materials-logo

Journal Browser

Journal Browser

Next-Generation Metal Additive Manufacturing: Intelligent Microstructure Design, Mechanical Reliability, and Advanced Material Systems for Industrial Applications

A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Manufacturing Processes and Systems".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 May 2026 | Viewed by 618

Special Issue Editors


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Mechanical Engineering, School of Engineering, Wentworth Institute of Technology, Boston, MA 02115, USA
Interests: metal additive manufacturing

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
Interests: solid mechanics; fracture and fatigue; additive and subtractive manufacturing

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

It is my pleasure to invite you to contribute to our upcoming Special Issue on “Next-Generation Metal Additive Manufacturing: Intelligent Microstructure Design, Mechanical Reliability, and Advanced Material Systems for Industrial Applications.”

Metal Additive Manufacturing (AM) is rapidly transforming aerospace, biomedical, energy, and automotive industries. However, challenges remain in realizing its full potential all the way from controlling microstructure and defect populations, to making sure that these parts have long-term reliability and enabling new material systems. This Special Issue aims to highlight such cutting-edge advances that address these barriers and open new pathways for industrial adoption.

We would like to invite original research articles, reviews, and perspectives in (but not limited to) the following areas:

  1. Intelligent Microstructure Design: process–structure–property modeling, data-driven/AI-assisted alloy and process development, and grain/texture engineering strategies.
  2. Mechanical Reliability: Fatigue, fracture, creep, and environmental performance of additively manufactured alloys along with defect-tolerant design approaches and residual stress mitigation and qualification methodologies.
  3. Advanced Material Systems: Novel high temperature or high entropy alloys tailored for AM, high-temperature and extreme-environment materials, multi-material/graded structures, and sustainable feedstock solutions.
  4. Cross-Cutting Enablers: Real-time sensing and feedback control, digital twins, qualification/standardization strategies, in-situ monitoring and process control and design-for-AM frameworks.

By combining insights across these themes, we believe this special issue, will provide a solid foundation to advance next generation AM systems that are intelligent, reliable, and relevant to industry. We hope this issue will bring together a diverse community of researchers and practitioners, to start meaningful conversations across academia, industries and national labs.

We hope you will consider submitting your latest work to this Special Issue. Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Dr. Kapil Gangwar
Prof. Dr. Ramulu Mamidala
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-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

  • fracture mechanics
  • fatigue and damage tolerance
  • composite materials and structures
  • microstructure–property relationships
  • machining and surface integrity
  • residual stress mitigation
  • advanced manufacturing for aerospace components
  • high-performance ceramics and composites
  • in-situ monitoring and process control
  • multi-disciplinary materials and manufacturing integration

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.

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

Published Papers (1 paper)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

17 pages, 2463 KB  
Article
Optimization of Parameters of Block-Shaped Support Tooth Structure Using Orthogonal Experimental Design in Laser Powder Bed Fusion
by Zhongli Li, Guosheng Fei, Daijian Wu, Xiaoci Chen, Yingyan Yu, Zuofa Liu, Jiansheng Zhang and Jie Zhou
Materials 2026, 19(8), 1480; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma19081480 - 8 Apr 2026
Viewed by 320
Abstract
To address the challenges associated with laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) of overhanging structures—namely warping deformation, powder adhesion, and inadequate forming accuracy—this study investigates the optimization of the support–part contact interface using Inconel 625 alloy. The objective is to achieve high-quality part formation [...] Read more.
To address the challenges associated with laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) of overhanging structures—namely warping deformation, powder adhesion, and inadequate forming accuracy—this study investigates the optimization of the support–part contact interface using Inconel 625 alloy. The objective is to achieve high-quality part formation with minimal support structures. A Taguchi experimental design was employed to systematically evaluate the effects of key block support parameters—tooth height, tooth top length, tooth base length, and tooth base spacing—on the forming performance of overhanging structures, with forming accuracy and support removability as the optimization targets. The results reveal that tooth top length significantly influences both the forming accuracy of overhanging specimens and the ease of support removal. Specifically, an increase in tooth top length leads to a rapid reduction in specimen deformation, but simultaneously increases the difficulty of support removal. When the tooth top length was set to 0.1 mm, all overhanging specimens failed to form successfully. Tooth base length also plays a critical role in support removability, with removal difficulty initially decreasing and then stabilizing as the tooth base length increases. Based on the trade-off between forming quality and support removability, the optimal parameter combination was identified as: tooth height of 0.4 mm, tooth top length of 0.7 mm, tooth base length of 1.0 mm, and tooth base spacing of 0.3 mm. A validation experiment conducted using this optimized configuration demonstrated good forming accuracy in the support contact area, with a deformation value of −0.208 mm, confirming the effectiveness and reliability of the proposed parameters. This study not only provides a theoretical foundation for the optimal design of block supports in LPBF but also offers experimental data and practical guidance for selecting support parameters in the fabrication of overhanging structures. Full article
Show Figures

Graphical abstract

Back to TopTop