# Special Issue \"Extreme Sciences and Engineering\"
###### Abstract  
Due to uncertainties stemming from climate change, natural and man-made disasters, and extreme events, unexpected disruptions in the operation of our countries' infrastructure may put the functioning of our societies and their economies at risk. Such disruptions may result from many kinds of hazards and physical and/or cyber-attacks on installations and systems [1]. Recent events have demonstrated the increased interconnectivity among the impact of hazards, of the two kinds of attacks and, conversely, the usefulness of operators combining cyber- and physical-security solutions in order to protect critical installations of the global infrastructure. New ideas and innovations for a comprehensive yet installation-specific approach are necessary to secure the integrity of existing or future, public or private, connected and interdependent assets, installations and infrastructure systems. This special issue of 'Extreme Sciences and Engineering' enables the communication of the highest-quality research that highlights the role of mechanics, sciences and engineering in multi-disciplinary areas across materials science, physics, and engineering. Emphasis is placed on the impact, depth and originality of new concepts, methods and observations at the forefront of applied sciences. In light of the above, this special issue was introduced in order to collect the latest and highest-quality research on relevant topics, and more importantly, to address the present challenges of mitigating extreme events in regard to resilience and sustainable infrastructure systems. There were 37 papers submitted to this special issue, and 15 papers were accepted (i.e., 40% acceptance rate). When looking back on previous special issues, various topics have been addressed, mainly on natural disasters, structural resilience, and infrastructure technologies. 27 October 2  
environments, which can be integrated into the coupled train-track analysis that can better and more realistically express the dynamic train-track interaction and the load-transfer mechanism of flooded railway tracks. [PERSON] et al. [4] developed a Tempcore process simulator (TPS) to analyze the microstructural evolution of quenched and tempered rebar. There has been an increasing need to relate the complex microstructures to the resulting properties of quenched and tempered rebar. The results showed that TPS can simulate the Tempcore process with a high degree of fidelity and reliability. [PERSON] et al. [5] investigated the integrity of suspenders, which play a critical role in the serviceability and reliability of a bridge during its lifetime. The study assessed the fatigue life of the suspenders, accounting for the stochastic wind and traffic loads using the in-situ monitoring data. The results indicate that it is of paramount importance to consider both the wind and traffic load effects in the fatigue reliability evaluation of the suspenders. The research could provide essential guidelines for the optimization of inspection and replacement in the maintenance practices for suspenders. [PERSON] et al. [6] also addressed the fatigue issue in UWS bridges due to corrosion. The result shows that the Corrosion-Fatigue life can be quantified under the effects of the stress range, stress ratio, corrosive environment and average daily truck traffic (ADTT). The result has revealed the different influence that the parameters have on the initiation life and propagation life. [PERSON] et al. [7] investigated seismic damage scenes relating to non-structural indoor components, which is critical for virtual earthquake safety drills and can teach occupants how to survive during earthquakes. They developed a virtual scene-construction method for the seismic damage of suspended ceilings and moveable furniture using building information modeling (BIM). A virtual earthquake scene of the indoor non-structural components was constructed and applied in an earthquake safety drill.