Mechanics and Manufacturing of Advanced Composite Materials and Structures

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Department of Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics, The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487, USA
Interests: materials; computational and experimental mechanics; additive manufacturing; aerospace structures

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Composite materials are at the forefront of innovation, offering exceptional strength-to-weight ratios, tunable multifunctional properties, and sustainability advantages. This Special Issue seeks original research articles, reviews, and short communications addressing the scientific and engineering challenges associated with developing and applying advanced composites.

This Special Issue aims to highlight the latest advances in the mechanics, processing, and characterization of advanced composite materials for high-performance applications across aerospace, automotive, energy, biomedical, and other sectors. Potential submissions may include various composite manufacturing techniques, mechanical behavior, testing, characterization, damage models, and multiscale modeling.

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Experimental and computational mechanics of composite materials at different length scales.
  • Fracture and failure analysis of composite structures.
  • Emerging composites, including nanocomposites and functionally graded composites.
  • Novel manufacturing techniques, including additive and hybrid manufacturing.
  • Process–structure–property relationship.
  • Composites for high-temperature applications.
  • Development of rapid curing resins for thermoset composites.
  • Automated fiber placement.
  • Robot-assisted additive manufacturing of fiber-reinforced thermoplastic and thermoset polymers.
  • Sustainable and recycled composite materials.
  • Modeling and simulation at different length scales, including multiscale modeling.
  • AI/ML in composites.
  • High-throughput and autonomous manufacturing approaches.

Dr. Easir Papon
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. 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.

Keywords

  • carbon fiber reinforced composites
  • nanocomposites
  • thermoset and thermoplastic composites
  • fatigue and fracture
  • additive manufacturing
  • automated fiber placement
  • automated tape laying
  • sustainability and recycled composites
  • multiscale modeling
  • AI/ML in composites
  • process–structure–property relationship
  • data-driven materials design
  • autonomous manufacturing

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

14 pages, 1993 KB  
Article
Experimental Investigation into the Influence of Infill Density, Print Pattern, and Built-Up Direction on the Flexural Strength of FFF-Manufactured PLA Components
by Christoph Buss, Fabio Reci, Thomas Hribernig and Stefan Steininger
J. Manuf. Mater. Process. 2026, 10(1), 21; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmmp10010021 - 7 Jan 2026
Viewed by 320
Abstract
This study evaluates the flexural strength of poly lactic acid parts (PLAs) fabricated with fused filament fabrication (FFF) by systematically analyzing the combined effects of infill density, infill pattern, and built-up orientation. Therefore, samples with 10, 30, 50, 70, and 90% infill densities [...] Read more.
This study evaluates the flexural strength of poly lactic acid parts (PLAs) fabricated with fused filament fabrication (FFF) by systematically analyzing the combined effects of infill density, infill pattern, and built-up orientation. Therefore, samples with 10, 30, 50, 70, and 90% infill densities were printed with cubic and triangular patterns in all three possible built-up directions (Cartesian X, Y, Z) and subjected to a standardized three-point bending test according to ISO 178, while printing time was concurrently assessed to quantify trade-offs between mechanical performance and manufacturing efficiency. The results show that a cubic infill with layers transverse to the bending load (Y-direction) offers the highest flexural strength of about 31 MPa for 90% infill density at comparably low printing times. In addition to significantly longer printing times, samples printed in the X-direction achieved the highest flexural strengths across all configurations tested for both infill patterns examined, up to densities of approximately 60%. Full article
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