Laser Processing of Composites and Metals

A special issue of Journal of Manufacturing and Materials Processing (ISSN 2504-4494).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (28 February 2026) | Viewed by 591

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Laboratory of Materials Research, Vilnius Gediminas Technical University (VILNIUSTECH), J. Basanavičiaus g. 28, 03224 Vilnius, Lithuania
Interests: welding technology; thermal spraying; mechanical testing; non-destructive testing; microscopic structural analysis; metal alloys; composite materials

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Lasers are widely used as tools with exceptional capabilities in many applications of modern materials processing. The development of new laser sources and processes is continuously expanding the use and performance of laser materials processing. The use of new engineering metallic and composite materials developed for special purposes has become a challenge for industry. This Special Issue welcomes novel contributions reporting advances in applications of laser materials processing, which includes diverse laser-aided manufacturing processes such as ablation, drilling, cutting, welding, soldering, cleaning, marking, cladding, annealing, surface treatment, additive manufacturing, synthesis of new materials, and other new processes. The objective of the present Special Issue is to illustrate recent developments in the laser processing of modern metallic materials and composites, focusing on the main concepts and fundamental mechanisms using experimental, theoretical, or computational methods or combinations of these approaches. This Special Issue is expected also to discuss the characteristics of advanced materials laser processing techniques and the principles of laser parameter choices. Submissions should concern any metallic or composite materials processing application where lasers are an essential tool. These new results improve our understanding of various aspects of new materials laser processing and increase our knowledge about process selection for different industrial application conditions. We intend to gather a significant number of multidisciplinary submissions addressing the following areas:

  • Laser processing of new composite materials;
  • Laser processing of modern metallic materials;
  • Laser processing of films and coatings;
  • New laser techniques for materials laser processing;
  • New approaches for material laser processing;
  • Microstructural and mechanical analysis of laser processed materials;
  • Numerical simulation of laser processing.

Dr. Nikolaj Visniakov
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • laser
  • processing
  • treatment
  • composite
  • metals
  • alloy

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

20 pages, 12818 KB  
Article
Laser Welding of Polypropylene to HDPE/GNP Nanocomposites: Optimization of Flexural and Impact Strength Using Response Surface Methodology
by Maged Faihan Alotaibi
J. Manuf. Mater. Process. 2026, 10(5), 172; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmmp10050172 - 14 May 2026
Viewed by 332
Abstract
This study addresses a persistent challenge in polymer joining: the laser welding of two incompatible thermoplastics, polypropylene (PP) and high-density polyethylene (HDPE). The key innovation lies in modifying HDPE with 3 wt% graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) via material extrusion (MEX), which raises its melting [...] Read more.
This study addresses a persistent challenge in polymer joining: the laser welding of two incompatible thermoplastics, polypropylene (PP) and high-density polyethylene (HDPE). The key innovation lies in modifying HDPE with 3 wt% graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) via material extrusion (MEX), which raises its melting temperature from 136.8 °C to 138.8 °C and increases crystallinity from 46.9% to 51.4%, as confirmed by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). This thermal adjustment brings HDPE closer to PP’s melting behavior, enabling effective laser butt welding using a pulsed CO2 laser. A Box–Behnken design within response surface methodology (RSM) was employed to model the individual and interactive effects of laser power (30–50 W), welding speed (15–25 mm/s), and pulse frequency (25–35 Hz) on the flexural and impact strength of the welded joints. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed that optimal welding conditions—laser power of 49 W, welding speed of 20 mm/s, and pulse frequency of 35 Hz—produce a defect-free interface with complete polymer chain interdiffusion. Under these optimized conditions, the regression models predicted a flexural strength of 69.7 MPa and an impact strength of 21.9 kJ/m2. Confirmation experiments yielded 68.2 MPa and 22.6 kJ/m2, with relative errors below 4%, validating the predictive capability of the models. This work demonstrates that GNP-mediated thermal property modification, coupled with statistical process optimization, offers a viable pathway for manufacturing high-performance dissimilar polymer joints for lightweight structural applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Laser Processing of Composites and Metals)
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