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Additive Manufacturing of Metal Matrix Composite Materials and Light Alloys

A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Metals and Alloys".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 June 2026 | Viewed by 808

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
College of Civil Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha, China
Interests: metal additive manufacturing; structural fire engineering; high-performance metal structures
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor Assistant
College of Civil Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha, China
Interests: additive manufacturing; metal structures; computational structural mechanics; finite element analysis; optimal structural design

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Metal matrix composites (MMCs) and advanced alloys offer superior mechanical and physical properties, including high specific strength, stiffness, and wear resistance, making them essential for demanding applications. However, conventional manufacturing methods often struggle with challenges related to inhomogeneous reinforcement distribution and poor interfacial bonding, thereby limiting their full potential. Additive manufacturing (AM) has emerged as a transformative technology, enabling the fabrication of MMCs and advanced alloys with unprecedented design freedom, complex geometries, and tailored microstructures.

This Special Issue will focus on emerging concepts and recent advances related to the additive manufacturing of metal matrix composite materials and other advanced alloys, as well as on characterisation of their properties, performance, and applications in engineering disciplines.

Potential topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • MMC and advanced alloy feedstock development (e.g., Al, Ti, Ni, steel, high-entropy alloys);
  • Process optimisation and control for powder bed fusion (PBF), directed energy deposition (DED), and other AM techniques;
  • Microstructure evolution, characterisation, and property relationships;
  • Mechanical properties of AM alloys, including strength, stiffness, fatigue, fracture, and wear resistance;
  • Modelling and simulation of AM process and alloy materials;
  • Novel applications of AM alloys in aerospace, automotive, biomedical, and civil engineering;
  • In situ process monitoring, quality control, and machine learning integration;
  • Sustainability, recycling, and life cycle assessment of AM MMCs and advanced alloys.

This Special Issue will provide a comprehensive overview of recent advances and future perspectives in the field of AM alloys. We invite you to contribute to this Special Issue by submitting a paper related to the themes listed above.

Prof. Dr. Yao Sun
Guest Editor

Dr. Xi Chen
Guest Editor Assistant

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. 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

  • additive manufacturing
  • metal matrix composites
  • powder bed fusion
  • directed energy deposition
  • microstructure
  • mechanical properties
  • modelling and simulation
  • applications in engineering

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

14 pages, 2938 KB  
Article
Surface Integrity of Pure AW-1370 and TiC-Reinforced Aluminum WAAM Wires Under Unidirectional Sliding Contact
by Nuria Cuadrado, Giselle Ramirez, Alejandra Torres, J. Antonio Travieso-Rodriguez, Jordi Llumà, Geir Kvam-Langelandsvik, Ida Westermann and Montserrat Vilaseca
Materials 2026, 19(9), 1898; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma19091898 - 5 May 2026
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Abstract
Wire arc additive manufacturing (WAAM) demands aluminum feedstock with tightly controlled diameter and high surface integrity. Adding hard TiC nanoparticles is a viable route to enhance the mechanical response of Al wires, yet the associated increase in contact severity can accelerate the wear [...] Read more.
Wire arc additive manufacturing (WAAM) demands aluminum feedstock with tightly controlled diameter and high surface integrity. Adding hard TiC nanoparticles is a viable route to enhance the mechanical response of Al wires, yet the associated increase in contact severity can accelerate the wear of wire processing tools, particularly cemented carbide dies. This study elucidates the unidirectional sliding interaction between a TiC reinforced Al WAAM wire, and a WC/Co die material containing 5 wt% Co, using a modified scratch testing configuration under dry and lubricated conditions. Two dominant mechanisms are identified: (i) aluminum adhesion on the die surface and (ii) third body abrasion arising from WC particle pull out, promoted by preferential degradation of the cobalt binder. The presence of TiC nanoparticles reduces both the extent of Al transfer and the intensity of third body abrasion, an effect that is further amplified by lubrication. Consistently, lubrication also diminishes surface defects on the wire after sliding. The results provide a mechanistic basis to balance wire strengthening with tool life and highlight practical levers—nanoparticle reinforcement and lubrication strategies—for mitigating die damage while preserving WAAM wire surface quality. Full article
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