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Wettability on Smart Structures: Materials and Applications

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 November 2026 | Viewed by 568

Editors


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Guest Editor
Centre for Composite Materials and Structures, Harbin Institute of Technology (HIT), Harbin 150080, China
Interests: biomimetics; smart materials and structures; bionic design of micro/nanostructures; anti/de-icing strategies
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Guest Editor
Key Laboratory of Bionic Engineering, Ministry of Education, Jilin University, Changchun 130022, China
Interests: bionics; smart materials; marine engineering coatings; antifouling/antibacterial materials
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Centre for Composite Materials and Structures, Harbin Institute of Technology (HIT), Harbin 150080, China
Interests: smart materials; shape-memory polymers; 4D printing
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Marine Science and Technology Domain, Beijing Institute of Technology, Zhuhai 519088, China
Interests: smart textile composites; multiscale modelling and characterization; nonlinear and dynamic mechanical behavior; lightweight structures; blast and impact resistance
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Centre for Composite Materials and Structures, Harbin Institute of Technology (HIT), Harbin 150080, China
Interests: physics; mechnics; metamaterials

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to invite you to submit your research paper to our Special Issue, titled “Wettability on smart structures: Materials and Applications”.

Advanced biomimetic materials enable tunable wettability on smart structures by emulating bio-inspired topographies (e.g., lotus leaves, pitcher plants). Using advanced manufacturing, these surfaces achieve superhydrophobicity to superhydrophilicity, with adaptive behavior driven by stimuli-responsive metals, composites, and polymers. Key to this is mechano-thermo-chemical coupling: mechanical strain alters topography, temperature gradients affect surface energy, and chemical reactions modulate functional groups. This cross-disciplinary integration (mechanics, thermodynamics, surface chemistry) drives innovations in self-cleaning coatings, liquid–repellent interfaces, and smart fluidic devices. Emerging directions include self-healing wettability and on-demand responses to environmental triggers, paving the way for next-generation aircraft, biomedical, energy, and sensing applications.

This Special Issue invites contributions addressing experimental, theoretical, and simulation-based studies on the wetting phenomena of liquid metals. Topics of interest for publication include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Smart structures;
  • Synthesis and characterization of biomimetic materials;
  • Smart materials: metals, composites, and polymers;
  • Design of biomimetic structures;
  • Multiscale manufacturing;
  • Advanced surfaces and coatings;
  • Additive manufacturing;
  • Mechanical analysis;
  • Wettability on composite materials;
  • Applications on aircrafts, ships, power systems, etc.

Dr. Xinlin Li
Dr. Huichao Jin
Dr. Cheng Lin
Dr. Mingming Xu
Dr. Chenchao Fang
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-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

  • bionic design
  • smart materials
  • smart structures
  • micro- and nanostructures
  • mechanical analysis
  • functional design

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

18 pages, 14341 KB  
Article
In Situ Multi-Scale Characterization of Tensile Damage Evolution in Low-Braiding-Angle 3D Braided CFRP Composites for Propeller Blades
by Zhihua Zhang, Fangcheng Zheng, Guohua Fan and Mingming Xu
Materials 2026, 19(10), 1982; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma19101982 - 11 May 2026
Viewed by 412
Abstract
Three-dimensional braided carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites are promising for lightweight aircraft propeller blades. Aircraft composite structures may approach temperatures of 80–90 °C under the combined effects of solar radiation, infrared heating, and ground reflection. Yet the thermo-mechanical failure mechanisms of low-braiding-angle architecture remain [...] Read more.
Three-dimensional braided carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites are promising for lightweight aircraft propeller blades. Aircraft composite structures may approach temperatures of 80–90 °C under the combined effects of solar radiation, infrared heating, and ground reflection. Yet the thermo-mechanical failure mechanisms of low-braiding-angle architecture remain insufficiently understood. This study comparatively investigates the tensile behavior and damage evolution of low-angle four-directional (3D4A-20°) and five-directional (3D5A-20°) braided CFRP composites under axial tension at both room temperature and 90 °C. A multi-scale approach integrating in situ X-ray computed tomography, digital image correlation, digital volume correlation, and scanning electron microscopy was used to characterize strain localization, internal cracking, and fracture morphology. At room temperature, 3D5A-20° shows higher stiffness and strength than 3D4A-20° because additional axial yarns improve load-transfer and three-dimensional constraint. At 90 °C, matrix softening and interfacial degradation accelerate crack initiation, strain localization, and damage propagation in both architectures. Nevertheless, 3D5A-20° maintains more stable and progressive damage evolution, whereas 3D4A-20° exhibits earlier crack coalescence and greater mechanical degradation. Overall, elevated temperature accelerates damage evolution through matrix softening and interfacial degradation, whereas braided architecture determines load transfer and crack connectivity. These findings provide guidance for the design of low-angle braided composites for thermally exposed aircraft propeller blades. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Wettability on Smart Structures: Materials and Applications)
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