The 2021 International Symposium on Structural Integrity (ISSI2021) is the 11th annual symposium on Structural Integrity Series. Before ISSI2021, the ISSI2010 was held at Shanghai in 2010, the ISSI2011 at Hefei in 2011, the ISSI2012 at Jinan in 2012, the ISSI2014 at Lanzhou in 2014, the ISSI2015 at Shenyang in 2015, the ISSI2016 at Tianjin in 2016, the joint conference of ESIA14-ISSI2017 in Manchester (UK) in 2017, the ISSI2018 at Nanjing in 2018, the joint conference of ESIA15-ISSI2019 in Cambridge (UK) in 2019, followed by the ISSI2020 at Suzhou in 2020. The predecessor of the annual symposium, Fracture Mechanics (FM) series, took place each year from 2003 to 2009 and was also organized by CSIC.

The ISSI2021 will be held at Hangzhou, China, by Zhejiang University of Technology, during October 8-11, 2021. Due to COVID-19, ISSI2021 will be held on line and on site simultaneously. The predecessor of the annual symposium, Fracture Mechanics series, took place each year from 2003 to 2009, was renamed as Structural Integrity series after 2010, and organized by China Structural Integrity Consortium (CSIC).

Carbon reduction has been closely bound up with the economy and social development. An increasing number of countries have issued their targets and roadmaps for carbon neutrality, which requires more efficient, energy-saving and reliable technology and equipment. The integrity of structures in the relevant industries, as a guarantee, plays an important role in the realization of carbon neutrality. All this underpins the theme of ISIS2021, “Structural Integrity in the Context of Carbon Neutrality”.

A higher demand for structural integrity is brought to meet the requirements for carbon neutrality, either for ageing management or for design of advanced energy systems. To support the realization of carbon neutrality, it is necessary to improve structural integrity theory and technology in terms of failure evaluation, life prediction, repair and remanufacturing, safety inspection and health monitoring.

The aim of this symposium is hence to bring together people from both academic and industrial communities to exchange ideas and network friendship by discussing emerging structural integrity issues related to carbon neutrality, where papers toward are mostly welcome.