Lightweight materials (high-strength metallic alloys, polymers, composites, and hybrid materials) and structures play a central role in modern engineering systems, driven by the demand for improved performance, energy efficiency, and sustainability. Their reliable application requires a thorough understanding of mechanical behaviour and material properties not only in the as-produced condition, but also as they evolve under service-related degradation mechanisms.

This session aims to bring together experimental, computational, and data-driven contributions addressing the mechanical response, damage evolution, and failure behaviour of lightweight materials and structures across their lifecycle. Emphasis is placed on the influence of manufacturing routes, microstructural features, and environmental exposure on mechanical behaviour, performance and structural integrity. Contributions addressing degradation processes such as fatigue, corrosion, wear, and environmentally assisted damage, as well as their interaction with loading history, are particularly encouraged. The session welcomes studies spanning multiple length scales and methodologies, including advanced characterization techniques, multiscale modelling, and the use of material property databases and digital tools to support design, validation, and failure prevention strategies in lightweight engineering applications.