Optimum material design for functionally gradient material plate (Q5961796)

The paper deals with the optimum material design for plates made of functionally gradient materials (FGMs). FGMs are considered as thermal barrier materials in nuclear, aircraft and space engineering. An FGM is non-homogeneous material whose composition varies continuously from a metal surface to a ceramic one. Material properties in an FGM do not change discontinuously like the ones in a two-layered plate. As a result, one can expect a reduction of thermal stresses with the use of the FGMs at high temperature. The authors examine the influence of the temperature dependence of material properties on steady thermal stresses. Thermal boundary conditions are considered, where the top and the bottom surfaces of plate are heated and kept at constant temperature. The available temperature regions as pairs of surface temperatures at which the local safety factor is of 1 or more are obtained. The influence of mechanical boundary conditions on the available temperature regions are also discussed. Finally, the optimal FGM plates for different mechanical boundary conditions are determined.