Perspectives of Joints and Joining Technology Development for Metallic and Hybrid Materials

A special issue of Metals (ISSN 2075-4701). This special issue belongs to the section "Welding and Joining".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2026 | Viewed by 302

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Aeronautics, Rzeszów University of Technology, 35-959 Rzeszów, Poland
Interests: mechanical joining; joining sheets; mechanical-testing; materials-processing; mechanical-properties; finite-element analysis; manufacturing–engineering; tool wear in metal forming processes
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Department of Industrial Engineering, University of L’Aquila, 67100 L’Aquila, Italy
Interests: multimaterials joining; additive manufacturing; numerical modeling; machine learning; advanced manufacturing processes
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Aeronautics, Rzeszów University of Technology, 35-959 Rzeszów, Poland
Interests: numerical simulations; joining technologies; CAX modeling; experimental research; manufacturing processes
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Continuous technical progress in construction and the development of new materials necessitate the advancement of adequate joining processes. Traditional joining technologies do not always provide significant benefits or may not be applicable to new materials. Therefore, numerous investigations have been carried out to develop innovative solutions suitable for joining these materials. Recently, joining processes—i.e. assembly using permanent and detachable connections—have been increasingly applied across various areas of industrial production and prototyping. The structural quality, strength, and functionality of joints are crucial to the safety, reliability, and service life of metal structures and are closely related to the precise control of phenomena occurring within the materials used.

This Special Issue focuses, among other topics, on methods for defect detection, analysis of structural quality through destructive and nondestructive testing, optimization of joining process parameters, and research on new standards for manufacturing metallic single-layer and multilayer joints, including those with partial participation of nonmetals. Rapid prototyping processes are becoming increasingly important, so joining technologies are used to combine various prototype metallic and nonmetallic components. Modern apparatus and testing methods enable both qualitative and quantitative evaluation of manufactured joints in prototyped parts. This Issue integrates computational analysis methods with multi-parameter optimization, presenting progress and perspectives in evaluating the quality of various joints and joining techniques—from experience-based approaches to data-driven methods utilizing artificial intelligence. Topics of interest include analyses of operational functionality, mechanical quality, manufacturing economy, and energy consumption reduction to ensure structural integrity of metallic parts or their combinations with nonmetals.

In this Special Issue of Metals, we invite researchers to submit scientific manuscripts that provide new theoretical and practical insights into joining technology using various joining methods for different materials (metallic and nonmetallic, single-layer and multilayer).

Prof. Dr. Jacek Mucha
Dr. Francesco Lambiase
Dr. Waldemar Witkowski
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • energetic processes
  • economics of joining processes
  • joints properties
  • hybrid joints
  • processes control
  • joining dissimilar materials
  • lightweight hybrid sheet material
  • microstructure
  • residual stress
  • numerical modelling
  • numerical simulations
  • joints in the prototypical structures
  • green technologies
  • Industry 5.0

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

13 pages, 2859 KB  
Article
Effects of Tool Rotational Speed on the Microstructure and Properties of Friction Stir Welded AZ61 Magnesium Alloy Joints
by Xihong Jin, Minjie He, Yongzhang Su, Hongfei Li, Xuhui Feng, Na Xie, Jiaxin Huang and Jian Peng
Metals 2025, 15(10), 1128; https://doi.org/10.3390/met15101128 - 10 Oct 2025
Viewed by 194
Abstract
Magnesium alloys, characterized by high specific strength and low density, have high potential for applications in transportation and aerospace. Nevertheless, ensuring the reliable joining of thin-walled components remains a major technical challenge. This study examines how rotational speed affects the microstructure and mechanical [...] Read more.
Magnesium alloys, characterized by high specific strength and low density, have high potential for applications in transportation and aerospace. Nevertheless, ensuring the reliable joining of thin-walled components remains a major technical challenge. This study examines how rotational speed affects the microstructure and mechanical properties of friction stir welded AZ61 magnesium alloy hollow profiles (3 mm thick), with particular focus on the underlying mechanisms. The results show that higher rotational speed during friction stir welding promotes dynamic recrystallization and weakens the basal texture. It also affects microstructural homogeneity, where an optimal rotational speed produces a relatively uniform hybrid microstructure consisting of refined recrystallized and un-recrystallized regions. This balance enhances both texture strengthening and microstructural optimization. The weld joint fabricated at a rotational speed of 1500 rpm showed the best overall mechanical properties, with ultimate tensile strength, yield strength, and elongation reaching peak values of 286.7 MPa, 154.7 MPa, and 9.7%, respectively. At this speed, the average grain size in the weld nugget zone was 4.92 μm, and the volume fraction of second-phase particles was 0.67%. This study establishes a critical process foundation for the reliable joining of thin-walled magnesium alloy structures. The optimized parameters serve as valuable guidelines for engineering applications in lightweight transportation equipment and aerospace manufacturing. Full article
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