Author guidelines

Overview

Manuscripts submitted to Journal of Infrastructure, Materials and Mechanical Engineering (JIMME) must be written in clear, correct English and fall within the journal’s aims and scope. Each submission should include:

1. A title page (separate file)
2. An anonymised manuscript with abstract and keywords
3. Main text, declarations and references
4. Figures and tables (figures also as separate files)
5. Supplementary files, if any
6. A cover letter

These guidelines add journal-specific rules to the general FTI author guidelines. Where the two differ, follow this page.

Article types and length

Word counts include the main text only, not the abstract, references, tables or figure captions.

Manuscript format

• Submit an editable Word (.docx) or LaTeX file. PDF alone is not accepted.
• Use a single column, 12-point font, 1.5 line spacing, and number all pages and lines.
• Use UK or US spelling, but not a mix of both.
• Define each abbreviation the first time it is used, and add a list of abbreviations if there are more than five.
• Use no more than three levels of headings.

Title page

Because review is double-blind, the title page is a separate file. It must include:

• A title of no more than 25 words, without abbreviations.
• A short running title of no more than 50 characters.
• Full names, affiliations and ORCID iDs of all authors.
• The name, address and email of the corresponding author.
• Word count, and the number of figures and tables.

Abstract and keywords

Write one paragraph of up to 250 words (300 for reviews) covering the problem, the method or design, how it was tested, the main quantitative results and the engineering implications. Do not cite references in the abstract.

Give 4 to 6 keywords that do not repeat words in the title.

Main text

Original research articles should follow this order:

1. Introduction: the engineering problem, the knowledge gap and the aim of the study.
2. Materials and test set-up: materials, specimens, equipment, test standards and how data were collected.
3. Methods: experimental, numerical (for example finite element or CFD) or analytical methods, including boundary conditions, model validation and uncertainty analysis.
4. Results: the main findings with units and uncertainty ranges.
5. Discussion: comparison with other studies, limitations, and implications for design, industry and practice.
6. Conclusions: the main findings and recommendations.

Technical notes and case studies may use a shorter structure, but must clearly state the problem, the method and the result.

Reporting standards

Follow the reporting guideline that fits your study and upload the completed checklist with your submission.

Ethics and consent

• Work on existing structures or sites needs the owner's permission; state this in the Methods.
• Experiments with human participants (for example ergonomics or user testing) need ethics approval and informed consent.
• Commercial or proprietary data may only be used with permission from its owner.
• Disclose any funding from, or role of, companies whose products are tested.

See also our publication ethics policy.

Data availability

Include a data availability statement. Share data, simulation input files and code in a public repository (for example Zenodo or Mendeley Data) wherever possible, so others can check and reuse the results.

Declarations

Add these statements after the conclusions and before the references:

• Author contributions (using the CRediT roles).
• Funding: funder names and grant numbers, or "This research received no external funding".
• Conflicts of interest for every author, or "The authors declare no conflicts of interest".
• Ethics approval and consent, where relevant.
• Data availability statement.
• Use of generative AI: describe any tool used for writing or analysis. AI tools cannot be listed as authors.
• Acknowledgements of people and institutions who helped but are not authors.

Figures, tables and units

• Number figures and tables in the order they are cited, each with a caption that can be understood on its own.
• Upload figures as separate files (TIFF, PNG or PDF) at 300 dpi or more, or as vector files for line drawings.
• Make tables in Word or LaTeX, not as images.
• If you reuse a figure published elsewhere, you must have permission from the copyright holder.

Use SI units throughout (for example MPa, kN, mm, °C). Give material properties with the test conditions and the number of specimens. Drawings must show dimensions and scale, and use colour scales that are readable for people with colour blindness.

References (APA (7th edition) style)

JIMME uses the APA (7th edition) reference style.

• Cite in the text by author and year, for example (Surname, 2024) or Surname and Surname (2024). For three or more authors, use (Surname et al., 2024).
• List references alphabetically by the first author’s surname.
• Standards and technical reports should include the issuing body, number, year and title (for example ISO 6892-1:2019 or EN 1992-1-1).
• Include the DOI whenever one exists.

Formats:

• Journal article: Surname, A. B., Surname, C. D., & Surname, E. F. (Year). Title of the article. Journal Title, Volume(Issue), first–last page. https://doi.org/10.xxxx/xxxxx
• Book: Surname, A. B. (Year). Title of the book (Edition). Publisher.
• Report: Organisation Name. (Year). Title of the report. URL

Article processing charge and licence

• No fee is charged at submission.
• An article processing charge (APC) of €1,399 is invoiced only after the manuscript has been peer reviewed and accepted.
• Withdrawal: withdrawing before peer review starts is free. A withdrawal charge of €499 applies after peer review has started or after substantial editorial work.
• Payment never affects the editorial decision or guarantees publication. Authors covered by an FTI membership do not pay the APC.
• Authors keep copyright, and articles are published open access under the CC BY 4.0 licence.
• See our refund and cancellation policy.

Submission checklist

• The paper fits the aims and scope of JIMME.
• The manuscript is anonymised and within the word limit.
• The title page is a separate file.
• The abstract and keywords follow this page.
• The reporting checklist is attached, if one applies.
• All declarations are included.
• References follow the APA (7th edition) style, with DOIs.
• Figures are uploaded as separate high-resolution files.
• The cover letter confirms the work is original and not under review elsewhere.
• You have read the APC and withdrawal charge terms.