Multiscale Design and Optimisation of Advanced Composites: From Reinforcement Engineering to Processing and Performance

Advanced composites - including polymer-, biopolymer-, and aluminium-based metal matrix systems - are characterised by hierarchical structures in which nanoscale, microscale, and mesoscale features collectively govern their mechanical, thermal, rheological, and functional properties. In soft-matter and polymer composites, reinforcement engineering - spanning fibre architecture, particulate or nano-reinforcements, interface tailoring, and hybridisation - plays a pivotal role in defining the composite response across various length scales. Modern processing techniques such as automated fibre placement, resin infusion, curing cycles, compression moulding, additive manufacturing, and casting routes for metal matrix composites introduce microstructural variations, defects, and residual stresses, all of which significantly affect the final material performance. Despite the remarkable progress made, there is an ongoing need for integrated frameworks that unify reinforcement design, soft-matter and polymer physics, manufacturing strategies, and comprehensive performance assessment to enable next-generation multifunctional, durable, and sustainable composite systems.This Research Topic aims to spotlight integrated modelling, experimental, and optimisation approaches that bridge multiple length scales in composite materials, with a particular emphasis on soft-matter, polymer, biopolymer, and aluminium-based metal matrix composites. The goal is to highlight advances that couple reinforcement engineering and manufacturing processes with predictive simulations and structural–functional performance evaluation. Emphasis is placed on elucidating processing–structure–property relationships, including the roles of viscoelasticity, damage evolution, multiphysics behaviour, and microstructural heterogeneity. The Topic also seeks to foster interdisciplinary contributions merging materials science, soft-matter physics, mechanics, computational modelling, data-driven strategies, and advanced processing technologies. By creating a unified platform for both polymer/soft-matter and metal-matrix composite research communities, it aspires to accelerate the multiscale design and optimisation of lightweight, high-performance, and sustainable composite systems for various engineering applications.This Topic welcomes contributions on multiscale modelling, reinforcement design, processing–structure–property relationships, and performance assessment in polymer, biopolymer, soft-matter, and aluminium-based metal matrix composites. Themes of particular interest include:- Multiscale modelling and simulation linking structure from constituent levels to system performance- Optimisation of reinforcement architectures, hybrid fillers, and interface functionalisation- Effects of advanced processing methods on microstructure and material properties- Experimental characterisation of rheological, viscoelastic, and multifunctional behaviours- Data-driven, computational, and machine-learning approaches for design and optimisationAuthors are invited to submit original research articles, comprehensive reviews, or advanced methodologies that clearly link reinforcement engineering, processing effects, and performance outcomes, following the journal’s formatting and ethical guidelines. Topic editors: Pankaj Kumar, Sakshi Chauhan Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/76522/multiscale-design-and-optimisation-of-advanced-composites-from-reinforcement-engineering-to-processing-and-performance