Environmental Effect on Metal Joining

Dear Colleagues,

In recent years, the pandemic emergency has evidenced the increasingly low resilience of the global socioeconomic system, and as a consequence, the need to fight other even more serious crises, i.e., climate change. The current aim is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by supporting energy and ecological transitions. In this context, industries, especially the transport field, play an essential role in decarbonizing and building a greener future.

This can involve the introduction of new materials, which must be characterized by a combination of high performances and lightness. This fact results in new manufacturing techniques, and especially, in new alternative joining technologies.

For instance, the use of aluminium structures in a vessel, which is traditionally made by steel, is critical because it requires the study of the most suitable joint between steel and aluminium, not only in terms of mechanical properties but also of durability.

Consequently, experimental and numerical approaches allow for directing the choice towards one technology rather than another. Among the most promising technologies, are friction stir welding (FSW), self-piercing riveting (SPR), orbital riveting, adhesive bonding, clinching, etc. These technologies can be used to connect not only similar metals (i.e., steel–steel or aluminium–aluminium) but also different materials (aluminium–steel, composite–aluminium, composite–steel, etc.). Moreover, they can be combined in a hybrid joining (i.e., SPR and adhesive bonding). These combinations of materials and joining technologies require particular attention to be focused on durability and corrosion resistance within aggressive environments (i.e., seawater for a vessel).

For this Special Issue of Metals, we welcome reviews and articles in the areas of technologies of joining, joint configurations, mechanical testing, failure modes, similar or dissimilar materials, finite element analysis, durability, and corrosion resistance.

Prof. Dr. Guido Di Bella
Guest Editor

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