Mechanical behavior, structural innovation, and design methods of novel materials and composite structures under complex loading

With the growing demand for resilient, efficient, and low carbon infrastructure, increasing attention has been directed toward novel materials and innovative composite structures in civil engineering. Compared with conventional systems, emerging cement based materials and composite members often exhibit superior strength, ductility, durability, and construction adaptability, making them promising for modern structural applications. At the same time, practical engineering structures are rarely subjected to simple loading conditions. Instead, they commonly experience multiaxial compression, eccentric loading, cyclic actions, impact, confinement, and other coupled stress states. Under such circumstances, the mechanical response, failure evolution, interface interaction, and design reliability of these systems remain insufficiently understood. Therefore, systematic research integrating material behavior, structural innovation, and design methods is needed to support the development and application of next generation composite structures under complex loading conditions.The goal of this Research Topic is to address the insufficient understanding of how novel materials and innovative composite structures behave under complex loading conditions, and how this knowledge can be translated into reliable design methods. Although recent advances have been made in advanced cement based materials, composite members, innovative fabrication techniques, and machine learning based prediction tools, current research is still often fragmented, focusing on isolated materials, specific members, or simplified loading cases. Recent studies have also introduced mesoscale simulation, intelligent prediction methods, and new composite structural forms, but the links among material response, interface interaction, failure evolution, and structural design remain incomplete. This Research Topic therefore aims to promote integrated studies combining experiments, constitutive modeling, numerical simulation, structural testing, and design oriented analysis. Particular attention will be given to multiaxial loading, eccentric compression, cyclic and dynamic actions, confinement effects, innovative construction details, and sustainable material structure systems, with the objective of advancing both fundamental understanding and practical engineering applications.This Research Topic focuses on the mechanical behavior, structural innovation, and design methods of novel materials and composite structures under complex loading conditions. It aims to provide a platform for studies on advanced cementitious materials, steel concrete composite members, and other emerging structural systems subjected to multiaxial compression, eccentric loading, cyclic loading, impact, confinement, and coupled stress states. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, experimental investigation, constitutive modeling, failure mechanisms, interface interaction, innovative construction and fabrication methods, numerical simulation, bearing capacity prediction, ductility evaluation, durability performance, and design oriented methodologies. This Research Topic seeks to engage researchers in structural engineering, materials engineering, and construction technology, and to promote the integration of material development, structural innovation, and practical design methods for next generation resilient and sustainable infrastructure. Topic editors: Hongyuan Tang, Lijun Ouyang, Ye Liu, Ahad Amini Pishro Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/82048/mechanical-behavior-structural-innovation-and-design-methods-of-novel-materials-and-composite-structures-under-complex-loading