Vibroacoustic Monitoring: Theory, Methods and Applications

Dear Colleagues,

Experimental and theoretical studies in acoustics and mechanical vibrations have gradually evolved as separate entities. The progressive fragmentation of research, together with the different civil and industrial technological applications and standardization guidelines for vibrations and acoustics, has led to the hyper-specialistic and fictitious separation of concepts and approaches.

Conversely, the integration of different perspectives, converging into the study of vibro-acoustics, would be correct from a physical perspective since it deals with the generation, propagation, and reception of mechanical waves in different frequency ranges. Moreover, it could be useful considering the multiple study domains, ranging from environmental science, ecology, biophysics, medicine, cultural heritage and archaeology to civil and industrial engineering, and the wide range of industrial applications, from the design and implementation of sensors to the design, implementation, and verifications of structures, mechanical components, machineries, aerospace and naval components, and so on.

In the emerging context of vibro-acoustic studies, a holistic and multi-disciplinary approach would be desirable to reflect not only the multiplicity of existing and potential research and application domains but also an increasing awareness of the multiple interactions between human communities and the environment. With this respect, vibro-acoustics could support new ways to interpret how tangible and intangible dimensions are shaped by interwoven anthropic (archaeological, historical, cultural, architectural) and environmental (climate, sea, mountains, wind, ground) elements, defining the evolving nature of natural and anthropized landscapes and contributing to the sustainability of cities and communities and the well-being of urban dwellers, in agreement with SDG 11 and SDG 3.

Although very attractive, this challenge presents inherent difficulties. In particular, such an emerging multi-disciplinary vision requires the development of new methods and tools, supported by measurements, analysis, and interpretations of the results, based on a converging vision on vibro-acoustics as a research discipline. In parallel, promising applications and the potential need for future integrated standardization procedures in different technological domains should be explored.

This Special Issue, entitled “Vibroacoustic Monitoring: Theory, Methods and Applications”, aims to constitute a discussion platform, that, stemming from the domain of applied physics, considering the experimental and theoretical results pertaining to vibro-acoustics, explores experimental and theoretical methods and their applications to different research fields, the integration of hard and soft metrology, the results of field monitoring activities, the wide range of research and technological applications, as well as useful insights into the domains of vibro-acoustic sensors, metrology, and standardization procedures.

Types of accepted articles include the following: articles, reporting scientifically sound experiments and providing a substantial amount of new information; communications, short articles that present groundbreaking preliminary results or significant findings that are part of a larger study conducted over multiple years; perspectives, that showcase current developments in a specific field, with emphasis on the future directions of the field and on the personal assessment of the author; reviews, offering a comprehensive analysis of the existing literature within a field of study, identifying current gaps or problems, providing recommendations for future research; and, finally, systematic reviews, presenting a detailed investigation into previous research on a given topic, using clearly defined search parameters and methods to identify, categorize, analyze, and report aggregated evidence on a specific topic.

Authors are recommended to strictly adhere to the indications provided in the Instructions for Authors (https://www.mdpi.com/journal/applsci/instructions), providing also a cover letter, during the submission process, according to the indication given by the editorial office. Microsoft World and LaTex templates are available from the same page for download.

Prof. Dr. Fabrizio Barone
Dr. Marco Casazza
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Applied Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• vibro-acoustics
• vibro-acoustic modelling
• vibro-acoustics applications
• mechanical vibrations
• acoustics
• sensors
• systems
• metrology
• standardization