The mechanisms behind the improved tensile and forming properties of Mg-Zn-Ca alloys are investigated by concentrating on the alloying elements co-segregation at grain boundary and the resulting influence on strain coordination behaviors. In the developed Mg-1.0Zn-0.4Ca (ZX104, wt.%) alloy, significant co-segregation of Zn and Ca at grain boundary is introduced with the peak concentration of 14.4wt.% and 4.3wt.% achieved within the considered composition interval. Accordingly, the optimal tensile and forming properties with the ultimate tensile strength of 251MPa and elongation of 45% along extrusion direction, and Erichsen index of 5.9mm are achieved. The rationale behind the improved mechanical performance is primarily ascribed to the reinforced strain accommodation capacity at grain boundary with alloying element segregation. The co-segregated grain boundaries can act as adaptive interfaces that effectively relax stress concentration and reduce dislocation pinning. Furthermore, grain boundaries with alloying element segregation show the capability to change the misorientation and facilitate the strain coordination and basal slip transmission during deformation. The findings provide helpful guidance for improving the plasticity and formability of Mg alloys based on alloying element segregation at grain boundary.

The dependence of shrinkage porosities on microstructure characteristics of Mg-12Al alloy was investigated. The distribution, morphology, size, and number density of shrinkage porosities were analyzed under different cooling rates. The relationship between shrinkage porosities and microstructure characteristics was discussed in terms of temperature conditions, feeding channel characteristics, and feeding capacity. Further, the feeding behavior of the residual liquid phase in the solid skeleton was quantified by introducing permeability. Results show a strong correlation between the solid microstructure skeleton and shrinkage porosity characteristics. An increase in permeability corresponds to a declining number density of shrinkage porosities. This study aims to provide a more complete understanding how to reduce shrinkage porosities by controlling microstructure characteristics.

Significant self-corrosion and product accumulation of the Mg anode during discharge restrict the practical application of magnesium-air batteries. In this study, different cathode phases were introduced by tailoring the Gd content to enhance the discharge performance of as-cast Mg-0.4Sn-xGd (x = 0.4, 0.8, 1.2 wt.%) anodes. The enhancement of Gd content resulted in the disappearance of the Mg2Sn cathode phase and the sequential formation of MgSnGd (in 0.4Gd, 0.8Gd) and Mg5Gd (in 1.2Gd) phases. Both new cathode phases exhibit smaller Volta potential differences with the alpha-Mg matrix than Mg2Sn, with Mg5Gd showing the smallest. Corrosion resistance first decreased then increased with Gd content, while discharge performance showed continuous enhancement. The 1.2Gd alloy demonstrates the highest measured overall discharge performance, achieving a peak anodic efficiency of 47.49% and specific energy of 1327.34 mWh g-1. Although the continuous MgSnGd phase accelerated galvanic corrosion, the particulate Mg5Gd phase reduced this effect by dispersing the MgSnGd network, promoting uniform dissolution and increased product desorption. This work provides findings on the design of high-performance Mg anodes through rational cathodic phase modulation.

Mg-9.87Gd-4.97Y-1.2Zn-0.5Zr alloys reinforced with 2 wt% nano-Ti particles (Ti/VW94) were produced using vacuum stirring and hot extrusion techniques. Microstructural analysis revealed that the addition of nano-Ti particles facilitated the precipitation and development of lamellar long-period stacking-ordered (LPSO) structures and the RE-rich phase. Compared to the VW94 alloys, the Ti/VW94 composite displayed a finer average grain size (3.15 mu m vs. 11.38 mu m) and decreased texture strength (3.28 vs. 15.09). The nano-Ti particles inhibited grain boundary migration through the Zener pinning effect, thereby promoting grain refinement. Additionally, the lamellar LPSO phases, RE-rich phases, and nano-Ti particles collectively pinned the grain boundaries and dislocations, which further suppressed recrystallization. The Ti/VW94 composite exhibited a notable enhancement in yield strength (YS), elongation (EL), and hardness, which were increased by 3.7 %, 18.2 %, and 10.6 %, respectively, compared to the VW94 alloy. This enhancement in the tensile characteristics is primarily due to grain refinement strengthening, mismatched coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE), efficient load transfer, and the Orowan mechanism. In terms of corrosion, the nano-Ti particles and RE-rich phases acted as cathodes, whereas the 18R-LPSO phase acted as an anode, accelerating the dissolution of the Mg matrix. Additionally, the refinement of grains results in a proliferation of grain boundaries, which elevates the corrosion current density (Icorr) sixfold (from 55.3 to 345 mu A & sdot;cm-2) and reduces the charge transfer resistance, consequently accelerating the corrosion rate of the material.

In the present work, composite sheets (VZP) composed of VK41, ZK61 magnesium alloys and pure Mg are fabricated by asymmetric composite extrusion (ACE). The microstructure, texture, and bendability of the VZP sheets are investigated in comparison with those of single-layer sheets produced by conventional extrusion (CE). The results show that the VZP sheets exhibit superior bendability at room temperature compared to the CE sheets. When the sheet thickness to bending radius ratio (t/r) is 1 and the pure Mg layer is positioned on the outer side of the bent specimen, complete folding (180 degrees bending) is achieved. The excellent bendability of the VZP sheets originates from texture weakening induced by the shear strain, which is caused by the asymmetric die structure and the composite layer interfaces during extrusion. During bending, extensive twinning and non-basal slips are activated in the outer pure Mg layer because of the significantly weakened texture, accommodating deformation along the c-axis direction, and thereby substantially enhancing the bendability of the sheets.

Differences in the physicochemical properties of titanium (Ti) and steel lead to complexity during solid-state bonding. In particular, the effect of carbon (C) in steel on elemental diffusion and interfacial reactions is still insufficiently understood. This study analyzed the interfacial morphology and the diffusion and reaction behavior of Ti, iron (Fe), and C diffusion-bonded couples, using commercial pure titanium (TA2) Ti and steels with different C contents (20#, 45#, and 85#) by diffusion bonding at 710, 870, and 960 °C, respectively. A continuous C-enriched layer formed on the Ti side of the interfaces, comprising nano- to sub-micrometer-scale face-centered cubic TiC grains, with the grain size increasing with the increasing distance from the interface. No Ti-Fe intermetallic was detected. The thickness of the C-enriched (TiC) layer increased with the increasing temperature and C content of steel, exceeding 2.5 μm in the TA2-85# joint bonded at 960 °C. During bonding, C atoms exhibited a faster diffusion rate and a stronger tendency to react with Ti, which led to preferential TiC formation at the Ti-side interface. Although Fe atoms also diffused toward the Ti side, the strong Ti-C reaction reduced the probability of Ti-Fe, and Fe was therefore mainly distributed along TiC grain boundaries. Ti atoms diffused more slowly and preferentially reacted with C, which prevented the formation of Ti-rich phases near the steel side. The activation energy of the Ti + C → TiC interfacial reaction decreased with increasing C content of steel. These findings address the research gap related to C diffusion in Ti-steel heterostructures and provide a scientific basis for controlling the detrimental diffusion of C during the fabrication.

As a metal-air battery with high energy density, environmental friendliness, and abundant resources, the Mg-air battery has attracted considerable attention for specific applications. However, the magnesium alloy anodes serving as the battery's core component, exhibit a highly negative electrode potential and thermodynamic instability in aqueous electrolytes. This leads to critical challenges during discharge, including self-corrosion, non-uniform dissolution of the alpha-Mg matrix. In this study, Gd was introduced into pure Mg to regulate the microstructure, particularly the secondary phase of the Mg anode. Results demonstrated that while the addition of Gd did not significantly refine the alloy's grain size, it introduced Mg5Gd secondary phases with distinct morphological characteristics. This resulted in a varying degrees of improvement in both corrosion and discharge performance. As the Gd content increased, the discharge performance of the Mg-Gd alloy initially increased and subsequently decreased. Notably, the 1.9Gd alloy exhibited the optimal discharge properties at a current density of 10 mA cm- 2, achieving a discharge voltage of 1.42 V, an anode utilization of 54.57%, and a specific energy of 1689.71 mWh g- 1. This enhancement stemmed from the uniformly distributed particulate Mg5Gd phase, which simultaneously facilitated the formation of a protective Gd2O3 film, established Mg5Gd/alpha-Mg galvanic couples with a relatively lower Volta potential difference, and also promoted the detachment of discharge products through interphase cracks formed between Mg5Gd and alpha-Mg. These factors ultimately promoted the continuous and uniform dissolution of the matrix during discharge. Conversely, the aggregated rod-like morphology of the Mg5Gd phase in the high-Gd-content alloy amplified the Volta potential difference between itself and the matrix. This exacerbated the local dissolution during discharge with an uneven discharge front interface, ultimately decreasing discharge properties. A comparative analysis and discussion on the alloy dissolution mechanisms governed by the two distinct Mg5Gd phase morphologies were also conducted.

The commercial AM60 (Mg-6Al-0.3Mn) die-casting alloy was modified through Mn, Ce, and La micro-alloying, each at a content below 0.2 wt.%. SEM, TEM, and Micro-CT were employed to characterize the microstructures and properties of AM60 based alloys. AM60-0.2La alloy showed excellent mechanical properties. The ultimate tensile strength, yield strength, and elongation of (288.0±1.7) MPa, (158.0±1.0) MPa, and (22.0±3.0)% were achieved in AM60-0.2La alloy. Besides, AM60-0.2La alloy exhibited the best corrosion resistance (0.29 mm/a) and fluidity among the investigated four alloys. The excellent mechanical properties and corrosion resistance are mainly attributed to the grain refinement strengthening, low porosity, and low content of large shrinkage porosity, promising for super-sized integrated automotive components.

Modification plays a critical role in tailoring the morphology of eutectic silicon and improving the mechanical performance of Al-Si alloys. In this study, the effects of modifying elements, specifically Sr and Li, on the twin characteristics and morphology of eutectic Si, as well as on the mechanical properties of a high-pressure die-casting Al-7Si alloy, are systematically investigated. The results show that the addition of modifying elements, particularly Li, significantly increases twin density and promotes extensive twin branching, leading to a transition of eutectic Si from a coarse flaky morphology to a finer and more homogeneous structure. Compared with the unmodified alloy, both Li-modified and Sr-modified alloys exhibit greater scatter in mechanical properties. For samples containing only small pores, defined as those with an area fraction of the largest pore on the fracture surface <= 0.2%, the modified alloys demonstrate higher strength and improved ductility relative to the unmodified alloy. The mechanisms underlying the enhanced strength-ductility synergy and the increased scatter in mechanical response are discussed. (c) 2026 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of The editorial office of Journal of Materials Science & Technology.

Overcoming the trade-off between thermal conductivity (TC) and mechanical properties is a challenge for magnesium (Mg) alloys. In this work, a Mg-4Zn-0.1Zr-0.05 Sr (wt.%) was selected. By adjusting the extrusion ratio (26.91, 7.65) and extrusion temperature (300 degrees C, 200 degrees C), the E200-30 alloy (extruded at 200 degrees C with a ratio of 7.65) was developed, which exhibits exceptional thermal-mechanical synergy. Specifically, this alloy achieves a TC of 133.1+0.7 W center dot m(-1)center dot K-1, a tensile yield strength of 284+4 MPa, an ultimate tensile strength of 342+4 MPa, and an elongation of 15.0+0.6%. The effects of extrusion parameters on the microstructure were characterized using OM, SEM, EBSD, and TEM. Furthermore, the correlations among extrusion parameters, microstructure, and properties were established through analyses of the underlying strengthening and thermal conduction mechanisms. The bimodal microstructure and a high density of nano-precipitates formed under lowtemperature and low extrusion ratio synergistically enhance both TC and strength. In particular, the bimodal microstructure effectively weakens the thermal-conductivity anisotropy. These insights establish a mechanistic framework guiding thermomechanical processing strategies for high-performance Mg alloys with balanced thermal and mechanical functionalities.

This study investigates the effects of Y, Yb, and their combined addition on the oxide film structure and ignition behavior of Mg–4Al–1Ca (AX41) alloy. Y/Yb co-addition significantly enhances ignition resistance, with the Y15Yb15 alloy exhibiting the highest ignition temperature of 1097 °C, representing an increase of ~370 °C over the base alloy. FIB–SEM observations show that oxide films in the base and single-element-added alloys contain pores and interfacial irregularities, whereas the Y15Yb15 alloy forms a compact and uniform oxide structure. Quantitative analysis indicates that ignition resistance is governed by oxide structural integrity rather than thickness alone, as evidenced by a stronger correlation between ignition temperature and the coefficient of variation (COV) of oxide thickness than with thickness itself. Although thermodynamic analysis indicates that CaO, Y₂O₃, and Yb₂O₃ are more stable than MgO, ignition behavior cannot be fully explained by thermodynamic parameters alone. TEM and EDS analyses suggest the formation of endogenous CaO beneath the oxide layer, attributed to inward oxygen diffusion and its subsequent reaction with Ca²⁺ near the Al₂Ca/matrix interface. In the Y15Yb15 alloy, this endogenous CaO is uniformly distributed, contributing to oxide densification by reducing ionic diffusion pathways. A mechanism is proposed in which the balance between inward oxygen diffusion and outward diffusion of Mg²⁺ and Ca²⁺ is considered to govern oxide structural integrity, and Y/Yb co-addition optimizes this balance through the controlled formation of endogenous CaO, providing a strategy for designing flame-resistant magnesium alloys.

Dendritic segregation, ubiquitous microstructural inhomogeneity during solidification, severely deteriorates mechanical performance and processing stability. Despite advances in phase-field simulation, existing models often rely on oversimplifications (e.g., constant thermophysical parameters, dilute solution approximation, or binary-alloy bias), leading to inaccurate prediction of segregation behavior in industrial multi-component Mg alloys. To address this gap, a coupled computational framework is proposed via integrating the multiphase-field method, CALPHAD-based thermodynamic calculations, and a Taylor expansion-driven extrapolation algorithm for thermodynamic driving force. This framework enables high-fidelity simulation by capturing temperature-dependent thermophysical parameters and inter-solute interactions, while reducing computational complexity compared to conventional multi-component phase-field models. The model is systematically validated by evaluating non-constant vs constant thermophysical parameters, anisotropy coefficients, thermodynamic driving force, and solid fractions. Results show that the segregation intensity is dominated by partition coefficient (k) and diffusion coefficient (D), with smaller k and D causing severer segregation, and the multi-dendrite competition increases segregation ratios due to more solute accumulation. The segregation ratios increase with the undercooling and also the cooling rate. Despite different solute diffusivities, the segregation ratios of both Al and Zn decrease with increasing Al and Zn contents. The solute segregation of investigated elements ranks Zn > Gd > Y > Al. This work reveals the dynamic formation mechanism, morphology-segregation coupling, and multi-dendrite interaction inaccessible to simplified models (e.g., Scheil-type calculations), advancing fundamental understanding of dendritic segregation and providing an efficient tool for optimizing Mg alloy design.

A strategy has been proposed to enhance the stretch formability of magnesium (Mg) alloy sheets by introducing a full-thickness gradient microstructure and texture modification. Gradient-structured (GS) AZ31 sheets with a thickness between 1 and 2 mm are fabricated via multi-pass bending followed by annealing. The evolution of the gradient microstructure and its impact on plastic deformation behavior are systematically examined. It is found that the gradient distribution of residual strain induced by bending serves as the primary driving force for the formation of the gradient microstructure with a bimodal texture tilting towards the rolling direction after annealing. Formability evaluations indicate that the 2 mm thick GS sheet exhibits Erichsen index (IE) values 73% and 41% higher than those of fine-grained (FG) and coarse-grained (CG) AZ31 sheets, respectively. The 1 mm thick gradient sheet achieves an IE value of 7.48 mm. This is attributed to two factors: on one hand, texture modification. On the other hand, the gradient structure itself, the synergistic activation of twinning in central CG regions and non-basal slip in FG regions on both sides, together with grain-to-grain basal slip transmission in FG regions, promotes a more uniform strain distribution during the Erichsen test, thereby suppressing crack initiation in the outer region. (c) 2026 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of The editorial office of Journal of Materials Science & Technology.

Room-temperature rotary swaging (RS) is pivotal for strengthening magnesium alloys. Herein, hot-extruded Mg-1Zn-0.2Ca-0.2Nd (wt.%) alloy achieves exceptional strengthening by tailoring dislocation-solution segregation coupling after 5-pass RS (34% total strain, RS-2 alloy). RS-2 alloy forms an optimized dislocation-segregation-grain boundary configuration, featuring a maximum dislocation density (4.18 & times; 10(14) m(-2)), prominent Zn (9.3 at.%) /Ca (3.5 at.%) segregation at high-angle grain boundaries (HAGBs) and 32% HAGBs. Its yield strength (315 MPa) and ultimate tensile strength (342 MPa) rise by 64 MPa and 75 MPa, respectively, versus the extruded state. This is attributed to the dual-strengthening effect counteracting the impairment from texture weakening and grain coarsening.

To realize the coordinated improvement of strength and plasticity in Mg-RE-TM alloys, this work comprehensively investigated the microstructural evolution and strengthening mechanisms of Mg98.25-xNi0.75Gd1Smx (x = 0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8 at.%) alloys fabricated by gravity casting, hot extrusion, and subsequent T5 aging. The results reveal that trace additions of the light RE element Sm effectively substitute for a portion of the heavy RE element Gd within the LPSO phase, thereby reducing the stacking fault energy (SFE) and simultaneously increasing the density of stacking faults (SFs). This facilitates the precipitation and homogeneous dispersion of the 14H-LPSO phase in the extruded alloy, thereby further regulating the recrystallization behavior. At a Sm content of 0.6 at.%, the alloy exhibits the optimal strength-ductility balance, attaining an ultimate tensile strength (UTS) of 355 MPa, a yield strength (YS) of 295 MPa, and an elongation (EL) of 8.7%. Subsequent T5 treatment promotes the precipitation of additional finely dispersed nanoscale SFs/LPSO phases, further enhancing second-phase strengthening effects. Notably, the alloy containing 0.8 at.% Sm achieves a UTS of 417 MPa and a YS of 393 MPa after T5 treatment. The synergistic enhancement of strength and ductility mainly originates from the combined effects of LPSO kinking and grain-boundary strengthening. This work demonstrates that the cooperative interaction between light and heavy RE elements enables effective regulation of the LPSO phase and grain structure, thereby offering an economically viable and efficient strategy for developing high-performance magnesium alloys.

A synergistic combination of shot peening treatment with hydrothermal treatment was proposed to construct a dense hexagonal Mg(OH)2 nano-coating on the surface of high-speed-extruded Mg-5Bi-3Al-1Ca (BAX531, wt.%) alloy. The corrosion behaviors of the bare alloy, directly hydrothermal coated, and shot-peening-assisted hydrothermal coated samples were systematically compared in 3.5 wt% NaCl and simulated body fluid (SBF), and in vitro antibacterial activity, in vivo degradation behavior, and biocompatibility were evaluated. The results demonstrate that the surface plastic deformation and roughening induced by shot peening significantly promote uniform nucleation and densified growth of hexagonal Mg(OH)2 nanoplates. Consequently, the nanoplate diagonal size is refined from 92.2 nm to 58.1 nm, the coating porosity decreases from 1.5% to 0.2%, the coating thickness increases from 2.5 μm to 5.1 μm, and the coating/substrate interfacial adhesion is substantially improved. Benefiting from this dense coating, the shot-peening-assisted coated hydrothermal sample exhibits a drastically reduced corrosion rate. We also find that the synergistic protective effect of the dense Mg(OH)2 nano-coating and the biomineralized calcium-phosphate (Ca-P) layer makes the corrosion mode transform from severe pitting (in 3.5 wt% NaCl) to uniform corrosion (in SBF). Moreover, it achieves high antibacterial activity through sustainable Mg2⁺ release, shows an extremely low in vivo degradation rate, and elicits the mildest foreign-body response with excellent biocompatibility. This shot-peening-assisted hydrothermal coating strategy offers a promising alternative for the application of high-speed-extruded magnesium alloys as biodegradable implant materials.

The fabrication of titanium alloy/cemented carbide composite tubes significantly improves the wear resistance of the titanium alloy, demonstrating promising application potential in aviation, transportation, and defense industries. However, the formation of brittle intermetallic compounds between titanium alloy and cemented carbide, coupled with their significant thermal expansion coefficient differences, poses challenges to enhancing interface bonding performance. In this work, the interface microstructure and interfacial bonding performance of titanium alloy/cemented carbide composite tube with interlayer of V and Fe foils were studied. In addition, experimental characterization based on digital image correlation (DIC) and numerical simulation were carried out to investigate the residual stress in the composite tubes. Results indicate that local shear strength decreases from top to bottom, with a maximum value of 294.5 MPa, while annular shear strength remains relatively uniform along the tube length, peaking at 230.5 MPa. Shear failure occurs at the V/Fe interface due to the presence of brittle VAC and V6C5 phases. The absolute value of the residual stress in the titanium alloy layer decreases radially outward. During the diffusion bonding stage (DBS), titanium alloy is subjected to solid particle medium loading, resulting in compressive principal stress dominated by S33 (sigma theta). In the cooling stage (CS), thermal contraction maintains compressive principal stress, mainly S11 (sigma R). Along the tube height during DBS, all stress components exhibit minimum absolute values in the mid-section. At CS, only S22 (sigma Z) shows the lowest magnitude in the middle region. The post-cooling compressive stress contributes to enhanced interfacial bonding strength. This study provides a theoretical basis for the fabrication and residual stress testing for titanium alloy/ cemented carbide composite tube.

The non-uniform wall thickness of castings leads to substantial differences in cooling rates, which results in diverse solidified microstructures and ultimately affects mechanical properties. This study systematically investigates the effect of cooling rates spanning four orders of magnitude (10−2 to 102 K/s) on the solidified microstructural characteristics of Mg–Al alloy series (Mg–3Al to Mg–15Al). Through combining experiments and multivariate nonlinear regression analysis, a general power function relationship is established between the morphological characteristic parameters (equiaxed grain size λ1, specific surface area SS, dimensionless perimeter Pd, fractal dimension Fd, etc.), the alloy composition (C), and the cooling rate (R). λ1 follows λ1 = 61.05C−0.45R−0.31, decreasing with the increase of cooling rate; Ss conforms to Ss = 0.01C0.068R0.95, where high-Al content and rapid cooling can inhibit microstructure coarsening and significantly increase Ss; Pd follows Pd = 2.60C0.14R0.045 + 0.00014C0.41R2.19, and Fd satisfies Fd = 1.12 + 0.19C0.25R0.32. The step-quenching experiments are further employed to reveal the dynamic evolution law of solidification microstructures: the morphological complexity increases in the early stage of solidification but decreases in the later stage due to the dominance of coarsening. Meanwhile, a series of reliable predictive models are established to accurately predict the evolution of microstructural morphological parameters during solidification. Hardness analysis confirms that the hardness under different solidification conditions is significantly correlated with morphological characteristic parameters, providing a key basis for constructing the composition-microstructure-property relationship. The research results offer important theoretical support for the microstructure regulation and performance optimization of cast Mg–Al alloys.

Magnesium (Mg) alloy welded joints are highly susceptible to localized corrosion, which severely restricts their application in lightweight structural and multi-material systems. This susceptibility mainly arises from welding-induced microstructural heterogeneity. Variations in grain structure, intermetallic compounds, secondary phases, crystallographic texture, and welding defects redistribute local electrochemical activity and promote corrosion degradation. This review examines the role of heterogeneous weld microstructures in governing site-specific degradation initiation and propagation in both homogeneous and dissimilar Mg alloy joints. Particular attention is given to Mg/Al, Mg/steel, and Mg/Ti systems. In these joints, galvanic coupling, interfacial reactions, and defect-assisted occluded environments accelerate pitting corrosion, intergranular corrosion, and stress corrosion cracking. A unified microstructure–electrochemistry framework is proposed to interpret corrosion evolution across multiple length scales. Recent advances in corrosion mitigation are also critically reviewed, including alloy and interface design, welding process optimization, surface engineering, and post-weld treatments. This review provides an integrated mechanistic understanding of localized corrosion in Mg alloy welded joints and offers guidance for the design of corrosion-resistant lightweight joining systems.

The data-driven paradigm is revolutionizing metallic materials research. This review synthesizes how Deep Learning (DL) transforms the innovation chain, guided by the Process-Structure-Property-Performance framework. We analyze DL’s role in three interconnected stages: (1) Microstructure analysis, where DL automates high-throughput quantification and evolves toward generative 2D-to-3D microstructure reconstruction to enable digital twins for simulation; (2) Property prediction, where models advance from single-modal correlations to physics-infused, multimodal frameworks that fuse heterogeneous data (images, spectra, text) with mechanistic simulations for predicting mechanical, fatigue, and corrosion behaviors; and (3) Inverse design, which matures from multi-objective-driven optimal composition search to microstructure generation in the high-dimensional process-structure-property space, generating physically consistent blueprints. Persistent bottlenecks—such as the “black-box” nature, small-sample generalization, and integration gaps—are critically examined. We conclude with a roadmap toward physics-informed architectures and integrated autonomous platforms for intelligent, closed-loop materials discovery. This work provides a focused perspective on structural metallic materials, tracing a clear path from automated characterization to reliable design.