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Advances in Metallic Alloys, Materials and High-Performance Additive Manufacturing: Challenges and Opportunities

A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Metals and Alloys".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 July 2026 | Viewed by 1775

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Centro de Investigación e Innovación en Ingeniería Aeronáutica (CIIIA), Facultad de Ingeniería Mecánica y Eléctrica, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, San Nicolás de los Garza, NL, Mexico
Interests: additive manufacturing; mechanical properties; superalloys; corrosion; electrochemistry

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Guest Editor
1. Instituto de Ciencias Aplicadas y Tecnología (ICAT), Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Circuito Exterior S/N, Ciudad Universitaria, Mexico City 04510, Mexico
2. National Laboratory for Additive and Digital Manufacturing, Mexico City, Mexico
Interests: the study of the material; manufacturing parameters and geometry relationship in Additive Manufacturing (AM) processes and their characterization; digital manufacturing & industry n.0; engineering design; the development of applications with additive and digital manufacturing

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The past decade has witnessed a revolutionary advancement in metal additive manufacturing (AM), transforming the landscape of component design and production across diverse industries. This rapid evolution, driven by the development of novel alloys specifically tailored for AM and increasingly accessible processing technologies, presents unprecedented opportunities to create components with enhanced properties and complex geometries previously unattainable. The international scientific community is now intensely focused on a comprehensive understanding and optimization of the entire AM value chain, from fundamental materials science to final component performance.

To capture these exciting developments and foster cutting-edge research, we are delighted to invite you to contribute to a Special Issue in Materials entitled “Advances in Metallic Alloys, Materials and High-Performance Additive Manufacturing: Challenges and Opportunities”.

This Special Issue aims at delving into the intricate interplay between innovative material systems, advanced processing methodologies, characterization, and critical post-manufacturing steps that collectively lead to superior performance in additively manufactured metallic components and applications. We encourage submissions that present a holistic perspective on pushing the boundaries of what is achievable with metal AM.

We welcome original research articles and comprehensive reviews covering (but not limited to) the following areas:

Advanced Metallic Materials: Design, synthesis, and characterization of novel alloys (e.g., high-entropy alloys, refractory metals, intermetallics, and smart materials) optimized for various metal additive manufacturing processes.

Microstructure Engineering: Control, evolution, and analysis of microstructures, including crystallographic texture and defects, and their correlation with performance in additively manufactured metallic components.

Multi-Material and Multi-Functional Additive Manufacturing: Strategies for the fabrication of multi-material systems, functionally graded materials, and the integration of diverse functionalities (e.g., sensors, heat exchangers, and customized properties) within AM parts.

Intelligent Process Control and Digital Manufacturing: Development of digital twin models, real-time process monitoring, closed-loop control systems, and computational methods (including AI/ML) for optimizing AM processes and ensuring quality.

Post-Processing Strategies and Technologies: Novel heat treatments (e.g., HIP, annealing, and aging), surface modification techniques, and other post-build processes to enhance mechanical properties, corrosion resistance, and surface finish of AM parts.

Performance Optimization and Applications: Comprehensive mechanical properties (fatigue, creep, fracture, and wear), corrosion assessment, and thermal performance of additively manufactured tooling, prototypes, and final parts for demanding applications (e.g., aerospace, biomedical, automotive, and energy).

Advanced Characterization and Non-Destructive Evaluation (NDE): Novel techniques for the in situ and ex situ characterization of AM materials and components.

Sustainability and Circular Economy: Aspects related to material efficiency, recycling, and environmental impact of metal additive manufacturing processes.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Patricia C. Zambrano-Robledo
Dr. Hector R. Siller
Dr. Leopoldo Ruiz-Huerta
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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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.

Keywords

  • additive manufacturing
  • emerging metallic alloys
  • novel strategies
  • material characterization
  • advanced metallic materials
  • microstructure engineering
  • multi-material and multi-functional additive manufacturing
  • intelligent process control and digital manufacturing
  • post-processing strategies and technologies
  • performance optimization and applications
  • advanced characterization and non-destructive evaluation (NDE)
  • sustainability and circular economy

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

25 pages, 10306 KB  
Article
Laser Powder Bed Fusion and Hot Forging of 316L Stainless Steel: A Hybrid Additive Manufacturing Approach for Enhanced Performance
by Sambhaji Kusekar, James Elder, Jay Desai, Showmik Ahsan, Daniel Young, Ganesh Walunj and Tushar Borkar
Materials 2025, 18(21), 4909; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma18214909 - 27 Oct 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1290
Abstract
Forging plays a crucial role in various industries, including aerospace, automotive, oil and gas, and defense. We investigated the effect of post-processing forging on microstructural and mechanical properties of 316L stainless steel forging preforms fabricated by laser powder bed fusion. The as-built samples [...] Read more.
Forging plays a crucial role in various industries, including aerospace, automotive, oil and gas, and defense. We investigated the effect of post-processing forging on microstructural and mechanical properties of 316L stainless steel forging preforms fabricated by laser powder bed fusion. The as-built samples were subjected to hot forging in order to refine the microstructure and enhance mechanical performance. Detailed characterization was performed using Electron Backscatter Diffraction, Scanning Electron Microscopy, Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy, Tensile testing, and Hardness Testing. Substantial grain refinement (up to 97%) was observed, in addition to a reduction in porosity. The forging process effectively transformed the columnar grain morphology into equiaxed grains, increased yield and ultimate tensile strengths of 560 MPa and 740 MPa, representing 27% and 32% improvements, respectively, with a corresponding decrease in elongation to 32% from 47%. The horizontally built samples achieved the highest yield strength of 605 MPa but slightly lower UTS 710 MPa, representing 32% and 5% increment and decrease in ductility to 28% from 37.5%. These trends reflect the combined effects of work hardening and grain refinement, which enhance strength at the expense of ductility. Full article
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