Structural Integrity and Durability of Engineering Materials and Components

Engineering components or structural details may be subjected in service to quite different loading conditions: high-cycle or low-cycle fatigue (with constant or variable amplitudes), static loadings and/or overloads, vibrations, creep, stress corrosion – just to cite a few examples. Whatever the loading condition, an assessment of the structural integrity for a structural detail must ensure an adequate safety margin against unexpected failures with potential catastrophic consequences. This goal is pursued by the use of theoretical, numerical and experimental approaches, often combined. For example, laboratory tests to estimate fundamental material properties, or full-scale tests to validate a finite element analysis implementing suitable strength models. Most often, scientific research deals with each of these areas separately, by proposing unconventional strength criteria, developing numerical techniques, or testing the durability of specific categories of traditional and advanced materials.

This Research Topic aims to collect a series of contributions covering new trends, latest advancements and case studies in the field of structural integrity and durability assessment of materials, of mechanical components and structural details. It welcomes contributions on theoretical, numerical and/or experimental approaches. Examples may be proposals of strength criteria for any type of loading (static, fatigue, creep, …), case studies illustrating the finite element analysis of actual components, or laboratory tests on specimens or on medium-to-large scale prototypes for any kind of metallic or non-metallic materials, manufactured with traditional or advanced techniques (additive manufacturing).

Authors are invited to submit their contribution in the form of either research articles or literature review articles. The article collection encompasses, though it is not limited to, the following research themes or areas:

• Advanced testing and evaluation techniques
• Applications to components and structures
• Corrosion and environmental effects on durability
• Deformation and damage behavior
• Failure analysis and case studies
• Metals, polymers, elastomers, composites and biomaterials
• Integrity of assemblies: welds, joints, adhesives
• Finite elements methods and their application
• Strength and failure criteria
• Low, medium and high cycle fatigue
• Non-destructive evaluation (NDE)
• Reliability and integrity of engineering structures
• Structural integrity of 3D-printed structures