**2. Special Issues**

The call for papers in the Special Issue "Computational Modeling and Simulation of Solids and Structures: Recent Advances and Practical Applications" in *Applied Sciences* was open from 1 March 2021, to 28 February 2022, and received 16 manuscripts, of which 9 were selected to be published, giving a 56% approval rate. These manuscripts cover the wide range of the topics introduced above and are listed here in order of publication date.

Kim et al. [1] studied piezoresistive characteristics of NCSS (nanocarbon composite strain sensor) and a simple design to improve the NCSS sensitivity by using its geometric pattern at a macro scale.

Macho et al. [2] describe features of the GIM software that are frequently used to support and exemplify the theoretical concepts taught in lectures. GIM integrated into different learning activities is also introduced to show its potential as a tool for learning and self-evaluation.

Tian et al. [3] inversely identify the pre-tightening torque-dependent parameters for empirical modeling of bolted joints with reference to the modal test results. To consider the contact performance of the joint structure of the bolt lap joint, the thin element method with linear constitutive relation was employed, which makes the simulation result more accurate.

Hoffer et al. [4] provide a framework for selecting mesh-free surrogate methods. Their evaluations show that surrogate modeling can be a competitive tool in engineering applications of various complexity.

Jeong [5] provides a scheme for topology optimization of deformable bodies with linear dynamic impact and frictionless contact conditions. When the nonmatching mesh occurred during sliding contact, a mortar method was employed, which was combined with

**Citation:** Kim, J.-G.; Lim, J.H.; Persson, P. Special Issue on "Computational Modeling and Simulation of Solids and Structures: Recent Advances and Practical Applications". *Appl. Sci.* **2022**, *12*, 3660. https://doi.org/10.3390/ app12073660

Received: 29 March 2022 Accepted: 1 April 2022 Published: 5 April 2022

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**Copyright:** © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/).

the solid isotropic method with penalization (SIMP) method for the topology optimization. From the results, it was shown that the proposed scheme was quite efficient and general to solve topology optimization problems considering frictionless contact conditions.

Manconi et al. [6] used the Wave Finite Element method to study both free and forced wave propagation in structures with radial periodicities. In relation to a standard Finite Element model using Perfectly Matched Layers, the developed approach was proved accurate and provided significant savings of computational time.

Choi et al. [7] present modeling and validation of a passive truss-link mechanism for deployable structures considering friction compensation with response surface methods. To make an excellent correlation between test analysis, an inverse analysis to fit the parameters of the empirical friction model with reference to the test results was conducted using the response surface methods.

Hoffer et al. [8] present a surrogate modeling technique considering both aleatoric and epistemic uncertainties. Concerning the engineering application of hot metal forming, the developed approach was shown computationally efficient as compared to the use of standard Finite Element simulation.

Bugaru and Vasile [9] propose a modeling technique of the forced bending vibrating (FBV) movements for the elements of an automotive driveshaft using a perturbation technique, the asymptotic method approach (AMA), in the region of principal parametric resonance (PPR).

**Funding:** This research received no external funding.

**Acknowledgments:** We would like to thank the authors of the manuscripts submitted to this Special Issue. Further, we thank the reviewers and the *Applied Sciences* team for your support.

**Conflicts of Interest:** The authors declare no conflict of interest.

#### **References**

