Advanced Crystalline Materials, Mechanical Properties and Innovative Production Systems (2nd Edition)

Dear Colleagues,

Crystalline materials are the most commonly used materials. Thanks to their crystalline structure, they are characterized by a number of beneficial properties, including mechanical and functional properties. In recent years, many discoveries and advances have been made in materials engineering, which materials scientists are using to create countless novel materials through the use of modern modeling and simulation systems, technologies, and manufacturing techniques that enable obtaining advanced materials. These materials include high-quality construction materials, composites, and nanomaterials. For many of the emerging material solutions today, the main focus is on the mechanical properties of the materials. As a result, they are used on a large scale in land and water construction, automotive, aviation, and space engineering, as well as in the power industry.

Mechanical properties are an extremely important metric for evaluating materials, as they determine which areas the materials can be used in. Hardness and strength are the main mechanical properties. The values of these quantities are usually correlated. In order to obtain high hardness/strength, treatments are used to strengthen the structure, and they consist of the appropriate selection of chemical composition and technological processes. These activities must guarantee that a structure is obtained that ensures high hardness and strength. The obtained materials are usually hard and statically strong, but most often also brittle. Because they are not plastic, they have poor impact strength and are not resistant to abrasive wear, considering dynamic factors. Therefore, achieving a high synergy between strength and ductility is a major challenge and has become a topic of general interest.

From the perspective of the exploitation of structural elements, machines, and devices, factors reducing their ability to transfer external loads are also important. These factors include corrosion and wear.

Simulation and modeling processes play a key role in facilitating the rapid dissemination of advanced materials and reaping the benefits they offer. This is of great importance for production processes in terms of costs and product quality. The modeling and simulation of production processes are the best and most cost-effective methods of testing and evaluating the properties of advanced materials in terms of their usability and the quality of the resulting product. Modeling and simulations also enable an easier and cheaper assessment of the effectiveness of production processes and systems, also from the point of view of their management.

In the proposed Special Issue, we are seeking original research articles, perspectives, and reviews on technology, microstructure, mechanical properties, and various applications of crystalline materials. We invite you to submit works that include modeling and simulation of production processes and systems and their management in production, as well as forecasts of the future development of materials and production systems. Potential topics include, but are not limited to, the following: 

• Alloy design and manufacturing of crystalline materials;
• Crystalline nanomaterials and composites;
• Mechanical properties and fracture mechanics;
• Crystalline materials for power engineering;
• Casting, welding, and additive manufacturing;
• Advanced heat treatment techniques;
• Materials design and modeling, applications in production processes, and their management.

Dr. Daniel Medyński
Dr. Grzegorz Lesiuk
Prof. Dr. Anna Burduk
Guest Editors

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 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

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. Crystals 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 2100 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.

• metals and alloys
• nanomaterials
• composites
• solidification and crystallization
• phase transformations
• materials modelling
• casting and welding
• additive manufacturing
• heat treatment
• corrosion
• mechanical properties
• fracture mechanics
• production management
• production processes and systems

• Advances in Alloys and Intermetallic Compounds in Crystals (4 articles)