Experimental and Theoretical Analysis of Composite Manufacturing：Processes, Modelling, and Digital Integration

Dear Colleagues,

Composite materials, particularly polymer matrix composites, play a vital role in modern engineering applications due to their high strength-to-weight ratio, design flexibility, and excellent performance under demanding conditions. To fully exploit these advantages, a comprehensive understanding of the manufacturing processes is essential—from initial material forming to final assembly.

This Special Issue focuses on the experimental and theoretical analysis of composite manufacturing processes, aiming to advance our understanding of the physical phenomena and process–structure–property relationships across the full production chain. These stages include preforming, automated fibre placement (AFP), additive manufacturing (3D printing), curing and consolidation, machining, and joining/assembly.

With the growing demand for high-performance, cost-effective composite components across the aerospace, automotive, energy, and marine sectors, there is a pressing need to develop robust experimental techniques and predictive modelling tools that improve process reliability, reduce defects, and accelerate development cycles. This Special Issue seeks to highlight cutting-edge contributions that address these challenges through both fundamental studies and application-driven research.

We invite submissions in the following areas, although this Special Issue is not limited to these topics:

• Experimental/theoretical analysis of various composite manufacturing processes (forming, AFP, 3D printing, curing, machining, and joining);
• Novel experimental characterisation investigations in composite manufacturing;
• Multiphysics and multiscale modelling of composite manufacturing processes;
• Process optimisation and defect prediction;
• Integration of AI and data-driven approaches in composite manufacturing;
• Experimental validation of modelling tools.

We look forward to receiving your original research articles and reviews that contribute to advancing the science and technology of composite manufacturing.

Dr. Jia Ge
Dr. Dan Sun
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. Journal of Experimental and Theoretical Analyses is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly 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 1000 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.

• composite manufacturing
• carbon fibre-reinforced polymer (CFRP)
• manufacturing defects
• delamination
• multiphysics and multiscale modelling
• cutting/machining
• 3D printing
• curing