The transport sector is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions, prompting the automotive industry to adopt lightweight, high-performance materials to meet sustainability goals and increasingly stringent regulatory requirements. The session aims to explore recent advancements in both sustainable materials and digital engineering approaches, which are independently or jointly contributing to the transformation of the materials sector toward a low-carbon, high-efficiency future. Efforts to lower the carbon footprint of composites include the use of bio-based and recyclable polymers, recycled fibres, hybrid and bio-inspired structures, functionalised composites, optimised lightweight structures and energy-efficient or circular manufacturing processes. These innovations aim to improve performance while minimising environmental impact. In parallel, the growing adoption of digital technologies, such as CAE-based design, multi-scale modelling, virtual testing, and digital twins, chemometric methods, enables faster development, optimisation of structures, and better prediction of mechanical behaviour and lifetime performance. Integration with AI and data-driven methods further supports smart design and predictive maintenance strategies. Key topics include, but are not limited to:
- Sustainable materials, processing, and recycling technologies.
- Functional and smart composites.
- New optimised structures.
- Environmental assessment and life-cycle analysis (LCA).
- CAE modelling, virtual testing, and digital design for structural optimisation.
- Digital twins and AI-assisted monitoring for reliability and durability.
This session welcomes contributions addressing sustainability, digitalisation, or both, providing a platform for cross-disciplinary exchange toward the next generation of smart and sustainable materials used in the automotive sector.
Prof. Simonetta Boria, Università di Camerino
Prof. Raffaele Ciardiello, Politecnico di Torino
Prof. Valentina Brunella, Università di Torino
Interested authors are kindly invited to submit their contributions by e-mail to raffaele.ciardiello@polito.it; simonetta.boria@unicam.it; valentina.brunella@unito.it
