Manufacturing industries throughout the world are constantly facing pressure to reduce carbon emissions, and the aerospace and automobile industries’ strategies are targeted at reducing overall weight. Efforts to accomplish this have been based on clever materials selection, suggesting the use of light alloys based on titanium, magnesium, aluminium, and other alloys with a high strength to weight ratio.

However, because of the rapid introduction of these new lightweight alloys, researchers are facing challenges in joining them, with some mechanical joining (self-piercing riveting, and clinching) looking promising; however, the accompanying severe plastic deformation is a potential problem that needs clarification. Additionally, there are typically microstructural modifications of the joints for both fusion and mechanical joining processes, and consequently the mechanical condition of the joint affected zone needs to be well studied, especially the propensity for development of residual stresses. A continuous development of innovations is required to achieve the goal of an efficient joining method for newly developed lightweight materials including metals, plastics, and composites.

This special issue aims to collect original research and review articles addressing significant developments and innovations in joining technology for the manufacture of light weight alloys.

Potential topics include but are not limited to the following:

• Barriers and challenges associated with joining dissimilar alloys and composites
• Computational methods (including FEM simulation) for characterizing material joining
• Microstructure-property relationship, strain and residual stress of joints
• Prospective/future applications of new joining technologies for advanced materials