Integrating Topology Optimization and Metal Additive Manufacturing for Functionally Graded Material Structures

Dear Colleagues,

In recent years, significant advancements have been made in advanced engineering materials, including developing functionally graded materials (FGMs) and structures. Drawing from naturally occurring graded structures found in biological materials such as bones, wood, and tissues, FGMs have emerged as an up-and-coming class of materials, offering substantial advantages over their homogeneous counterparts. These materials exhibit spatially organised property gradients, resulting in exceptional mechanical performance and opening up new avenues for advanced structural design.

The progress in FGMs has been driven by exploring digital manufacturing technologies, specifically focusing on topology optimisation (TO) and various additive manufacturing (AM) techniques. By leveraging TO and AM, researchers have fabricated structures with specific-oriented architectures and functionalities tailored to address benchmark mechanical stress problems by incorporating properly graded material solutions. Among the promising AM techniques for producing FGM structural parts is wire arc additive manufacturing (WAAM), which has gained recognition for its capabilities in this field.

TO plays a pivotal role in enabling the optimal design of FGMs and is an active research area in structural and multidisciplinary optimisation. To enhance the characterisation of material parameters in FGMs, novel data reduction approaches can be developed, coupling inverse identification methods with full-field deformation measurements using digital image correlation (DIC). These techniques provide valuable insights into the behaviour and performance of FGM structures, contributing to further advancements in their design and production.

This Special Issue explores key topics related to the advances in TO and metal AM for FGM structures, encompassing a range of additive manufacturing techniques, including WAAM. We cordially invite researchers from various disciplines to contribute their expertise and insights, fostering a multidisciplinary approach towards advancing our understanding and knowledge in these domains. The ultimate goal is to push the state of the art in FGM design and production, validated through DIC and other characterisation methods.

We look forward to valuable contributions as we strive to unlock new frontiers in designing and manufacturing FGM structures, paving the way for safer, more reliable, and innovative materials for diverse applications.

Sincerely,

Dr. P. G. Coelho
Dr. José Xavier
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Materials is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• topology optimization
• functionally graded materials
• additive manufacturing
• wire arc additive manufacturing
• full-field identification methods