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Quality, Microstructure and Properties of Metal Alloys (Third Edition)

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Dear Colleagues,

Modern industry employes a wide variety of different materials, with metal alloys being the most popular group of construction materials. The choice of construction material for technical applications depends primarily on its functional properties, which are shaped during the manufacturing stage. Besides the chemical composition—the main determinant of the metal alloy’s properties—production processes, heat treatment, and other factors also play important roles.

The continuous improvement of metal alloys requires comprehensive knowledge of their microstructure well as their chemical, physical, and mechanical properties. To achieve optimal results, this Special Issue aims to encourage scientists worldwide to present their achievements in the broad field of enhancing the properties of metal alloys. We welcome original scientific papers and reviews that describe current research directions related to the properties of both ferrous and non-ferrous alloys. Research on cast, plastically deformed, or welded materials is also encouraged.

This Special Issue welcomes a wide range of studies focused aimed at improving the mechanical properties of metal alloys. We invite contributions on both ferrous and non-ferrous systems, without restrictions on the research approach or alloy type. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

Modification of casting alloys;
All aspects of metal and alloy properties;
Crystallization processes;
Fatigue strength;
The quality and properties of welded joints;
Metal alloys;
Tensile strength;
Heat treatment;
The quality of metal and metal alloys;
Welding;
Plastic working;
Corrosion;
Nonmetallic inclusions.

Prof. Dr. Tomasz Lipiński
Guest Editor

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13 pages, 24076 KB

Open AccessArticle

Persistent Near-Linear Relationship Between Global Stress and Mean Atomic Bond Strain in Metallic Glasses Despite Significant Local Nonaffine Displacements

by Tittaya Thaiyanurak and Donghua Xu

Materials 2026, 19(10), 2176; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma19102176 - 21 May 2026

Viewed by 445

Abstract

Mean atomic bond strain (MABS), based on the globally averaged bond length, has recently emerged as a new strain metric that retains clear physical meaning even as severe atomic neighborhood reconstruction occurs. It has been shown to exhibit a nearly perfect linear relationship with global stress throughout the elastic and plastic deformation in single-crystal face-centered cubic (FCC) metals, contradicting conventional expectations based on nonlinear dislocation activity. Whether this near-linear relationship holds in other materials stands out as an important and intriguing question. In this study, we examine the MABS–stress relationship in representative unary, binary, and ternary metallic glasses (MGs), where neither a crystal structure nor dislocations are present. Large-scale molecular dynamics simulations of uniaxial tensile tests and statistical analysis of millions of atomic bonds are performed. Irrespective of their differing compositions, all the MGs exhibit a persistent near-linear relationship between total MABS (all bonds included) and global stress up to fracture, even in the presence of significant local nonaffine displacements (shear transformation zones and shear bands), with the Pearson correlation coefficient consistently exceeding 0.99. Unlike the nonaffine displacements, the spatial distribution of individual atomic bond strain does not localize under the uniaxial loading. In the MGs containing more than one element, MABS computed for a single bond type may not correlate as linearly with global stress as total MABS. The results demonstrate that the persistent near-linear total MABS–stress relationship over the entire deformation process, recently discovered in single-crystal FCC metals, also applies to MGs despite their vastly different atomic structures. This strengthens the candidacy of total MABS as a universal stress descriptor across materials classes and deformation regimes. With further development and implementation in atomistic simulations and constitutive modeling, the MABS concept has the potential to reshape our understanding of materials mechanics and generate new insights into the design of stronger, tougher, and more thermally and chemically stable materials. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Quality, Microstructure and Properties of Metal Alloys (Third Edition))

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18 pages, 8517 KB

Open AccessArticle

Influence of Artificial Aging of ZnAlCu Alloys on Microstructure and Compressive Yield Strength

by Angelika Kiefel, Alexander Bezold and Christoph Broeckmann

Materials 2025, 18(21), 4823; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma18214823 - 22 Oct 2025

Viewed by 695

Abstract

So far, the influence of aging on the mechanical properties of ZnAlCu alloys has primarily been investigated under tensile load. Since some applications, such as plain bearings, are subjected to compressive loads, the results presented in the literature do not fully encompass all areas of application. Therefore, this publication focuses on the influence of artificial aging on the 0.2% compressive yield strength. Samples from ZnAl1Cu0.7, ZnAl11Cu0.7 and ZnAl11Cu2 were aged at different aging temperatures for up to 840 h. After different aging periods, compressive tests as well as microstructure investigations with SEM and XRD were carried out. Furthermore, the dimensional stability of ZnAl11Cu0.7 was investigated in a quenching dilatometer. Shrinkage of up to 0.08%, followed by swelling, was determined. Compressive tests revealed a decrease in the 0.2% compressive yield strength across all tested alloys, most pronounced at the beginning of the aging process, reaching an approximately constant strength level after an alloy- and temperature-dependent aging period. At the end, based on the results, a possible way to determine the constant strength level and the necessary aging time to reach this strength level for specific application temperatures is presented to ensure stable mechanical properties during operation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Quality, Microstructure and Properties of Metal Alloys (Third Edition))

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