Journal profile · Engineering, Civil
Thin-Walled Structures
ISSN 0263-8231 · eISSN 1879-3223 · Elsevier Ltd · ENGLAND · Monthly · Founded 1983
Thin-Walled Structures: CAS Zone 2 · Engineering (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal); impact factor 8.31; hybrid open access; APC about USD 4,440; review about 101 days (submission to acceptance, publisher); 1,382 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Thin-Walled Structures is published by Elsevier Ltd and is in Zone 2 of Engineering in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Structural Load-Bearing Analysis, Composite Structure Analysis and Optimization and Structural Behavior of Reinforced Concrete, together about 38.5% of its articles. Its main subfields are Civil and Structural Engineering. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Thin-walled structures comprise an important and growing proportion of engineering construction with areas of application becoming increasingly diverse, ranging from aircraft, automotive, bridges, ships, oil rigs to storage vessels, industrial buildings and warehouses.Many factors, including cost and weight economy, new materials and processes and the growth of powerful methods of analysis have contributed to this growth, and led to the need for a journal which concentrates specifically on structures in which problems arise due to the thinness of the walls. This field includes cold–formed sections, plate and shell structures, reinforced plastics structures and aluminium structures, and is of importance in many branches of engineering. Recently, this field has also been extended to include thin-walled nanostructures, such as 2D X-enes (e.g. graphene) and other related ones, and their mechanical and strength properties.The primary criterion for consideration of papers in Thin-Walled Structures is that they must be concerned with thin–walled structures or the basic problems inherent in thin–walled structures. Provided this criterion is satisfied no restriction is placed on the type of construction, material or field of application. Papers on theory, experiment, design, etc., are published and it is expected that many papers will contain aspects of all three.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Engineering, Civil
Editor-in-chief N. SilvestrePublisher website
Editorial board by country: 15 in mainland China (about 18%); most named United Kingdom 16, Mainland China 15, Australia 13, Hong Kong, China 6, United States 6 (82 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Structural Load-Bearing AnalysisEngineering17.1%
- Composite Structure Analysis and OptimizationEngineering12.1%
- Structural Behavior of Reinforced ConcreteEngineering9.4%
- Structural Analysis and OptimizationEngineering7.4%
- Cellular and Composite StructuresEngineering6.5%
- Mechanical Behavior of CompositesEngineering4.7%
- Vibration and Dynamic AnalysisEngineering4.4%
- Fire effects on concrete materialsEngineering4.1%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Engineering Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Engineering | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Mechanics | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Engineering, Civil | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Engineering, Mechanical | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Engineering Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Engineering | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Engineering, Civil | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Engineering, Mechanical | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Mechanics | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Engineering Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Engineering | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Engineering, Civil | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Engineering, Mechanical | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Mechanics | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 8.31LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 8.3Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 12LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 12Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.73LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.98LetPub ·
- h-index
- 73LetPub ·
- h-index
- 154OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 7,705OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 8.29OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 15.7%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 12.37%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 1,306LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 12,263 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 1,124 | 159 | 1,250 |
| 2025 | 1,382 | 203 | 9,514 |
| 2024 | 1,208 | 206 | 20,034 |
| 2023 | 948 | 180 | 21,523 |
| 2022 | 959 | 155 | 25,064 |
| 2021 | 734 | 131 | 22,579 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Publisher-reported review time from the journal's website
101 dayssubmission to acceptance · community reports about 6 months
The publisher's own definition applies; dates from this journal's articles in the last 24 months are not available yet, so the publisher's figure is used.
Figures by source
- Average review time (community reports)
- about 6 monthsLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- 50%LetPub ·
- Submission to first decision
- 3 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 43 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance
- 101 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 2 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Single anonymous peer reviewPublisher website
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 4,440 / EUR 4,150 / GBP 3,550 / JPY 550,690 | — | — | |
| Publisher website | USD 4,730 | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
Open calls for papers2, by deadline
Publisher websiteWhat to prepare6 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 250 words
- Keywords
- 1–7
- Reference style
- Numbered, in order of citation
- First submission
- Free format: the journal's layout is not required
- Highlights
- Required
- Graphical abstract
- Optional
Article types accepted6
- book reviewsOriginal papers Review articles Short communications/technical notes Forthcoming conferences and meetings Book reviews Letters to the EditorLength not stated
- forthcoming conferences and meetingsOriginal papers Review articles Short communications/technical notes Forthcoming conferences and meetings Book reviews Letters to the EditorLength not stated
- letters to the editorOriginal papers Review articles Short communications/technical notes Forthcoming conferences and meetings Book reviews Letters to the EditorLength not stated
- original papersOriginal papers Review articles Short communications/technical notes Forthcoming conferences and meetings Book reviews Letters to the EditorLength not stated
- review articlesOriginal papers Review articles Short communications/technical notes Forthcoming conferences and meetings Book reviews Letters to the EditorLength not stated
- short communications/technical notesOriginal papers Review articles Short communications/technical notes Forthcoming conferences and meetings Book reviews Letters to the EditorLength not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, Publication ethics, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review, Preprints
- AI use Declaration of generative AI use
Authors must declare the use of generative AI tools in the manuscript preparation process upon submission of the paper.Generative AI and AI-assisted technologies (“AI tools”) have been rapidly adopted in research and scholarly publishing, offering significant benefits while requiring clear standards for responsible and transparent use.Authors preparing a manuscript for this journal may use AI tool…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Authorship Group authorship
Authorship criteria Model summary
Group authorship refers to the attribution of an article to a defined and named group of authors whose members have contributed to the work. Examples include research consortia, clinical trial groups, collaborative networks, task forces or working groups, expert panels or consensus groups, and participatory research groups. Group authorship must be declared on the title page at submission. When av…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Declaration of competing interests
All authors must disclose any financial and personal relationships with other people or organizations that could inappropriately influence or bias their work. Examples of potential competing interests include:EmploymentConsultanciesStock ownershipHonorariaPaid expert testimonyPatent applications or registrationsGrants or any other fundingAffiliation with the journal as an Editor or Advisory Board …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics
Publishing ethics policy Model summary
Authors must follow ethical guidelines stated in Elsevier's Publishing Ethics Policy.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright License options
Authors will be offered open access user license options which will determine how you, and third parties, can reuse your open access article. We advise that you review these options and any funding body license requirements before selecting a license option.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access
We refer you to our open access information page to learn about open access options for this journal.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer review
Single anonymized review process Model summary
This journal follows a single anonymized review process. Your submission will initially be assessed by our editors. If your submission is deemed suitable, it will typically be sent to be reviewed by a minimum of two reviewers for an independent expert assessment of the scientific quality. The decision as to whether your article is accepted or rejected for publication will be made by our editors.Re…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints Preprints
Preprint sharing Model summary
Preprint sharingAuthors may share preprints in line with Elsevier's article sharing policy. Sharing preprints, such as on a preprint server, will not count as prior publication.We advise you to read our policy on multiple, redundant or concurrent publication.
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Elsevier Ltd
- Country or region
- ENGLAND
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Monthly
- Founded
- 1983
- ISSN
- 0263-8231
- Electronic ISSN
- 1879-3223
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Thin-Walled Structures
What CAS zone is Thin-Walled Structures in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Thin-Walled Structures is in Zone 2 of Engineering, and in Zone 1 of the minor category Mechanics / Engineering, Civil / Engineering, Mechanical; it is a Top journal. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 1 of Engineering. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Thin-Walled Structures?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 8.31; CiteScore 12, h-index 154.
How long does peer review take at Thin-Walled Structures?
The publisher reports about 101 days (submission to acceptance); authors report an average review time of about 6 months. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
What are the manuscript requirements of Thin-Walled Structures?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 250 words; Keywords: 1–7; Reference style: Numbered, in order of citation; First submission: Free format: the journal's layout is not required; Highlights: Required; Graphical abstract: Optional. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Where are the editorial board members of Thin-Walled Structures based?
Of the 82 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 15 (about 18%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United Kingdom (16), Mainland China (15) and Australia (13). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Thin-Walled Structures?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Thin-Walled Structures is indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Is Thin-Walled Structures open access, and what is the APC?
Thin-Walled Structures is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 4,440.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-26). Last updated: .