Recent developments in networked and smart sensors have significantly changed the way Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) and asset management are being carried out. Since the sensor networks continuously provide real-time data from the structure being monitored, they constitute a more realistic image of the actual status of the structure where the maintenance or repair work can be scheduled based on real requirements. This review is aimed at providing a wealth of knowledge from the working principles of sensors commonly used in SHM, to artificial-intelligence-based digital twin systems used in SHM and proposes a new asset management framework. The way this paper is structured suits researchers and practicing experts both in the fields of sensors as well as in asset management equally.

Mortar in masonry structures can be subjected to both uniaxial and triaxial loading. Determining the mechanical properties and/or failure criteria of the commonly used mortar is necessary for the structural performance assessment of new and existing masonry buildings using non-destructive testing and/or finite element modelling methods. In this paper, the stress–strain behaviour of a commercially available cement-lime mortar is investigated under uniaxial and triaxial loading. The axial compressive strength, modulus of elasticity, Mohr–Coulomb failure envelopes of the mortar are determined over a range of conditions. Mortar specimens were prepared with a water to cementitious material ratio (w/cm) of 0.6–0.7 and were tested at curing ages of 3, 7, 14, and 28 days, under confining pressures of 0, 100, 250, 500 and 750 kPa. Ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV) of the specimens were measured before the destructive testing. The results indicate that the influence of curing age and confining pressure on the axial compressive strength of the mortar can be predicted using proposed linear correlations between (i) The confining pressure and the axial compressive strength and (ii) The UPV and the axial compressive strength. From the test results, the strength parameters of the Mohr–Coulomb failure criterion were also determined. It is observed that cohesion is more sensitive to changes in curing age and w/cm than the friction angle, which varied between 32 and 33 degrees.

With rapid urbanization, the generation of municipal solid waste is growing, placing ever-increasing pressure on cities to close, remediate and repurpose landfill sites in environmentally sustainable and climate-adaptive ways. Traditional landfill final covers such as compacted clay and geosynthetic systems are intended to limit infiltration; yet their conceptual designs often fail in performance longevity due to effects such as desiccation, settlement, root intrusion, freeze–thaw cycling and extreme rainfall. Phytocapping, or evapotranspiration/store-and-release cover technology is the use of vegetated soil profiles to provide storage for percolating rainfall, return water to the atmosphere through evapotranspiration and support biologically mediated oxidation of methane. Phytocapping is a green-inclusive nature-based climate adaptation strategy for urban landfill closure. This study explores hydrological performance, methane mitigation, ecological co-benefits, economic feasibility, climate sensitivity, monitoring requirements and regulatory barriers linked to phytocapping systems. Field evidence is strongest in Australia and the United States, especially through ACAP- and A-ACAP-style programs, while evidence from humid tropical, monsoon, freeze–thaw and low-resource urban contexts is comparatively lacking. As reported in published studies, well-designed phytocaps can result in reduced percolation compared to traditional clay caps. Reported publications also mention considerable construction-cost savings, depending on site conditions and design assumptions. Methane-related outcomes vary by measurement method and site context, with studies reporting surface flux reductions, methane oxidation and landfill gas attenuation as distinct performance indicators. These advantages are counter-balanced by design uncertainties that vary from site to site, limited long-term monitoring data, climate transferability concerns, and regulatory systems still firmly anchored in prescriptive low-permeability barriers. This review proposes a policy-oriented analytical framework that bridges the gap between technical performance evidence, urban co-benefits, staged monitoring and performance-based landfill closure regulation. As such, phytocapping should be considered not as a general-purpose substitute for engineered covers, but as a climate-responsive nature-based solution that can complement urban waste servicing infrastructure, ecological restoration and adaptive governance of landfills when properly designed, monitored and regulated.