PSI - Issue 84

Available online at www.sciencedirect.com

ScienceDirect

Procedia Structural Integrity 84 (2026) 513–520

© 2026 The Authors. Published by ELSEVIER B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0) Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the Conference vulnerabilities. Results allowed validating the efficacy of a multi-sensor, UAV-based monitoring approach, embedded within a digitally integrated workflow, as a scalable and transferable solution for multi-hazard assessment, mitigation planning, and informed decision-making in geotechnically and infrastructurally complex settings. III Fabre Conference: Existing Bridges, Viaducts, and Tunnels: Research, Innovation, and Applications A multidisciplinary approach using UAV for the inspection of viaducts and related geological features: a case study from eastern Sicily Davide Caliò a *, Giovanna Pappalardo a , Simone Mineo a , Marco Intelisano b , Luca Cavallaro c , Francesco Cannizzaro c , Mariano Sanfilippo c , Ivo Caliò c a Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, University of Catania - Corso Italia 57, Catania 95125, bItaly, b Independent Researcher - Bergen, Norway, c Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture, University of Catania - via Santa Sofia 64, Catania 95125, Italy Abstract The escalating susceptibility of roadway infrastructures, particularly bridges and viaducts, to geological, structural, and hydrodynamic processes necessitates a substantial evolution in diagnostic and monitoring methodologies. Within the broader framework of climate change, the increasing frequency of extreme meteorological events, and the progressive deterioration of aging infrastructure assets, the adoption of an integrated assessment framework, encompassing both the structural performance and the geo-engineering characteristics of the surrounding environment, constitutes a critical prerequisite for ensuring the long term safety, functionality, and resilience of transport networks. Recent advancements in remote sensing technologies have significantly redefined the operational protocols for infrastructure diagnostics. In particular, the deployment of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) equipped with multi-sensor payloads has enabled a substantial enhancement in the spatiotemporal resolution and multidimensionality of data acquisition. This technological integration facilitates a comprehensive, non-invasive characterization of infrastructure conditions, supporting the early detection and quantitative analysis of structural deterioration phenomena, superficial erosional dynamics, and both geological and hydraulic instability processes. The present study illustrates the implementation of this methodological framework through its application to a case study involving a viaduct located in southeastern Sicily, part of a motorway system exhibiting pronounced geomorphological, hydraulic, and structural

* Corresponding author. E-mail address: davide.calio@phd.unict.it

2452-3216 © 2026 The Authors. Published by ELSEVIER B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0) Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the Conference 10.1016/j.prostr.2026.06.066