Microstructure and Deformation of Advanced Alloys (2nd Edition)

A special issue of Crystals (ISSN 2073-4352). This special issue belongs to the section "Crystalline Metals and Alloys".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 28 February 2026 | Viewed by 473

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Guizhou Key Laboratory of Materials Mechanical Behavior and Microstructure, College of Materials and Metallurgy, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China
Interests: non-ferrous metals and alloys; microstructure evolution; texture evolution; deformation behavior; mechanical properties; hot-working; cold-working
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Department of Energy, Ames Laboratory, Ames, IA 50011, USA
Interests: alloy thermodynamics; guided design of advanced alloys
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Following the successful first edition of this Special Issue of Crystals, we are pleased to announce that we are now accepting submissions to its second edition, entitled "Microstructure and Deformation of Advanced Alloys (2nd Edition)".

The evolution and deformation mechanisms that occur in the microstructure of alloys have been researched for over eight decades. While the initial work was mostly experimental, studies of defects (including dislocations) and their motion during deformations resulted in the development of mathematical models that describe deformation mechanisms. Despite the significant progress in this field, various questions remain unanswered. Therefore, this Special Issue welcomes the submission of articles related to the characterization of defects, microstructure evolution, deformation modelling, the design of advanced alloys, and the processing of alloys during manufacturing (including additive manufacturing and thermomechanical treatment). This Special Issue of Crystals aims to elucidate the interactions among the behaviour of defects, microstructure evolution, deformations, and the thermomechanical properties of advanced alloys, which are employed in various contexts (including energy generation and conversion, transportation and propulsion) relevant to the energy, transportation, and aerospace industries. The scope of this Special Issue includes, but is not limited to, the following topics:

  • Physics-based deformation models;
  • Microstructure evolution and deformation;
  • Alloy properties at low or high operating temperatures;
  • Plasticity models;
  • Deformation models that bridge multiple length scales;
  • Deformation mechanisms in 3D-printed materials and components;
  • Validation of theoretical predictions;
  • Illustration of deformation modelling in engineering applications.

It is a pleasure to invite you to submit research papers, communications, and reviews to this Special Issue.

Dr. Yuanbiao Tan
Dr. Nikolai Zarkevich
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. Crystals 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 2100 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

  • metals and alloys
  • defects
  • texture
  • microstructure
  • deformation
  • aging
  • properties
  • hot-working
  • cold-working

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

20 pages, 5035 KB  
Article
Effect of Small Deformations on Optimisation of Final Crystallographic Texture and Microstructure in Non-Oriented FeSi Steels
by Ivan Petrišinec, Marcela Motýľová, František Kováč, Ladislav Falat, Viktor Puchý, Mária Podobová and František Kromka
Crystals 2025, 15(10), 839; https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst15100839 - 26 Sep 2025
Viewed by 344
Abstract
Improving the isotropic magnetic properties of FeSi electrical steels has traditionally focused on enhancing their crystallographic texture and microstructural morphology. Strengthening the cube texture within a ferritic matrix of optimal grain size is known to reduce core losses and increase magnetic induction. However, [...] Read more.
Improving the isotropic magnetic properties of FeSi electrical steels has traditionally focused on enhancing their crystallographic texture and microstructural morphology. Strengthening the cube texture within a ferritic matrix of optimal grain size is known to reduce core losses and increase magnetic induction. However, conventional cold rolling followed by annealing remains insufficient to optimise the magnetic performance of thin FeSi strips fully. This study explores an alternative approach based on grain boundary migration driven by temperature gradients combined with deformation gradients, either across the sheet thickness or between neighbouring grains, in thin, weakly deformed non-oriented (NO) electrical steel sheets. The concept relies on deformation-induced grain growth supported by rapid heat transport to promote the preferential formation of coarse grains with favourable orientations. Experimental material consisted of vacuum-degassed FeSi steel with low silicon content. Controlled deformation was introduced by temper rolling at room temperature with 2–40% thickness reductions, followed by rapid recrystallisation annealing at 950 °C. Microstructure, texture, and residual strain distributions were analysed using inverse pole figure (IPF) maps, kernel average misorientation (KAM) maps, and orientation distribution function (ODF) sections derived from electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD) data. This combined thermomechanical treatment produced coarse-grained microstructures with an enhanced cube texture component, reducing coercivity from 162 A/m to 65 A/m. These results demonstrate that temper rolling combined with dynamic annealing can surpass the limitations of conventional processing routes for NO FeSi steels. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microstructure and Deformation of Advanced Alloys (2nd Edition))
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