Designing Optimal Volume Fractions For Functionally Graded Materials With Temperature-Dependent Material Properties

2006 ◽  
Vol 74 (5) ◽  
pp. 861-874 ◽  
Author(s):  
Florin Bobaru

We present a numerical approach for material optimization of metal-ceramic functionally graded materials (FGMs) with temperature-dependent material properties. We solve the non-linear heterogeneous thermoelasticity equations in 2D under plane strain conditions and consider examples in which the material composition varies along the radial direction of a hollow cylinder under thermomechanical loading. A space of shape-preserving splines is used to search for the optimal volume fraction function which minimizes stresses or minimizes mass under stress constraints. The control points (design variables) that define the volume fraction spline function are independent of the grid used in the numerical solution of the thermoelastic problem. We introduce new temperature-dependent objective functions and constraints. The rule of mixture and the modified Mori-Tanaka with the fuzzy inference scheme are used to compute effective properties for the material mixtures. The different micromechanics models lead to optimal solutions that are similar qualitatively. To compute the temperature-dependent critical stresses for the mixture, we use, for lack of experimental data, the rule-of-mixture. When a scalar stress measure is minimized, we obtain optimal volume fraction functions that feature multiple graded regions alternating with non-graded layers, or even non-monotonic profiles. The dominant factor for the existence of such local minimizers is the non-linear dependence of the critical stresses of the ceramic component on temperature. These results show that, in certain cases, using power-law type functions to represent the material gradation in FGMs is too restrictive.

1999 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. W. Gao ◽  
S. J. White ◽  
C. Y. Wang

Abstract A combined experimental and numerical investigation of the solidification process during gravity casting of functionally graded materials (FGMs) is conducted. Focus is placed on the interplay between the freezing front propagation and particle sedimentation. Experiments were performed in a rectangular ingot using pure substances as the matrix and glass beads as the particle phase. The time evolutions of local particle volume fractions were measured by bifurcated fiber optical probes working in the reflection mode. The effects of various processing parameters were explored. It is found that there exists a particle-free zone in the top portion of the solidified ingot, followed by a graded particle distribution region towards the bottom. Higher superheat results in slower solidification and hence a thicker particle-free zone and a higher particle concentration near the bottom. The higher initial particle volume fraction leads to a thinner particle-free region. Lower cooling temperatures suppress particle settling. A one-dimensional solidification model was also developed, and the model equations were solved numerically using a fixed-grid, finite-volume method. The model was then validated against the experimental results, and the validated computer code was used as a tool for efficient computational prototyping of an Al/SiC FGM.


2011 ◽  
Vol 130-134 ◽  
pp. 3986-3993 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu Xin Hao ◽  
Wei Zhang ◽  
L. Yang ◽  
J.H. Wang

An analysis on the nonlinear dynamics of a cantilever functionally graded materials (FGM) cylindrical shell subjected to the transversal excitation is presented in thermal environment.Material properties are assumed to be temperature-dependent. Based on the Reddy’s first-order shell theory,the nonlinear governing equations of motion for the FGM cylindrical shell are derived using the Hamilton’s principle. The Galerkin’s method is utilized to discretize the governing partial equations to a two-degree-of-freedom nonlinear system including the quadratic and cubic nonlinear terms under combined external excitations. It is our desirable to choose a suitable mode function to satisfy the first two modes of transverse nonlinear oscillations and the boundary conditions for the cantilever FGM cylindrical shell. Numerical method is used to find that in the case of non-internal resonance the transverse amplitude are decreased by increasing the volume fraction index N.


Author(s):  
Saeed Rouhi ◽  
Seyed H Alavi

In this paper, the elastic properties of functionally graded materials reinforced by single-walled carbon nanotubes are studied. Three different matrices, including steel-silicon, iron-alumina and alumina-zirconia are considered. Besides, the effects of nanotube length, radius and volume fraction on the Young’s modulus of functionally graded matrices reinforced by single-walled carbon nanotubes are investigated. It is observed that short nanotubes not only cannot increase the longitudinal elastic modulus of the matrices, but sometimes decrease their elastic modulus. Of the three selected matrices, steel-silicon matrix would have the most enhancement. Investigation of the effect of nanotube volume fraction on the mechanical properties of nanocomposites shows that increasing the volume fraction of long single-walled carbon nanotube results in increasing the elastic modulus of the nanocomposites.


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