Acoustic Emission-Based Quality Control and Defect Detection in Metal Additive Manufacturing

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue of the Journal of Manufacturing and Materials Processing focuses on acoustic emission (AE) as an enabler of in situ quality assurance and defect detection in metal additive manufacturing (AM). We seek original research and reviews that advance sensing, interpretation, and control across processes such as laser powder bed fusion, electron beam melting, and directed energy deposition. Topics include design and calibration of AE sensors and arrays; physics-based understanding of AE sources (spatter, keyholing, lack of fusion, cracking, delamination); time–frequency and wavelet analysis; sparse/compressive acquisition; machine and deep learning for event classification, localization, and prognosis; multimodal fusion with thermography, vision, or melt-pool signals; real-time anomaly detection and closed-loop control; correlation of AE signatures with microstructure, porosity, residual stress, and mechanical performance; benchmark datasets, uncertainty quantification, and validation protocols; case studies in industrial environments, and standardization efforts.

Contributions should emphasize quantitative methods, open and reproducible workflows, and clear links between AE features and actionable quality metrics. We particularly encourage studies that compare AE with alternative monitoring modalities, report detection limits and false-alarm rates, and translate findings into decision thresholds for inspection or process adjustment. Both laboratory and production-scale investigations are welcome, as are application notes, comparative assessments, and well-documented negative results. By consolidating approaches from sensing, materials science, and manufacturing control, this Special Issue aims to accelerate the development of robust AE-enabled QA for certifiable metal AM components.

Dr. Kilian Tschöke
Dr. Masoud Mohammadgholiha
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. Journal of Manufacturing and Materials Processing 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 1800 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.

• acoustic emission
• metal additive manufacturing
• in situ defect detection
• quality control in AM