Applications of Microbiotechnology in Civil Engineering

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About this Research Topic

Submission deadlines

  1. Manuscript Submission Deadline 31 March 2025

  2. This Research Topic is still accepting articles.

    1. Check author guidelines

Background

Microorganisms are widely distributed in natural environments, significantly influencing the physical and mechanical behaviors of soil and rock masses, including microstructure, strength, stiffness, and permeability. Common microbial processes encompass biomineralization, biogas generation, and biofilm growth. A comprehensive understanding of these microbial processes, coupled with effective control and application of microbiotechnologies, can address critical issues in civil engineering such as ground reinforcement, seepage control, sand liquefaction treatment, and soil erosion prevention. Despite substantial progress in comprehending the mechanisms and applications of microbiotechnology in civil engineering studies thus far, however, the systematic implementation of these technologies in practical engineering remains a challenge that necessitates further research.

The objective of this Research Topic is to advance the state-of-the-art in microbiotechnology, physical and mechanical testing of materials inspired by microorganisms, constitutive modeling in soil and rock masses influenced by microbes, numerical and analytical methods in geotechnical engineering inspired by microbial processes, as well as design methodologies and applications incorporating microbial mediation in civil engineering. This will be achieved through laboratory experiments, numerical simulations, and field surveys. We anticipate that this Research Topic will not only enhance our understanding of the mechanisms underlying microbiotechnology for improving structural performance or mitigating geohazards but also provide novel insights into the challenges associated with the practical implementation of microbiotechnology in civil engineering while addressing existing research gaps within the field of microbial-inspired engineering design.

This Research Topic focuses on the physical and mechanical behaviors of microbial-inspired materials, as well as the mechanisms and applications of microbiotechnology in civil engineering based on analytical, experimental, and numerical methods. This complex task encompasses several topics, including but not limited to:

• Microbial processes and microbial-inspired construction materials
• Mechanical behavior and testing technologies of microbial-mediated materials
• Constitutive modeling in microbial-mediated soil and rock
• Numerical and analytical methods in microbial-inspired geotechnics
• Microbial-inspired models’ validations using laboratory and field tests
• Microbial-mediated design method in civil engineering
• Ground reinforcement with microbial-mediated materials
• Microbiotechnology-aided geohazards mitigation and prevention
• Utilization of microbiotechnology in solid waste disposal and environmental improvement

Important: Submissions must be hypothesis-driven and investigate the mechanisms of microbial-environmental interactions. Pure modeling studies are out of scope for MBT as are purely descriptive submissions that do not provide a deeper investigation into the role of specific microbes.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

  • Brief Research Report
  • Editorial
  • Hypothesis and Theory
  • Methods
  • Mini Review
  • Opinion
  • Original Research
  • Perspective
  • Review

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

  • Brief Research Report
  • Editorial
  • Hypothesis and Theory
  • Methods
  • Mini Review
  • Opinion
  • Original Research
  • Perspective
  • Review
  • Systematic Review
  • Technology and Code

Keywords: Microbial processes, Microbial-mediated construction materials, Mechanical behavior of microbial-mediated materials, Ground improvement, Geohazards mitigation and prevention, Microbiology-spired design method

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

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