As the demand for materials that can survive extreme environments reaches an all-time high, High Entropy Alloys (HEAs) have emerged as a transformative solution of future exploration. Departing from the traditional "one-base-element" metallurgy concept, HEAs leverage vast compositional spaces and unique lattice distortions to achieve properties once thought mutually exclusive.

This session aims to bridge the gap between fundamental alloy design and industrial scalability. We invite researchers to present breakthroughs in High Entropy Alloy (HEAs) and/or Multi-Principal Element Alloys (MPEAs), focusing on how these complex systems challenge our current understanding of the topic.

Key points of interest can include (among others) the following topics:

• Processing Challenges and Additive Manufacturing (AM) Integration
• AI and High-Throughput Discovery Methods (ML, CALPHAD etc.)
• Microstructural Evolution and Stability Trends
• The "Cocktail Effect" in Extremes
• Mechanical Property Synergies
• Surface Degradation Phenomena and Environmental Resilience

Advanced materials have an increasing role in engineering, in various industrial applications. These materials operate in severe environments, withstand complex multi-axial loading conditions. Fracture of advanced materials is a major problem that may occur inside the structure and at the interfaces between the different materials. This symposium will accept papers that can highlight the following areas:

Fracture mechanics problems of structures from advanced materials, failure of composite structures under combined loading conditions. Comparison of computational and/or analytical and experimental methods in composite structures under different loading conditions. Interface problems in structures from advanced materials.

The proposed session will focus on cementitious and concrete-based systems as a major engineering domain where failures are often driven by coupled degradation mechanisms (thermal loading, corrosion, cracking, impact/blast, fatigue, environmental exposure) and where circular economy strategies can simultaneously enhance performance and reduce environmental footprint.

The session will bring together contributions on low-carbon binders and high-performance composites (e.g., geopolymers/alkali-activated materials, UHPC/UHPFRC and hybrid cementitious composites), and on resource-efficient concrete technologies using construction & demolition waste (CDW), quarry/industrial by-products and other secondary raw materials. Emphasis will be placed on how these materials can be engineered to prevent failure under demanding actions relevant to resilient infrastructure: high temperature and fire, impact/blast and dynamic loading, durability and multi-physical degradation, and interlayer/interface integrity (including additive manufacturing / 3D printing).

A key feature of the session is the integration of testing–modelling–data: advanced experimental characterization (including full-field methods and fracture/fatigue assessment), multi-scale/multi-physics simulation, and data-driven approaches (AI/ML) for mixture optimisation, performance prediction, uncertainty quantification, and circularity/LCA-informed decision-making.

Indicative subtopics (non-exclusive):

• Geopolymers/alkali-activated binders from wastes and by-products; high-temperature behaviour and fire safety
• UHPC/UHPFRC and hybrid laminates for retrofit and extreme actions (impact/blast/fire)
• Recycled aggregates and CDW valorisation: durability, processing, and quality assurance
• 3D printing/additive manufacturing of cementitious materials: rheology, buildability, interlayer failure
• AI/ML for mix design and strength/durability prediction; LCA/CE-driven design and optimisation

Metal Additive Manufacturing presents compelling solutions for sustainable production, surpassing conventional manufacturing process chains with inherent advantages such as near-net-shape fabrication, proficiency in challenging metal alloys and enhanced geometric complexity for lightweight designs. On the other hand, the surface integrity of AM metal parts often necessitates optimization to realize desired functional surfaces and precisely tuned mechanical properties. This session will explore research contributions addressing these challenges through post-processing, finishing operations and thermal treatments of AM metal components.

ICEAF IX conference invites researchers, engineers, and academics to contribute to a special session dedicated to exploring the applications of data analytics and artificial intelligence, specifically machine learning, in engineering. This special session aims to bring together experts from academia and industry to share insights, methodologies, and advancements in leveraging data-driven approaches for enhancing materials design, predicting fatigue and fracture behavior, and estimating the properties of engineering materials. Special session will provide a platform for discussions on the latest advancements and future directions in this rapidly evolving field.

Topics of interest include but are not limited to:

• Data-driven materials design and optimization
• Predictive modeling for fatigue and fracture analysis
• Estimation of materials' behavior and properties through machine learning
• Novel applications of data analytics in engineering alloys and metals
• Multiscale approaches integrating data analytics for mechanical behavior understanding
• Virtual testing, digital twins, and AI implementation in materials engineering
• Methodological frameworks for machine learning applications in engineering

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.

The scientific session “Simulation of Mechanical Behavior”, will include numerical, analytical or combined numerical-analytical methods for modeling the mechanical response of materials under static, impact or fatigue loading conditions. Crack growth and fracture problems will also be investigated and modelling approaches ranging from micro to macro scale level will be examined. Comparisons of simulations using the methods with experimental results are highly encouraged.
 

Fiber-reinforced composite structures are well established in lightweight engineering applications across aerospace, automotive, and marine industries. However, understanding and predicting failure in such structures is still challenging and requires a thorough knowledge of the underlying damage mechanisms as well as reliable analytical and numerical modelling tools. This session focuses on experimental, analytical, and computational approaches to characterize failure initiation and progression in composite structures and their joints, including damage at the ply and laminate level. Contributions addressing damage-tolerant design strategies, tailored laminate architectures or crack arrest features, are equally welcome. Work linking experimental validation with modelling efforts, as well as contributions considering the use of conventional fibers (carbon or glass) and natural fibers (flax, hemp, jute) from a sustainability perspective, is especially encouraged.

Advances in additive manufacturing (AM) puts this key enabling technology in the limelight among other physical processing routes for complex net shapes and multi-material components. Variations in physicochemical and mechanical properties of additively manufactured products originate mostly from surface conditions, defects, feedstock and build anisotropy, micro/nanostructural features which are expected to alter the material behaviour. These properties subsequently affect the structural integrity  and  in-service  performance  in terms  of  corrosion, fracture, mechanical and wear behaviour etc. Moreover, additive manufacturing is often followed by post processing such as heat treatments and hot/cold isostatic pressing, which would also influence/alter the microstructure and defects and subsequently the mechanical  properties  and  structural  integrity  of  the material. The aim of this session is to elevate the understanding of the behavior of additively manufactured materials in comparison with materials produced through conventional processing routes such as casting, rolling, extrusion, forging, etc. Emphasis will be given on the effect of processing and post-processing on degradation mechanisms via an understanding of the process Parameters on   the   micro/nanostructure,   surface   conditions, material texture /anisotropy and mechanical / environmental behaviour and other functionalities (e.g. magnetic behaviour). Simulations and modelling of processing and (micro) structures are necessary to verify the performance of AM materials and products. Abstracts should thus refer to experimental and/or theoretical/modelling studies which focus on and/or relate various aspects within processing, microstructure, properties and performance of additive manufactured materials or products.        

The session addresses the following topics:

• Modern and emerging AM processes and their effect on improved material performance.
• Breakthrough performance and applications for AM materials.
• AM processes and benchmarking of different process routes on the same material.
• Innovative advanced materials with new or improved functionalities produced by additive manufacturing.
• New material and geometry design possibilities targeting to optimum combination of properties.
• Hybrid and composite materials.
• Advanced characterisation, modelling and testing of AM materials.
  In-situ, real time monitoring of AM processing.
   

Understanding and mitigating the degradation of materials and structures exposed to aggressive environments is a critical challenge across many engineering sectors. This session focuses on the fundamental and applied aspects of corrosion, wear, and tribology that control the durability, reliability, and lifetime of materials and surfaces operating under mechanical and environmental loading.

Topics include corrosion mechanisms and kinetics in aggressive environments, localized corrosion processes, high-temperature and marine corrosion, corrosion of steel in concrete and infrastructure durability, corrosion of biomaterials, as well as stress corrosion cracking, corrosion fatigue, and hydrogen-related degradation. Contributions addressing corrosion protection strategies, inhibitors, advanced coatings, surface engineering, electrochemical characterization techniques, and non-destructive evaluation methods are particularly encouraged.

In addition, the session highlights advances in tribology and wear science, including sliding, abrasive, fretting, erosive, and high-temperature wear, along with tribological behavior in lubricated and unlubricated systems. Emphasis is placed on understanding wear mechanisms and system dynamics, as well as on advanced tribo-characterization and wear testing methods. Special focus is given to coupled degradation phenomena. such as tribocorrosion, erosion–corrosion, and corrosive wear, which are increasingly relevant in applications ranging from energy and marine systems to aerospace, infrastructure, and biomedical devices.