Special Session 14

SPECIAL SESSION #14

Carmelo Scuro

Research-Assistant Professor Department of Physics University of Calabria, Italy

• carmelo.scuro@unical.it

Giuseppe Alì

Associate Professor Department of Physics University of Calabria, Italy

• giuseppe.ali@unical.itt

Francesco Clementi

Associate Professor Department of Civil and Building Engineering, and Architecture Polytechnic University of Marche, Italy

• francesco.clementi@univpm.it

Mariella Diaferio

Associate Professor Department of Civil, Environmental, Land, Construction and Chemistry Engineering (DICATECh) Polytechnic University of Bari, Bari, Italy

• mariella.diaferio@poliba.it

Domenico Camassa

Research-Assistant Professor Department of Architecture, Construction and Design (ARCOD) Polytechnic University of Bari, Bari, Italy

• domenico.camassa@poliba.it

Nataliia Pinchuk

National University "Yuri Kondratyuk Poltava Polytechnic", Ukraine

• natali.pinchuk.pntu@gmail.com

Anna Castellano

Research-Assistant Professor Department of Architecture, Construction and Design (ARCOD) Polytechnic University of Bari, Bari, Italy

• anna.castellano@poliba.it

Salvador Ivorra Chorro

Full Professor Dept. Ingenieria Civil Grupo de ensayo, simulación y modelización de estructuras (GRESMES) University of Alicante, Alicante (Spain)

• sivorra@ua.es

The proposed special session aims to be a solid reference of the technical community to present and discuss the latest results of scientific and technological research for the living environment, with a focus on applications and new trends in Structural Health Monitoring (SHM), also paying special attention to the implementation of mathematical models.

The focus is on, but not limited to, new technologies for the design, construction, and monitoring, but also on innovative solutions based on the IoT paradigm, BIM, sensors, signal processing, data analysis, artificial intelligence, remote sensing, and sensor networks.

Studies and research of interest for this special session concern the development of new theoretical methods and experimental approaches for acquiring, processing, and interpreting data with the purpose of designing and implementing innovative SHM systems. In particular, the topics here addressed include operational and experimental modal analysis of structures, dynamic characterization of structural damage, model updating, uncertainty quantification, advanced sensing technologies (MEMS, drones, radar, satellites, smartphones, etc.), and data science techniques (artificial intelligence, neural networks, etc.).

In addition, of particular interest in the present session is the creation of mathematical models suitable for simulating the events to be monitored and inducing a decrease in the computational load of the systems themselves. The models, based on partial differential equations (PDEs), genetic algorithms (GAs), reaction-diffusion models, and convective and diffusive propagation effects in a porous medium, have been developed in such a way that they can be used to be integrated into predictive monitoring systems in order to detect the evolution of an event and prevent its occurrence.

Carmelo Scuro, is a Mathematical Physics research at the University of Calabria and works at Physics, Civil Engineering departments and Department of Computer Engineering, Modelling, Electronics and Systems Engineering. He received the master's degree in engineering and architecture and the Ph.D. degree in "science and engineering of the environment construction and energy" at the University of Calabria, Rende, Italy, in 2012 and 2017, respectively. He has authored and co-authored over 95 papers published in international journals and conference proceedings and several book chapters. He is Reviewer of international journals. His current research interests include the analysis of the fracture in the brittle materials through the use of acoustic emissions and structural monitoring systems based on the IoT paradigm, numerical analysis, micro-tomography, 3-D printing, Genetic Algorithm, Math Modeling, PDE and Mathematical Physics.
In 2020 at the international conference Imeko TC – on Metrology for Archeology and Cultural Heritage, he won the ‘Best Paper Presented by a Young Researcher’ award for the design of a sensor based on the implementation of mathematical models for the reduction of the computational burden of the monitoring systems.

Giuseppe Alì, is an Associate Professor in Mathematical Physics at the Department of Physics of the University of Calabria, Italy, since 30 December 2011. He is a member of the INFN (National Institute of Nuclear Physics), and of the GNFM (National Group of Mathematical Physics). His research interests include coupled problems in applied mathematics (theoretical and numerical study of partial-differential-algebraic equations), hyperbolic problems in applied mathematics (modelling of semiconductor devices, fluid dynamics e magnetohydrodynamics, general relativity). He has been a member of the project management board and project coordination committee of various international scientific projects, and an author of more than 40 scientific publications in international journals.

Francesco Clementi, Associate professor, his research interests focus on the field of solid and structural mechanics, with a particular interest in masonry, wood, dynamic identification of physical, modal, and damage parameters, structural health monitoring, earthquake engineering, fracture mechanics, composite materials, mathematical model of beams, linear and non-linear dynamics of different structural systems. He is an expert in several numerical approaches starting from the classical finite element to the newest non-smooth contact dynamics methods. Moreover, experimental design, data analysis, and the creation of surrogate models round out the skills.

Mariella Diaferio, is Associate Professor of Structural Engineering at the Politecnico di Bari. She attained the Ph.D. in Structural Engineering by discussing her doctoral dissertation entitled “Non- Linear models for suspended elastic structures”.
She is the author of more than 100 scientific publications on national and international journals and proceedings in the field of Structural Engineering, she mainly developed the topics related to seismic behaviour of structures, study of seismic devices, damage detection, dynamic identification, vulnerability and damage assessment in historical buildings, non-linear dynamic analysis, non- destructive tests on structures, retrofitting interventions on buildings. She designed and performed several experimental campaigns: characterization of seismic devices, shaking table tests, static and dynamic tests on several historical buildings, static tests on specimens. She has been a member of research groups of many projects characterised by collaborations at national and international level in the field of design criteria for structures subjected to natural hazards, analysis of vibrations in civil engineering structures, ground-structure interactions, seismic protection of buildings, modelling and experimentation of materials and structures, wind effects on structure, structural monitoring of historical buildings.

Domenico Camassa, Ph.D., is Assistant Professor of Solid and Structural Mechanics at Polytechnic University of Bari, Department of Civil Engineering Sciences and Architecture. He received the master’s degree in Building-Architectural Engineering in 2017 and the Ph.D. degree in “Design for Heritage: Knowledge and Landscape” in 2021 both at the Polytechnic University of Bari. He teaches courses on the "mechanics of solids and structures" and on the "dynamic identification of structures by interferometric radar technique". His research interests concern the field of solid and structural mechanics and include structural dynamics, structural health monitoring, nondestructive testing, modal analysis of structures, dynamic characterization of structural damage, mechanics of masonry arches and vaults, wave propagation in solids, ultrasonic tomography, optimization algorithms.

Nataliia Pinchuk, Ph.D., is Associate Professor of Reinforced Concrete and Masonry Structures and Strength of Materials at National University «Yuri Kondratyuk Poltava Polytechnic». She received the master’s degree in “Industrial and Civil Engineering” and the Ph.D. degree in “Building constructions, buildings and structures” at the National University «Yuri Kondratyuk Poltava Polytechnic» Poltava, Ukraine, in 2005 and 2010, respectively. She is reviewer of international journals “Civil Engineering and Architecture” and “Journal of Nondestructive Evaluation, Diagnostics and Prognostics of Engineering Systems”. She has received the best paper presented by a woman award for the research paper “Damage identification of a wind turbine blade from interferometric radar tests”. She teaches courses on the: design of reinforced concrete structures; design of masonry structures; technical exploitation and repair of structures; computer technologies in the design of buildings and structures. Her research activity concerns the field of reinforced concrete and masonry structures analysis and designs, the stress-strain state computer modelling of masonry and reinforced masonry structures, non-destructive testing methods and development of brick and reinforced concrete structures strengthening, investigation of new building materials for reinforcement and strengthening of structures (in particular, expanded steel sheets and innovative composite materials).

Anna Castellano, Ph.D., is Assistant Professor of Solid and Structural Mechanics at Polytechnic University of Bari. She received the master’s degree in “Building Engineering” and the Ph.D. degree in “Mechanics of Solids and Structures” at the Polytechnic University of Bari, Bari, Italy, in 2008 and 2011, respectively. She is Associate Editor of “Journal of Nondestructive Evaluation, Diagnostics and Prognostics of Engineering Systems” (journal of ASME The American Society of Mechanical Engineers), and member of editorial board of international journals. She has received the “Best Paper Award for ASME JNDE 2021” for the research paper “Linear and Nonlinear Ultrasonic Techniques for Monitoring Stress-Induced Damages in Concrete”. She teaches courses on the "mechanics of solids and structures", on the "mechanics of composite materials", on "advanced ultrasonic tests for the mechanical characterization of materials". He is a member of national and international scientific societies. Her research activity concerns the field of solid and structural mechanics, and in particular: experimental mechanics, linear and non-linear ultrasonic approaches, acoustoelasticity, damage mechanics, composite materials, dynamic identification of structures, mechanics of masonry arches and vaults, reinforced masonry structures.

Salvador Ivorra Chorro, is a university professor in the area of Continuum Mechanics and Structure Theory at the University of Alicante's Department of Civil Engineering, is a researcher responsible for the research group in structure essay, simulation and modelling. He holds a PhD in Industrial Engineering (Mechanical Engineering) from the Polytechnic University of Valencia and University Specialist in Occupational Risk Prevention by the same university.
His research activity has been focused on the dynamic behaviour of structures and structural reinforcement, and he has devoted an important part of his research to the structures belonging to the historical heritage.
As of November 2021, he has authored 87 scientific articles, 62 of them in JCR-indexed journals, more than 120 papers in congresses, and has directed 17 doctoral theses. He has participated in 29 competitive research projects, 17 as senior researcher, and in more than 200 research and technical assistance contracts with public agencies and private companies. He has been responsible for the coordination of a project financed with €2,000,000 from FEDER funds for the construction of the University of Alicante’s Civil Engineering research laboratory. He is co-inventor of two patents.
According to the Scopus bibliometric analysis between 2002 and 2022, his h index is 27; he is co-author of 167 documents.
He was a lecturer at the Polytechnic University of Valencia's Technical School of Industrial Engineering (1997-2005), where he was secretary of the Department of Continuum Mechanics and Structure Theory (2002-2005). He has been a Visiting Fellow at the University of Bristol (UK) since 2012 and a visiting lecturer at the Polytechnic University of Bari (Italy) in different periods in 2016 and 2017.
At the University of Alicante, he has been deputy director of Civil Engineering from 2006 to 2013. In this period, he was responsible for implementing the new Undergraduate Degree in Civil Engineering and the Master's Degree in Civil Engineering: Roads, Channels and Ports. He has been Deputy Director of the Department of Civil Engineering 2016-2019 and Director in 2019-2020. Between January 2017 and July 2018 he was the Manager of the State R&D Plan in the Construction area in the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness. Since July 2018 and October 2021 he was the Coordinator of the Subarea of Civil Engineering and Architecture at the State Research Agency.
He was awarded the Teaching Excellence Award by the University of Alicante Social Council in 2010. In 2015, the Kiss Bridge pedestrian footbridge in Pilar de la Horadada (Alicante), which he co-designed, was nominated by the FIB as one of the best concrete works in 2009-2014. In 2002 he co-designed the Polytechnic Tower in Valencia, the highest tower which was completely FRP-developed in Europe in this period. In 2019 he received the prize of the Association of Structural Consultants for the intervention project in the "La Paz" masonry chimney. In 2019 he received the Outstanding or Productive Young Researcher Award from the Latin American Association for Quality Control, Pathology and Construction Recovery (Alconpat).