planning.

This minisymposium aims to bring together researchers and practitioners from engineering seismology, earthquake and structural engineering, and computational mechanics. The focus is on methods that link seismological characterization and ground motion modeling with nonlinear structural analysis, performance-based assessment, fragility and loss estimation, and the design and selection of seismic retrofit strategies for masonry and reinforced concrete structures. Particular emphasis is placed on innovative and eco-efficient solutions that balance seismic-risk reduction with life-cycle environmental impacts, economic costs, resource consumption, downtime, constructability, and long-term resilience.

The session welcomes numerical, data-driven, and hybrid approaches, including uncertainty quantification, artificial intelligence, surrogate modeling, digital twins, multi-objective optimization, and multi-criteria decision-making. Applications to buildings, bridges, cultural-heritage structures, and critical facilities are especially encouraged. By connecting seismological inputs to sustainable retrofit decisions, the minisymposium seeks to advance transparent, risk-informed, and computationally efficient strategies for a safer and more sustainable built environment.

Topics of Interest

• Seismic-hazard assessment, near-fault effects, local site response, basin and topographic effects, seismic microzonation, and soil-structure interaction;
• Nonlinear numerical modeling of masonry and reinforced concrete structures, including buildings, bridges, cultural-heritage structures, and critical facilities;
• Fragility, vulnerability, damage, loss, functionality, and post-earthquake recovery modeling, and resilience assessment;
• Seismic retrofit, including isolation, supplemental damping, and innovative strengthening systems, single- and multi-objective optimization of seismic retrofit strategies;
• Eco-efficient retrofit design, life-cycle assessment (LCA), life-cycle cost analysis (LCCA), embodied carbon, resource efficiency, and circular-economy approaches;
• Multi-criteria decision-making, stakeholder-preference modeling, and decision-support systems for retrofit selection;
• Uncertainty quantification, sensitivity analysis, probabilistic methods, and risk-informed decision-making;
• Artificial intelligence, machine learning, and surrogate models.

Following the introduction of the vehicle-bridge interaction (VBI) element in 1995, VBI was rapidly extended to the extraction of bridge frequencies from the dynamic response of a moving test vehicle. This technique, known as the vehicle scanning method (VSM), has been applied to the detection of damping, mode shapes, and damage in bridges. It offers a key advantage in that no vibration sensors need to be mounted on the bridge; instead, only one or a few sensors are required on the test vehicle. Compared with the conventional direct method, which relies entirely on the response of a sensor-instrumented bridge, VSM demonstrates clear advantages in mobility, cost-effectiveness, and efficiency. In recent years, a rapidly growing body of research has been conducted along the lines of VSM for bridge monitoring, leading to significant advances in various applications, including the extraction of bridge modal parameters, the investigation of frequency variation and dynamic coupling, experimental validation, and three-dimensional modeling. In this context, this minisymposium aims to provide a forum for researchers worldwide to present recent developments in vehicle-bridge interaction and its applications in structural health monitoring.

REFERENCES

Yang Y.B., Yang J.P., Zhang B., Wu Y., Vehicle scanning method for bridges, John Wiley & Sons Ltd., Hoboken, 2019.
Yang Y.B., Yang J.P., State-of-the-art review on modal identification and damage detection of bridges by moving test vehicles, International Journal of Structural Stability and Dynamics, Vol. 18(2), pp. 1850025, 2018.

Assessment of existing structures is one of the fields substantially revised in the second generation of Eurocode 8. The new EN 1998-3 reorganises the assessment procedure around force-based and displacement-based approaches. Near Collapse is generally checked through a displacement-based procedure, while a simplified force-based approach is available for low and moderate seismic action classes. Material-specific assessment rules, previously included in informative annexes, are now provided as normative clauses.

For example, reinforced concrete structures, the new provisions establish a more consistent relation between structural analysis, member stiffness and displacement capacity. Effective stiffness is linked to the secant stiffness at yielding, while the models for yield and ultimate chord rotations explicitly consider features that are common in existing construction, such as short lap splices, smooth bars, bond slip, inadequate anchorage and limited transverse reinforcement. The verification of brittle mechanisms, including shear and beam-column joint failure is performed with new, iterative capacity models, linked to those adopted for design. Knowledge of geometry, detailing and materials is treated separately and is connected to partial factors for the relevant capacity models.

The mini-symposium will discuss the interpretation of new provisions, their practical application and their effect on the structural response both at local and global level. Contributions may address:

• force-based and displacement-based procedures for the seismic assessment of existing structures;
• applicability and implementation of linear and nonlinear analysis methods, with special focus on the behaviour factor;
• modelling of effective stiffness, yielding and post-yield response of existing structural members, potentially with comparison of experimental data;
• idealisation and bilinearisation of moment-curvature, member force-deformation and global capacity curves;
• deformation and resistance models for flexure, shear and beam-column joints, including ductile and brittle mechanisms, potentially with comparison of experimental data;
• assessment of reinforced concrete members with smooth bars, short lap splices, bond-slip, anchorage deficiencies and limited transverse reinforcement;
• knowledge levels, investigation data, model uncertainty and partial factors;
• benchmark studies, comparisons with EN 1998-3:2005 or other national codes;
• applications to real structures and/or case study buildings, implications on the structural assessment and consequences on potential retrofit decisions and interventions;

Despite focused on RC structures, the MS welcomes contribution related to the assessment of steel and composite existing structures.

This mini-symposium will present the outcomes of Phase 2 of the Blind Prediction Competition organised within the ERIES-REVAULTs project - Response Evaluation of masonry VAULTs under pseudo-dynamic loadings - an EU-funded transnational access initiative aimed at advancing the understanding of the in-plane shear response of masonry cross vaults subjected to seismic actions. Further information is available on the ERIES – REVAULTs LinkedIn page.

As part of the project, a full-scale masonry specimen representative of a lateral bay of a historic three-nave masonry church was constructed at the European Laboratory for Structural Assessment (ELSA) of the Joint Research Centre (JRC) in Ispra, Italy. The specimen, consisting of a cross vault supported by two pillars and a perimeter wall, was subjected to pseudo dynamic testing using a ground-motion record from the 2009 L’Aquila earthquake.

The Blind Prediction Competition was organised into two main phases. Phase 1 focused on predicting the modal properties of the specimen and concluded in September 2025, while Phase 2, presented in this mini-symposium, addresses its response to pseudo-dynamic loading.

Phase 2 was further divided into two stages. In Phase 2.1, participants were asked to predict the pseudo-dynamic testing procedure. In Phase 2.2, they were provided with the experimental displacement time histories and asked to predict the specimen’s nonlinear response.

The mini-symposium will present both the experimental results of the ERIES-REVAULTs testing campaign and the numerical predictions submitted during Phase 2 of the competition. Following a presentation of the experimental findings by the chairs, the participating teams will present their numerical models and predictions. The comparison between experimental and numerical results will foster a discussion on how to improve modelling strategies for complex historic masonry structures.

Earthquakes remain among the most disruptive natural hazards faced by the built environment, capable of inflicting widespread structural damage, triggering large-scale displacement, and imposing economic burdens that can persist for years or even decades after the event. Recent earthquakes worldwide, from Italy's Central Apennines to Turkey, New Zealand, and beyond, have repeatedly shown that recovery timelines and reconstruction costs can far exceed initial expectations, with cascading consequences for local economies, housing availability, and social cohesion. At the same time, the reconstruction activity triggered by these events carries a substantial, and often overlooked, environmental footprint, from the embodied carbon of replacement materials to the emissions associated with demolition and rebuilding. These compounding impacts have made clear that the seismic performance of buildings can no longer be evaluated through structural safety metrics alone, but must be understood through its full life-cycle implications, economic and environmental alike.

Life-Cycle Cost (LCC) analysis and downtime/loss estimation frameworks have matured considerably within performance-based earthquake engineering, while Life-Cycle Sustainability (LCS) methods are gaining traction as tools to quantify the embodied and operational environmental footprint of structural design and retrofit choices. Yet these two perspectives are rarely integrated, despite both being essential to informed decision-making on new construction, retrofit strategies, and post-earthquake reconstruction policy.

This Minisymposium aims to bring together researchers working on the economic and environmental dimensions of seismic life-cycle performance, treating cost and sustainability as equally central pillars rather than a primary and a secondary concern. Contributions are welcome on topics including, but not limited to, LCC analysis of conventional and resilient structural systems (e.g., innovative devices, self-centring systems, buckling-restrained braces, dampers); environmental LCS and embodied/operational carbon assessment of seismic design and retrofit solutions; combined economic-environmental decision frameworks and multi-criteria optimization for retrofit selection; and case studies integrating cost and sustainability metrics from real post-earthquake reconstruction processes.

By bringing together the structural dynamics/earthquake engineering community with researchers in sustainability and environmental assessment, the session seeks to advance methods that support building stock decisions which are resilient, economically sound, and environmentally responsible in equal measure.