Recent Developments in Non-conventional Welding of Materials

Welding is a technological field that has some of the greatest impact on many industries, such as automotive, aerospace, energy production, electronics, the health sector, etc. Welding technologies are currently used to connect the most diverse materials, from metallic alloys to polymers, composites, or even biological tissues. Despite the relevance and wide application of traditional welding technologies, these processes do not meet the demanding requirements of some industries. This has driven strong research efforts in the field of non-conventional welding processes. This Special Issue presents a sample of the most recent developments in the non-conventional welding of materials, which will drive the design of future industrial solutions with increased efficiency and sustainability

Influence of Stress Cycles under the Fatigue Endurance Limit on Strength and Life of Aluminum Nanocomposite

Experimental testing revealed that adding ceramic nanoparticles of alumina Al2O3 to the aluminum alloy AA2017 by a casting route significantly enhanced the mechanical and fatigue properties. Understanding the behavior of materials under cyclic loads is necessary; engineers can ensure that structures and components perform reliably throughout their intended lifespan. This work explicitly focuses on the role of these nanoparticles in the fatigue behavior of the aluminum matrix (AA2017) and the resulting (AA2017 – 0.8 wt. %, Al2O3) nanocomposite. The test influences of the stress- number of cycles   S – N curves showed that cyclic stress below the endurance limit for fatigue, followed by cyclic stress above the endurance limit, decreased the fatigue life and strength. Specifically, the fatigue life was decreased more than twice for the nanocomposite and about 4% for the base metal, while the fatigue strength was lowered by (140.8 to 137.8) MPa for the matrix and (155.5 to 142.4) MPa for the final product of (AA2017 – 0.8 wt. %, Al2O3)

Impulse-Based Manufacturing Technologies

In impulse-based manufacturing technologies, the energy required to form, join or cut components acts on the workpiece in a very short time and suddenly accelerates workpiece areas to very high velocities. The correspondingly high strain rates, together with inertia effects, affect the behavior of many materials, resulting in technological benefits such as improved formability, reduced localizing and springback, extended possibilities to produce high-quality multi material joints and burr-free cutting. This Special Issue of JMMP presents the current research findings, which focus on exploiting the full potential of these processes by providing a deeper understanding of the technology and the material behavior and detailed knowledge about the sophisticated process and equipment design. The range of processes that are considered covers electromagnetic forming, electrohydraulic forming, adiabatic cutting, forming by vaporizing foil actuators and other impulse-based manufacturing technologies. Papers show significant improvements in the aforementioned processes with regard to: Processes analysis; Measurement technique; Technology development; Materials and modelling; Tools and equipment; Industrial implementation

Special Issue of the Manufacturing Engineering Society (MES)

This book derives from the Special Issue of the Manufacturing Engineering Society (MES) that was launched as a Special Issue of the journal Materials. The 48 contributions, published in this book, explore the evolution of traditional manufacturing models toward the new requirements of the Manufacturing Industry 4.0 and present cutting-edge advances in the field of Manufacturing Engineering focusing on additive manufacturing and 3D printing, advances and innovations in manufacturing processes, sustainable and green manufacturing, manufacturing systems (machines, equipment and tooling), metrology and quality in manufacturing, Industry 4.0, product lifecycle management (PLM) technologies, and production planning and risks