There is currently growing attention being paid to the development of advanced materials, technologies and testing procedures for application to new and existing structures, infrastructures, contents, plants and equipment. These developments are pursued with the aim of improving their performance against service and extreme loads.

Increased performance requirements are a result of a shift from traditional prescriptive strength-based codes to the performance-based approaches permeating the 21st century generation of Technical Standards worldwide. This presents the need to pursue more articulated and demanding design objectives for load combinations including earthquake or wind action.

At the same time, other natural, accidental, or intentional events, such as blasts, impacts, fires, and explosions, are being progressively incorporated in the design and verification analyses.

The need for advanced on-site and laboratory testing of structural materials, elements and systems, as well as of protective devices and non-structural components, is also stressed in the most recent performance-based standards of various coutries and organizations.

New or improved traditional structural materials, as well as innovative protection technologies, offer effective solutions to the constantly increasing performance requirements in structural design and rehabilitation. At the same time, they open new and challenging research perspectives for academicians.

The objective of this Special Issue is to provide readers with the latest research and application achievements in this field, including emerging aspects in analytical and finite element modelling, design, testing, and practical implementation studies. We encourage and invite the authors to submit original research articles as well as review papers.

Potential topics include but are not limited to the following:

• New and improved traditional structural materials (reinforced concrete, steel, masonry, timber) and systems
• Latest generation of fiber-reinforced plastics (FRP) materials for structural applications
• Passive, semi-active, and active energy dissipation technologies for seismic and wind protection of structures
• Base isolation strategies against earthquake and other soil-transmitted vibrations
• Advanced non-linear finite element structural analysis
• Advanced on-site field testing of structures and infrastructures
• Advanced laboratory tests of structural and non-structural components and systems, contents and equipment