Recent Progress on Powder Materials for Additive Manufacturing

A Special Issue of Powders (ISSN 2674-0516).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2026 | Viewed by 1704

Editor


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Guest Editor
Department of Mechanical of Engineering, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND 58202, USA
Interests: additive manufacturing; materials; characterization

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Additive manufacturing (AM) has rapidly emerged as a transformative technology, offering unique opportunities for producing complex, lightweight, and high-performance components across aerospace, automotive, biomedical, and energy sectors. Central to the success of AM processes is the development and utilization of powder materials, as powder properties directly influence processability, microstructure evolution, and final part quality. Recent advances in powder production techniques, including gas and plasma atomization, mechanical alloying, and chemical routes, have enabled the design of powders with tailored particle size distributions, surface chemistry, and flow characteristics. Simultaneously, progress in powder surface modification, coating strategies, and advanced characterization methods has provided deeper insights into powder behavior during spreading, melting, solidification, and recycling. These innovations are further supported by computational modeling and in situ monitoring, which link powder characteristics to defect formation, mechanical properties, and performance reliability of AM-fabricated parts. This proposed Special Issue of Powder, titled “Recent Progress on Powder Materials for Additive Manufacturing,” will highlight cutting-edge research on powder synthesis, surface engineering, recyclability, powder–process interactions, and structure–property relationships. By bringing together contributions from both academia and industry, the issue aims to advance powder science and accelerate the translation of novel powder technologies into reliable, scalable, and sustainable AM solutions.

Dr. Yachao Wang
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • additive manufacturing powders
  • powder synthesis
  • powder flowability
  • powder surface engineering
  • powder recycling
  • powder–process interactions
  • microstructure evolution
  • mechanical properties
  • advanced characterization
  • new materials

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Review

37 pages, 5273 KB  
Review
Effect of Niobium-Containing Metallic Powders on Microstructural Evolution, Mechanical Performance, and Corrosion Resistance: A Critical Review and Research Perspective
by Ricardo Luiz Perez Teixeira
Powders 2026, 5(3), 28; https://doi.org/10.3390/powders5030028 - 1 Aug 2026
Viewed by 357
Abstract
Metallic powder systems containing niobium play a key role in the development of advanced materials for structural, biomedical, energy, and surface-engineering applications. The incorporation of niobium into metallic powders influences particle behavior during processing, phase stability, microstructural evolution, and the resulting mechanical and [...] Read more.
Metallic powder systems containing niobium play a key role in the development of advanced materials for structural, biomedical, energy, and surface-engineering applications. The incorporation of niobium into metallic powders influences particle behavior during processing, phase stability, microstructural evolution, and the resulting mechanical and corrosion properties of consolidated materials. This review examines the scientific and technological advances related to niobium-containing metallic powders, covering powder production routes, particle characterization methods, processing techniques, and performance evaluation. Publications on powder metallurgy, additive manufacturing, thermal processing, surface modification, and corrosion-resistant materials were analyzed to identify relationships among powder characteristics, processing conditions, and material performance. The available evidence indicates that niobium contributes to grain refinement, precipitation control, microstructural stabilization, improved resistance to wear, and localized corrosion. The element also expands the applicability of metallic powders in functional coatings, biomaterials, engineered surfaces, and components manufactured from particulate feedstocks. Current challenges involve powder homogeneity, process reproducibility, economic considerations, and the prediction of long-term service behavior. The analysis highlights niobium’s contribution to the design of high-performance metallic powder systems and identifies research directions for developing materials with enhanced reliability and industrial applicability. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Progress on Powder Materials for Additive Manufacturing)
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25 pages, 8086 KB  
Review
A Review of High Wear-Resistant Fe-Based Laser Clad Coatings: Alloy Design, Process Optimization and Post-Treatment
by Jianzhi Chen, Zhihao Han, Fanmin Shang, Changshan Zhou and Liyi Wang
Powders 2026, 5(3), 26; https://doi.org/10.3390/powders5030026 - 20 Jul 2026
Viewed by 523
Abstract
High-wear-resistant iron-based clad layers demonstrate substantial application potential in aerospace, automotive, and industrial equipment due to their excellent mechanical properties and extended service life. Laser cladding has emerged as a pivotal technology for the additive manufacturing and repair of critical components, characterized by [...] Read more.
High-wear-resistant iron-based clad layers demonstrate substantial application potential in aerospace, automotive, and industrial equipment due to their excellent mechanical properties and extended service life. Laser cladding has emerged as a pivotal technology for the additive manufacturing and repair of critical components, characterized by rapid cooling rates, narrow heat-affected zones, and dense microstructures. However, fabricating high-wear-resistant Fe-based clad layers remains challenging, particularly in achieving a trade-off among hardness, wear resistance, and toughness. Excessively high hardness often compromises toughness, increasing susceptibility to cracking and reducing service reliability, whereas insufficient hardness undermines functional performance and shortens service life. This review synthesizes recent advances in microstructural design, control, and optimization of high-wear-resistant Fe-based clad layers, focusing on powder alloying design, process parameter optimization, and post-cladding strengthening treatments. The strengthening mechanisms and performance characteristics of key alloying elements, specifically Cr, B, Nb, Mo, and Ti, are summarized, and the effects of laser power, scanning speed, and powder feeding rate on the microstructure and properties are systematically discussed. Furthermore, the influence of post-treatment processes, including turning, grinding, ultrasonic rolling, and heat treatment, on wear resistance enhancement is also addressed. Finally, future development directions for laser cladding of high-wear-resistant Fe-based clad layers are proposed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Progress on Powder Materials for Additive Manufacturing)
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