Advances in steel and metallic alloys continue to rely on a fundamental understanding of the relationships among chemical composition, processing, microstructure, and resulting properties. With the increasing demand for higher strength, improved durability, corrosion resistance, and reliable performance under severe service conditions, the development of advanced characterization, processing, modeling, and data-driven approaches has become increasingly important.
This Special Issue, “Investigation of Microstructural and Properties of Steels and Alloys”, brings together eight research articles addressing recent developments in the processing, characterization, and prediction of the behavior of steels and other metallic alloys. The contributions span steels, Ni-based corrosion-resistant alloys, titanium and zinc alloys, and metallic coatings, demonstrating the broad relevance of microstructure–property relationships across modern metallic materials. Several studies have focused on thermomechanical processing and microstructural evolution. Zhou et al. (contribution 1,2) investigated the hot-deformation behavior of a high-Nb, ultra-high-strength Ni-based corrosion-resistant alloy through constitutive modeling and processing-window development. In a related study, the dynamic recrystallization behavior of an ultra-high-strength Ni-based corrosion-resistant alloy was examined and modeled, providing further insights into the microstructural evolution during hot working. Cao et al. (contribution 3) investigated the development of a multilayer gradient microstructure in 32CrNi3MoV steel subjected to extreme thermochemical cycling using advanced characterization techniques.
This Special Issue also highlights emerging computational approaches in physical metallurgy. Tiwari et al. (contribution 4) applied gradient-boosting machine learning to predict microstructural evolution and mechanical properties in heat-treated steels, demonstrating how data-driven methods can complement conventional experimental approaches for understanding complex composition–processing–property relationships. Other studies have demonstrated how composition and processing routes can be employed to tailor material performance. Motýľová et al. (contribution 5) investigated the influence of silicon content on the microstructural, mechanical, and tribological behavior of Fe–Si steels. Peng et al. (contribution 6) examined the influence of B(OCH3)3 activation on Cu–Mn–Al alloy coatings produced by cold metal transfer cladding, emphasizing the relationship between processing conditions, coating microstructure, and mechanical properties.
Microstructural refinement through deformation processing is another important theme. Guo et al. (contribution 7) investigated the mechanical and corrosion properties of ultrafine-grained TC4-0.55Fe alloy processed by equal-channel angular pressing, illustrating the influence of severe plastic deformation on material performance. Liu et al. (contribution 8) studied the effect of cold rolling on the microstructural evolution and mechanical properties of a Zn-3Cu-1Mg-0.3Nd alloy, demonstrating the potential of thermomechanical processing for the optimization of biodegradable metallic materials. Collectively, these studies emphasize that controlling the microstructure remains central to the development of high-performance metallic materials. They also demonstrate an increasing integration of advanced characterization, thermomechanical processing, constitutive modeling, and machine learning. Future progress will likely involve closer integration of experimental metallurgy with computational and data-driven approaches to accelerate alloy development while retaining physically meaningful interpretations of material behavior.
As Guest Editors, we sincerely thank all the authors for contributing their valuable research to this Special Issue and all the reviewers for their careful evaluations and constructive comments. We also thank the editorial team of Crystals for their continuous support during the preparation of this Special Issue. We hope that this collection will provide a useful reference and stimulate further research on the processing, characterization, modeling, and optimization of advanced steels and metallic alloys.
Conflicts of Interest
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
List of Contributions
- Zhou, D.; He, Q.; Meng, G.; Jiang, W.; Zhang, T.; Wang, Z. Development of a Flow-Stress Constitutive Model and Hot-Processing Window for a High-Nb, Ultra-High-Strength (205 ksi) Nickel-Based Corrosion-Resistant Alloy. Crystals 2026, 16, 447. https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst16070447.
- Zhou, D.; He, Q.; Meng, G.; Gou, P.; Jiang, W.; Zhang, T. Dynamic Recrystallization Behavior and Prediction Model of an Ultra-High-Strength Nickel-Based Corrosion-Resistant Alloy During Hot Deformation. Crystals 2026, 16, 424. https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst16070424.
- Cao, J.; Liu, Y.; Zhu, M.; Jiang, Y.; Li, Z.; Liu, Y.; Wang, J. Evolution of a Multilayer Gradient Microstructure in 32CrNi3MoV Steel Under Extreme Thermochemical Cycling. Crystals 2026, 16, 362. https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst16060362.
- Tiwari, S.; Dash, K.; Heo, S.; Park, N.; Reddy, N.G.S. Machine Learning-Driven Prediction of Microstructural Evolution and Mechanical Properties in Heat-Treated Steels Using Gradient Boosting. Crystals 2026, 16, 61. https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst16010061.
- Motýľová, M.; Petrišinec, I.; Džunda, R.; Andrejovská, J. Influence of Silicon Content on Mechanical and Tribological Properties of FeSi Steels. Crystals 2025, 15, 1005. https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst15121005.
- Peng, J.; Xie, S.; Xia, J.; Wang, X.; Ni, Z.; Wang, P.; Chen, N. Effect of the Activator B(OCH3)3 on the Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Cu-Mn-Al Alloy Coating via CMT Cladding. Crystals 2025, 15, 881. https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst15100881.
- Guo, Y.; Lu, Y.; He, M.; Wang, Y.; Dong, Y.; Alexandrov, I.V. Mechanical and Corrosion Properties of Ultrafine-Grained TC4-0.55Fe Alloy Processed by Equal-Channel Angular Pressing. Crystals 2025, 15, 795. https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst15090795.
- Liu, H.; Yang, Z.; Yang, Z.; Wu, Y.; Ju, J. Effect of Cold Rolling on Microstructure Evolution and Mechanical Properties of Zn-3Cu-1Mg-0.3Nd Alloy. Crystals 2025, 15, 769. https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst15090769.
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