Dear Colleagues,

In the last few years, joining technologies have continued to advance with the specific demands from various industries. Welding and other welding-related joining technologies have been preferentially chosen by the automotive industry due to their low cost and high reliability. Nevertheless, with the global trend of light-weighting, mechanical joining with unique and inborn advantages has rapidly occupied the market for dissimilar material joining solutions. Self-pierce riveting (SPR), clinching, and other mechanical joining technologies can solve several issues concerning welding, including intermetallic layer formation, high energy consumption, and low joining strength etc. Furthermore, more affordable and reliable mechanical joining technologies have been developed and promoted by numerous innovative joining applications. To better understand the mechanisms of mechanical joining, the appropriate control of plastic deformation is the key to determine the quality of mechanical joining joints. SPR and clinching, as the most representative mechanical joining technologies, substantially bond with rivet and die design. These two factors allow material to flow into the target area and form a strong interlock. However, the wide range of material selection caused by the various material properties eventually results in unexpected consequences. Therefore, specific investigations targeting different applications should be studied to determine how to properly use plastic deformation to obtain flawless joints for mechanical joining solutions.

Advances in Mechanical Joining Technologies as a potential Special Issue offers an excellent platform to share the latest and foremost investigations in the mechanical joining field. Studies concerning simulation investigation, dissimilar material joining solutions, brittle material mechanical joining solutions, thermal and ultrasonic vibration assist mechanical joining process, and other innovative mechanical joining processes are welcome to submit to this Special Issue.

Dr. Xuzhe Zhao
Dr. Yongfei Wang
Guest Editors

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• self-pierce pivoting (SPR)
• clinching
• thermal-assist mechanical joining
• flow-drill screwing
• innovative joining processes
• joining process modeling