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Metals
Special Issues
Phase Transformations in Metals and Alloys
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Phase Transformations in Metals and Alloys

A special issue of Metals (ISSN 2075-4701).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 December 2026 | Viewed by 1324

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Chih-Chun Hsieh

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, I-Shou University, Kaohsiung City 84001, Taiwan
Interests: steels; metallurgy; phase transformation; Fe-C alloys; metals analysis and processing
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue calls for papers on phase transformations in metals and alloys. Metals and alloys often undergo changes in properties due to heat treatment. These properties often include mechanical properties (strength, hardness, ductility, toughness), corrosion resistance, and more. These changes in properties are primarily due to phase changes induced by the heat treatment process. Therefore, phase changes in metals and alloys are a crucial topic for metallic materials. Phase transformations are generally divided into diffusion-type and diffusionless-type phase transformations. Most phase transformations in metals and alloys are diffusion-type phase changes, while a few phase changes are diffusionless phase changes, such as the Martensitic phase transformation and Massive transformation. The above two non-diffusion phase changes do not change their composition before and after the phase change, and are instead interface-controlled phase transformations.

In this Special Issue, we welcome articles that focus on phase transformations in metals and alloys, whether it be through phase changes of metals and alloys at room or high temperature, or through different processes such as heat treatment, welding, casting, thermomechanical processing, etc. The related research topics mentioned above are all suitable for this Special Issue.

Dr. Chih-Chun Hsieh
Guest Editor

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-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Metals is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly 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.

Keywords

  • phase transformation
  • metals
  • alloys
  • steels
  • heat treatment
  • welding
  • martensitic transformation
  • eutectoid transformation
  • eutectic transformation
  • precipitation

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 11431 KB  
Article
Phase Transformation of δ→σ in 24Cr-14Ni Stainless Steels Under Nitrogen Atmospheric Aging Treatment
by Chih-Chun Hsieh and Huei-Sen Wang
Metals 2026, 16(5), 462; https://doi.org/10.3390/met16050462 - 23 Apr 2026
Viewed by 206
Abstract
This work investigates the δ→σ phase transformation in 24Cr-14Ni stainless steel, specifically focusing on how heat treatment temperature, time, and nitrogen atmospheric ratios (NARs) dictate microstructural stability. Understanding the formation mechanism of the σ phase is critical for alloy design, as it remains [...] Read more.
This work investigates the δ→σ phase transformation in 24Cr-14Ni stainless steel, specifically focusing on how heat treatment temperature, time, and nitrogen atmospheric ratios (NARs) dictate microstructural stability. Understanding the formation mechanism of the σ phase is critical for alloy design, as it remains the most detrimental intermetallic phase in austenitic steels. The results show that δ-ferrite decomposes into σ and secondary γ2 phases through a cellular eutectoid reaction driven by elemental diffusion. Higher Cr and Si levels stabilize δ-ferrite and promote σ phase precipitation, accelerating the δ→σ transformation. Furthermore, the σ phase exhibits the highest Creq/Nieq ratio among all constituent phases. The σ phase fraction is highest with 0 vol.% NAR during 1–8 h of aging and decreases progressively with increasing NARs (20–40 vol.%), reaching a minimum at 80 vol.% under all conditions. JMAK model analysis (n ≈ 0.531, k ≈ 0.905) indicates that σ phase precipitation at 800 °C with 40 vol.% NAR is governed by diffusion-controlled growth with early nucleation site saturation in δ-ferrite. Consequently, rapid σ phase formation occurs, reaching ~21.3% within 1 h. This behavior is attributed to the instability of δ-ferrite and the faster diffusion of Cr and Si compared to austenite. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Phase Transformations in Metals and Alloys)
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14 pages, 4978 KB  
Article
Pressure Dependence of Pure Zirconium Liquid–Solid Phase Transition
by Lin Lang, Zhiyuan Xu, Kun Qian, Chang Li and Zhuoliang Yu
Metals 2026, 16(1), 78; https://doi.org/10.3390/met16010078 - 10 Jan 2026
Viewed by 470
Abstract
Molecular dynamics simulations were conducted at a cooling rate of 1.0 × 1011 K/s to investigate the solidification mechanism of zirconium (Zr) under high pressure. Three distinct pressure-dependent regimes are identified: crystallization into a body-centered cubic (BCC) phase below 27.5 GPa, vitrification [...] Read more.
Molecular dynamics simulations were conducted at a cooling rate of 1.0 × 1011 K/s to investigate the solidification mechanism of zirconium (Zr) under high pressure. Three distinct pressure-dependent regimes are identified: crystallization into a body-centered cubic (BCC) phase below 27.5 GPa, vitrification between 27.5 and 65 GPa, and crystallization into an A15 phase above 65 GPa. The volume change during crystallization is found to reverse at critical pressures of 5 and 103 GPa, and anomalous behavior is observed at the phase boundaries: at 27.5 and 65 GPa, the volume varies continuously despite a sharp drop in potential energy, whereas at 65 GPa, the volume decreases abruptly while the energy changes smoothly. Structural analysis indicates that evolution in the low-pressure regime is governed by atomic configurations extending to the second-neighbor shell, while at high pressures, nearest-neighbor interactions become dominant. This work clarifies the microstructure–pressure relationship during metallic solidification, providing insights into controlling phase transitions under extreme conditions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Phase Transformations in Metals and Alloys)
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