Dear Colleagues,

The use of structural composites in high-performance applications (e.g., aerospace, automotive, sports, energy, defense) has increased significantly in recent years driven by the strong need of structure light weighting. The development of new advanced polymeric materials and structural fiber reinforcements have strongly supported the move to light weighting. However, there have several associated challenges, especially with regard to the success of achieving the complex geometrical shapes and features of composite components, as well as reducing the overall cycle time to control the related costs during the processing of composites. 

The major challenges that arise during processing are mainly due to the increased deformation rate and the viscoelastic nature of the resins influencing the cure cycle of polymeric composite materials. Such issues have been actively pursued by world-wide researchers at various size scales, including the fundamental scientific work on applied research at component level in high-performance applications. In this context, property characterization of a wide range of composite materials forms is a key area of research that is directly linked to the quality of composite components. The choice of accurate measurement techniques and correct relevant processing parameters can create a huge difference in the outcome of forming processes. Similarly, the analysis of modified and new forming processes to enhance the rate of production and maintain a consistent quality of components has been a major focus of researchers and academics to generate state-of-the-art knowledge.

The aim of this Special Issue is to provide an adequate platform to researchers to disseminate high-quality recent research findings of experimental, modeling, and simulation work related to forming processes and property characterization of high-performance composites. The Special Issue encompasses a wide variety of research work in terms of structural composite application, material forms and scales, nature of scientific work, technology readiness levels, etc.

Prof. Dr. Philippe Boisse
Dr. Muhammad Khan
Dr. Biao Liang
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. Materials is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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.

• structural polymeric composites
• continuous reinforcement
• composite forming
• processing techniques
• material characterization
• forming simulation
• lightweighting
• high-performance application