Recent Advances in Wood and Wood-Based Materials

Dear Colleagues,

Wood and wood-based materials are attracting increasing attention due to their renewable nature, carbon storage potential, and contribution to sustainable development. Growing concerns over climate change, efficient resource utilization, and the transition toward a circular bio-economy have accelerated the development of advanced wood-based materials and expanded their applications in construction, furniture, and many other engineering fields. At the same time, rapid advances in manufacturing technologies, material engineering, digital design, and computational tools are creating new opportunities for improving the performance, durability, and sustainability of wood products. Experimental characterization, numerical modeling, and data-driven approaches are playing an increasingly important role in the design and evaluation of next-generation wood and wood-based materials.

The aim of this Special Issue, entitled ‘Recent Advances in Wood and Wood-Based Materials’, is to present and disseminate the latest scientific and technological developments in wood science and technology. We welcome original research articles and comprehensive review papers covering the development, characterization, analysis, and application of wood and wood-based materials. Contributions employing advanced analytical methods, including finite element modeling (FEM), computational simulation, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, optimization techniques, and digital technologies for wood products and structures, are particularly encouraged.

The scope of this Special Issue includes, but is not limited to, the following:

(1) Physical, mechanical, durability, and long-term performance of wood and wood-based materials.

(2) Engineered wood and wood-based panels, composites, bio-based materials, adhesives, and bonding technologies.

(3) Sustainable, eco-friendly, and alternative materials for wood applications.

(4) Wood modification, preservation, protection technologies, and service life enhancement.

(5) Materials, design, manufacturing, connections, and engineering of furniture and timber structures.

(6) Experimental characterization, testing, and structural performance evaluation.

(7) Numerical modeling, finite element analysis (FEM), and computational methods for wood products and structures.

(8) Artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, digital technologies, smart manufacturing, and optimization for wood and wood-based materials.

(9) Sustainable manufacturing, life cycle assessment (LCA), circular bio-economy, and innovative applications in wood science and technology.

Prof. Dr. Ali Kasal
Prof. Dr. Jerzy Smardzewski
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.