Engineers are gaining a clearer understanding of how lightweight metals change shape under stress, thanks to new insights into two key microscopic processes: phase transformations and deformation twinning. These two processes, and how they interact with each other, affect a metal's strength, flexibility and durability.

Mechanical Engineering Associate Professor Lei Cao led an editorial in the September 2026 issue of the Journal of Magnesium and Alloys examining recent advances in understanding phase transformations and deformation twinning in magnesium alloys.

Read the full paper, Deformation twinning in magnesium: the role of phase transformations.