Friction Stir Welding of Lightweight Alloys

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue of Metals, entitled “Friction Stir Welding of Lightweight Alloys”, focuses on the very attractive friction stir welding (FSW) technology, a solid-state joining process widely used in many important industrial fields, such as in automotive, aerospace, and ship-building industries. The FSW process allows for the joining of sheets in similar and dissimilar lightweight alloys, difficult to weld through traditional fusion techniques. The frictional heat developed between tools and workpieces, along with that generated by the stirring action of the tool and the adiabatic heating, promote a strong plastic deformation of the workpieces and their complex mixing across the weld. In addition, friction stir welding is receiving growing interest, owing to the energy efficiency, environment friendliness, and versatility that make FSW a promisingly ecologic and "green" technology, compared with conventional welding techniques, due to the low temperatures involved and the solid state nature of the process. Furthermore, FSW leads to a decrease in material waste, and allows for avoiding radiation and dangerous fumes.

The present Special Issue aims to collect contributions on the FSW process applied to lightweight alloys, as well as to review the state of the art on this welding technique. The manuscripts of this Issue will focus on the most significant and promising settings and procedures of FSW, performed on both similar and dissimilar lightweight alloys. A comprehensive overview of the most recent results and findings in the field of microstructural analysis, mechanical behavior, and the post-welding formability of friction stir welded lightweight sheets will be provided.

Prof. Dr. Michela Simoncini
Guest Editor

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. Metals is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly 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.