Failure Analysis and Failure Mechanism of Metallic Materials—State of the Art

A special issue of Metals (ISSN 2075-4701). This special issue belongs to the section "Metal Failure Analysis".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 May 2026 | Viewed by 1571

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Politecnico di Milano, Via La Masa 1, 20156 Milan, Italy
Interests: steel metallurgy; failure analysis; mechanical behavior of materials; corrosion; wear; explosions; energy storage devices

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Understanding failures and failure mechanisms of metallic materials represents a scientific and technological challenge of great significance. Ductile ruptures, brittle fractures, fatigue phenomena, wear issues and damage induced by corrosion are critical aspects whose comprehension is essential to ensure safety and reliability in strategic sectors such as mechanical, civil, aerospace, energy, biomedical, and military engineering. An in-depth knowledge of failures and failure mechanisms of metallic materials is also of considerable importance for the resolution of legal and/or insurance disputes.

Failures of metallic materials are never straightforward. Failures may arise from design issues, fabrication defects, or service conditions of components, machines, and plants in operation. Understanding and describing such phenomena requires an interdisciplinary approach that brings together expertise in the mechanics of materials, metallurgy, chemistry, numerical modeling, and advanced experimentation.

This Special Issue aims to provide an updated overview of the state of the art in the field of failure analysis and failure mechanisms of metallic materials, gathering contributions ranging from fundamental studies to engineering applications, with particular attention to the following:

  • Static failures, brittle fractures, and embrittlement phenomena;
  • Burst and explosion failures;
  • Mechanical fatigue, corrosion fatigue, fretting, and wear-fatigue;
  • Corrosion and wear and their associated failure mechanisms;
  • Effects of microstructure, fabricating processes, heat treatments, and machining conditions;
  • Advanced characterization techniques and predictive modeling approaches;
  • Prevention strategies and methods to enhance the durability of metallic materials.

We invite researchers and professionals to contribute with original scientific articles, reviews, and applied studies that may enrich the debate and foster new perspectives for research and innovation in this crucial field.

Prof. Marco Virginio Boniardi
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • failure analysis
  • ductile failures
  • brittle failures
  • embrittlement phenomena
  • burst and explosion failures
  • fatigue
  • wear
  • corrosion
  • advanced characterization techniques
  • predictive models
  • prevention strategies

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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23 pages, 2512 KB  
Article
Thermal Data Optimization Through Uncertainty Reduction in Fatigue Limits Estimation: A TCM–ANN Framework for C45 Steel
by Luca Corsaro, Mohsen Dehghanpour Abyaneh, Mohammad Sadegh Javadi, Francesca Curà and Raffaella Sesana
Metals 2026, 16(1), 42; https://doi.org/10.3390/met16010042 - 29 Dec 2025
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Abstract
The combination of both Passive Thermography and machine learning in materials science and engineering allows rapid progress in advanced fatigue analysis. Focusing on mechanical aspects, the combination of these approaches is capable of interpolating the fatigue resistance in diverse conditions with minimal data, [...] Read more.
The combination of both Passive Thermography and machine learning in materials science and engineering allows rapid progress in advanced fatigue analysis. Focusing on mechanical aspects, the combination of these approaches is capable of interpolating the fatigue resistance in diverse conditions with minimal data, when compared to the classical solution, in which analyses are conducted using statistical processes such as the Staircase Method. Even though the thermal increment and thermal area are crucial parameters for the fatigue limit analysis, the implementation of machine-learning interpolation improves data consistency and reduces variability in the fatigue limit estimation through Type-A repeatability uncertainty reduction. This way, the two-layer artificial neural network does not have any predefined form of functions; second, it maintains the inherent non-linear features of the data. The validation of the proposed approach was conducted for a C45 steel, and two different experimental campaigns were conducted using a resonant machine. At the end, the analysis of the fatigue limit was conducted by means of an interpolation-assisted Two-Curve Method, starting from the classical thermal data evolution properly optimized with a machine-learning approach, achieving a more precise result in estimating the fatigue limit. Full article
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Review

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27 pages, 4994 KB  
Review
Slip Irreversibility, Microplasticity, and Fatigue Cracking Mechanism in Near-α and α + β Titanium Alloys
by Adam Ismaeel, Xuexiong Li, Xirui Jia, Ali Jamea, Zongxu Chen, Xuanming Feng, Dongsheng Xu, Xiaohu Chen and Weining Lei
Metals 2026, 16(2), 144; https://doi.org/10.3390/met16020144 - 25 Jan 2026
Viewed by 790
Abstract
The micromechanisms “slip transfer, slip irreversibility, microplasticity, and fatigue cracking” in titanium alloys are reviewed, with a special emphasis on near-α and α + β alloys. As the interplay between slip activity, microplasticity, and fatigue cracking governs both the microscale and macroscale [...] Read more.
The micromechanisms “slip transfer, slip irreversibility, microplasticity, and fatigue cracking” in titanium alloys are reviewed, with a special emphasis on near-α and α + β alloys. As the interplay between slip activity, microplasticity, and fatigue cracking governs both the microscale and macroscale mechanical response, we reveal how the slip irreversibility and localized dislocation activity at the grain boundaries (GBs) and α/β interfaces generate dislocation pile-ups and strain localization, subsequently driving fatigue crack initiation and propagation. The review highlights the favorable crack initiation along basal planes and the roles of α grain orientations, slip transfer barriers, and the β phase in governing fatigue cracking, while addressing unresolved questions about localized interactions and texture effects. It also explores the complex interactions that govern the effects of microstructures, textures, and defects on fatigue cracking. Ultimately, the review provides a unified framework for linking slip events to microplasticity and to fatigue failure, offering actionable insights for alloy design and fatigue prediction. Full article
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