Advanced Manufacturing of Lightweight Structures: Forming, Simulation, and Green Composites
A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Manufacturing Processes and Systems".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 10 December 2026 | Viewed by 1205
Editor
Interests: composite materials; metals; metal foams; polymers; natural fibers; forming processes; FEM simulations; materials characterization
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
In recent years, the domain of lightweight structures has experienced remarkable progress. Currently, applications span a wide array of sectors, from aerospace and automotive engineering to civil construction and high-performance sporting equipment, where advanced structural solutions are reshaping industrial practices by delivering high strength combined with reduced mass.
A particularly dynamic area within this field concerns the adoption of green composite materials as alternatives to traditional synthetic composites. These materials are increasingly viewed as advanced fourth‑generation engineered composites, owing to their advantageous properties such as intrinsic composability, environmental compatibility, and the overall biodegradability of end products. As a result, they have attracted growing interest within both academic and industrial communities.
This Special Issue, titled “Advanced Manufacturing of Lightweight Structures: Forming, Simulation, and Green Composites”, aims to deepen the understanding of key principles governing lightweight structures and to provide a comprehensive reference for researchers, engineers, and practitioners interested in leveraging the potential of these materials. This Special Issue welcomes contributions addressing, but not limited to, the following topics:
- The role of lightweight materials, particularly green composites, in the design of energy-efficient systems;
- Recent advancements, emerging trends, and engineering applications in the field of lightweight structural solutions;
- Thermomechanical characterization of green composite systems;
- Forming technologies and processing routes employed in the manufacturing of advanced lightweight materials;
- End-of-life assessment of lightweight structures within the circular economy framework;
- Development of specialized material models and corresponding thermomechanical simulations.
Dr. Antonio Formisano
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
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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-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Materials is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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 2600 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
- lightweight structures
- green composites
- advanced manufacturing
- thermomechanical properties
- modeling and simulation
- recycling
- end-of-life
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