Dear Colleagues,

Eutectic alloys have always been an important structural material in engineering due to their unique self-composite microstructures and excellent casting performances. The mechanical properties of the material depend on its solidification microstructure characteristics; consequently, the solidification behavior study of microstructure evolution and anomalous eutectic and eutectic colony structure formations in undercooled binary eutectic melts have attracted considerable interest for some decades. An undercooled rapid solidification study also plays an important role in clarifying grain refinement mechanisms and developing a solidification theoretical model of eutectic alloys. Conventional eutectic alloys are composed of one or two main elements, and their performances are mainly improved by adding a small amount of other elements. In recent years, eutectic high-entropy alloys composed of multiple main elements have rapidly become a new research hotspot. The development of eutectic high-entropy alloys is without the restriction of single-phase alloys and binary eutectic alloys, which cannot have a high strength and high plasticity at the same time, providing broad development ideas for the design of new structural material systems. Since then, a series of eutectic high-entropy alloys with a high strength, high plasticity and high thermal stability have been designed and developed under the action of many unique effects, such as the sluggish diffusion of high-entropy alloys. Studies have shown that eutectic alloys with micro-sized grains exhibit a superplastic strain; therefore, eutectic refinement methods and mechanisms are always an important field worthy of further study. With the development of laser-additive manufacturing and other preparation technologies, it also provides a new way to prepare refined nano-eutectic and develop new complex eutectic alloys. It should be noted that there are still significant challenges to clarify the physical metallurgy mechanism of multi-principal element alloys and develop complex eutectic alloys on demand. Therefore, the design and preparation of controllable high-strength and good-plasticity eutectic alloys will remain the focus of future research on structural materials.

Dr. Yixuan HeDr. Tianxiang ZhengDr. Zongye DingDr. Jianbao ZhangDr. Fan BuGuest Editors

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