Fractional calculus is a well-established tool in engineering science, with very promising applications in materials modelling. Indeed, studies have shown that fractional operators can successfully describe challenging phenomena as viscoelasticity, diffusion in porous media, heat transfer, wave propagation, which can hardly be captured by classical differential calculus. Further, fractional calculus has proved to be an excellent framework for modelling nonconventional media, including fractal and non-local ones, opening valuable prospects on future engineered materials. This theme issue gathers cutting-edge theoretical, computational and experimental studies on advanced materials modelling via fractional calculus, with a focus on complex phenomena and non-conventional media, highlighting the considerable potential of fractional calculus to address several challenges of materials modelling.

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