INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN AERONAUTICAL Vol.

4 Issue 6,
AND MECHANICAL ENGINEERING June 2016
ISSN (ONLINE): 2321-3051 Pgs: 8-14

A Review on Functionally Graded

Materials
Lokesh Singh
Department of Mechanical Engineering
GD Rungta College of Engineering & Technology
Bhilai, 490023, India
lokeshsingh@gmx.com

Abstract
Functionally Graded Material (FGM) belongs to a class of advanced material characterized by variation in
properties along its dimension varies. FGM material may consist of one two or more materials whose volume
fractions are changing smoothly, continuously along desired dimension within the object. The overall properties of
FGM are unique and different from any of the individual material that forms it. There is a wide range of applications
for FGM and it is expected to increase as the cost of material processing and fabrication processes are reduced by
improving these processes. In this study, an overview of FGMs, manufacturing processes, area of application, type
of FGMs and Numerical Approach for analysis of FGMs are discussed.

Keywords: FGMs, Manufacturing process of FGMs, Numerical approach of FGMs.

1. Introduction
Functionally graded materials (FGMs) belong to the class of advanced material having changes in properties along
its dimensions. The properties of FGM are unique and different from any single material that form it (Sofiyev and
Kuruoglu 2015). FGM material may consist of one two or more materials whose volume fractions are changing
smoothly, continuously along desired dimension within the object (Dai et al. 2005), (Xiaoping Qian 2004). As
compared to laminated composites, FGMs have no sudden change in material properties across the interface
between discrete materials, that may result in large inter-laminar stresses leading to de-lamination (Mojdehi et al.
2011).
A two dimensional object of materials contains two composition, tough material (metal) and heat resistance
material (such as ceramic) as shown in Figure 1(a) Figure 1(b) illustrates the material distribution where the blue
lines shows the reduces in volume fraction of metal gradually from left to the right linearly, whereas the red line
shows the heat resistance material (ceramics) linearly increases its volume fraction from left to the right. The
overall performance of the material in terms of heat resistance, mechanism performance and thermal stress
relaxation in transition of two materials shown in Figure 1(c) (Wu 2011). This concept was broadened to include
a combination of dissimilar material without having explicit boundary for creating of material with new function.
Graded material with a gradual variation of materials and material properties have come into play to replace
homogeneous material in such conditions. The mechanical benefit obtained from such material variation may be
significant as can be seen by the excellent structural performance of some of these materials. Consequently there
has been an increasing interest in producing man made non homogeneous material for specific application, often
referred as functional graded materials (Santare and Gazonas 2003).

Lokesh Singh
 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN AERONAUTICAL Vol.4 Issue 6,
AND MECHANICAL ENGINEERING June 2016
ISSN (ONLINE): 2321-3051 Pgs: 8-14

(a) (b) (c)

Figure Error! No text of specified style in document.: Model of functionally graded material objects (a) FGMs
object (b) Bi- linear material variation (c) Thermal stress relaxation.

2. History of FGMs
Functionally graded material commonly occurs in nature. The human body contains many examples of complex
FGMs parts such as bones or teeth, another example of naturally occurring FGMs can be found in nature such as
plants and in animal-tissues. For example a tooth and more specific dental crowns are an excellent example of the
application of FGMs. It requires a high wear resistance outside (enamel), and a ductile inner structure for reasons
of fatigue and brittleness further, it requires a translucent outer area and a specific set of color nuances for reasons
of aesthetics (Knoppers et al. 2005), (Sevcik et al. 2009).
In technical world functionally graded materials were first proposed around 1984 (Knoppers et al. 2005), (P. H.
Lee 2013) by Sendai group of Japan. In 1987 they launched a national project called FGM Part I with special
coordination funds for promoting science and technology. Title of the Research was Research on Generic
Technology of FGM Development for Thermal Stress Relaxation The first international symposium on
functionally graded materials was held in Sendai Japan in 1990.
In recent years this concept has become more popular in Europe, particularly in Germany. A Trans-regional
collaborative research center (SFB TRANSREGIO) is funded since 2006 in order to exploit the potential of
grading mono-materials, such as steel, aluminum and polypropylene, by using thermo mechanically coupled
manufacturing processes.

3. Types of FGMs
Depending upon the nature of gradient, the functionally graded materials (composite) may be grouped into
following types (Bharti et al. 2013). A typical graphical representation is shown in Figure 2 (a), (b), (c) and (d)
respectively.

(a) (b)

Lokesh Singh
 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN AERONAUTICAL Vol.4 Issue 6,
AND MECHANICAL ENGINEERING June 2016
ISSN (ONLINE): 2321-3051 Pgs: 8-14

(c) (d)

Figure 2: Types of functionally graded materials (a) Gradient with Fraction (b) Gradient with Size, (c) Gradient
with Orientation, (d) Gradient with Shape.

4. Manufacturing Process of FGMs

In summary most methods involved in manufacturing process of functionally graded materials (Jamaludin et al.
2013) are shown in Table 1(Rajan and Pai 2009). All the processing methods are categorized in three parts:

1) Liquid state process.

2) Solid state process.
3) Deposition process.

Table Error! No text of specified style in document.: Functionally Graded Materials Processing
Methods
Liquid State Process Solid State Process Deposition Process

Settling Diffusion Bonding Electro Deposition

Centrifugal Casting Powder Metallurgy Laser Deposition

Infiltration Vapor Deposition

Directional Spray Deposition

Filling

Solidification

Controlled Mould

Some examples of FGMs and the respectively fabrication or processing methods are shown in Table 2 (Rajan and
Pai 2009).

Table 2: Examples of FGMs Fabricated by Different Processing

FGM Systems Processing Methods

Al-AlN Physical Vapour Deposition

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 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN AERONAUTICAL Vol.4 Issue 6,
AND MECHANICAL ENGINEERING June 2016
ISSN (ONLINE): 2321-3051 Pgs: 8-14

Ni-ZrO2 Electro deposition

(Ni-Mo-TiC) Diffusion Bonding

Ni-Al2O3 Powder Metallurgy

Ni-Al2O3 Plasma Spray Process

Al-( Al2O3-AlTiO3) Infiltration

Al-SiC Centrifugal Casting

Ti6Al4V-WC Laser Melt Inject

A brief comparison of different processing methods are categorized is shown in Table 3(Kieback et al. 2003).
Different FGM processing methods are compared for the followings (Rajan and Pai 2009)

1) Versatility in Component Geometry.

2) Variability of Transition Function.
3) Types of FGMs.

Table 3: Overview of FGMs Processing Methods

Versatility In Component Variability of
Process Type of FGM
Geometry Transition Function
Thermal Spraying Good Very Good Bulk, Coating

Sheet Lamination Moderate Very Good Bulk

Diffusion Good Moderate Joint, Coating

PVD, CVD Moderate Very Good Coating

Wet Powder Spraying Moderate Very Good Bulk

Slurry Dipping Good Very Good Coating

Powder Stacking Moderate Very Good Bulk

Laser Cladding Very Good Very Good Bulk, Coating

GMFC Process Good Very Good Bulk

Electrochemical Gradation Good Moderate Bulk

Jet Solidification Very Good Very Good Bulk

Foaming Of Polymer Good Moderate Bulk

Direct Solidification Poor Moderate Bulk

Filtration/Slip Casting Good Very Good Bulk

Sedimentation/Centrifuging Poor Good Bulk

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 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN AERONAUTICAL Vol.4 Issue 6,
AND MECHANICAL ENGINEERING June 2016
ISSN (ONLINE): 2321-3051 Pgs: 8-14

5. Areas of Application of FGMs

With availability of various manufacturing process as the applications of FGMs has increased over time. Some of
the application areas of FGMs are highlighted below in Figure 3;

Figure 3: Various field of application of FGMs.

Aerospace
Functionally graded materials can withstand very high thermal gradient, this makes it suitable for use in structures
and space plane body for example the space shuttle utilizes ceramic tiles as thermal protection from heat generated
during re-entry in to the earth's atmosphere, rocket engine component etc. As processing technique are improving,
the FGMs are promising materials that can be used in wider areas of aerospace (Rasheedat et al. 2012).

Biomaterials
Biomaterials can be designed to have variable pore sizes and porosity distribution and thus porous biomaterials
can take the graded/ gradient porous form. Such Porous bio materials Scaffold are used in bone or ligament
replacement (Miao and Sun 2010).

Defence
The traditional Japanese Sword is a good example of FGM. This sword is made of several forging steel plates
with different carbon content in order to distribute carbon so that it is located more in outer surface and less in
inside. This is responsible for high strength and toughness in Japanese sword (Misra et al. 2011). One of the most
important characteristics of functionally graded material is the ability to inhibit crack propagation, this makes
functionally graded material suitable for defence application

Sensors and Energy applications

A large variety of functional effects draw advantage from the FGM principle, such as graded thermoelectric and
dielectrics (thin films prepared by chemical solution deposition), piezoelectric graded materials applied for broad
band ultrasonic transducer and graded composite electrodes for solid oxide fuels (Muller et al. 2003). FGMs are
also used in energy conversion devices. They also provide thermal barrier and are used as protective coating on
turbine blades in gas turbine engine.

Optoelectronics
By using FGM it is possible to fabricate photonic devices which could be operated in a wide spectral range (Wo
et al. 2005). In semiconductors, the material function of FGMs describes the carrier concentration, diffusion length
and refractive index respectively.

Other Areas of Application are cutting tool insert coating, automobile engine components, nuclear reactors
components, turbine blades, heat exchanger, tribology sensor, fire retardant doors etc (Rasheedat et al. 2012),

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AND MECHANICAL ENGINEERING June 2016
ISSN (ONLINE): 2321-3051 Pgs: 8-14

(Bohidar et al. 2014). The list is endless and more application is springing up as the processing technology, cost
of production and properties of FGM improves.

6. Numerical Approach for analysis of FGMs

In engineering applications, there are many types of numerical method available such as finite difference method
(FDM), finite volume method (FVM), finite element method (FEM), boundary element method (BEM) and mesh
free methods(Yao et al. 2005), (Wang et al. 2006). However as per literature available maximum work is carried
out by FEM. FEM is widely used in diverse fields to solve static, dynamic, linear and non linear problems.
The main challenge to implement FEM in FGMs is to analyze the material property variation and to describe this
within the structure. Theoretical approach are tedious to describe the material properties of FGMs (Hernik 2010).
Reserve engineering processes may also be used to the find the spatial material properties of the FGMs. By
dividing the FGMs structure into significantly small size of mesh and the material properties considered at every
integration points is gives reasonable results when analyzing the FGMs structure by FEM.
Finite element analysis requires reasonable results (good convergence results) in less simulation time, both
obtained by adjusting the shape, size and optimized number of elements. The computational simulations are
important tools for development because of their potential to reduce expensive experimentation, finite element
simulation is a vital tool for analysis, and Mesh generation is an essential part of FEM. Extensive work is available
in the area of mesh generation algorithms and handling complex geometric objects.

7. References
Bharti, I., Gupta, N., & Gupta, K. M. (2013). Novel Applications of Functionally Graded Nano , Optoelectronic and
Thermoelectric Materials. International Journal of materials, mechanics and manufacturing.

Bohidar, S. K., Sharma, R., & Mishra, P. R. (2014). Functionally Graded Materials: A critical Review. International journal
of research, 1(7), 289301.

Dai, K. Y., Liu, G. R., Han, X., & Lim, K. M. (2005). Thermomechanical analysis of functionally graded material ( FGM )
plates using element-free Galerkin method. Computer and structures, 83, 14871502.

Hernik, S. (2010). New concept of finite element method for FGM materials. Technical transaction,Biblioteka Ploitechniki
krakowskiej, 107(8), 99109.

Jamaludin, S. N. S., Mustapha, F., Nuruzzman, D. M., & Shah Nor Basri. (2013). A review on the fabrication techniques of
functionally graded ceramic-metallic materials in advanced composites. Scientific Research and Essays, 8(21), 828840.

Kieback, B., Neubrand, A., & Riedel, H. (2003). Processing techniques for functionally graded materials. Materials Science
and Engineering: A, 362(1-2), 81106.

Knoppers, G. E., Gunnink, J. W., & Vliet, W. P. Van. (2005). The reality of functionally graded material products. In 1st
Intelligent Production Machines and Systems virtual conference (pp. 467472).

Lee, P.-H. (2013). Fabrication, Characterization and modeling of functionally graded materials. Doctor of philosophy ,
Columbia university.

Misra, N., Kapusetti, G., Pattanayak, D. K., & Kumar, A. (2011). Fabrication and characterization of epoxy/silica functionally
graded composite material. Indian journal of physics.

Mojdehi, A. R., Darvizeh, A., Basti, A., & Rajabi, H. (2011). Engineering Analysis with Boundary Elements Three
dimensional static and dynamic analysis of thick functionally graded plates by the meshless local Petrov Galerkin ( MLPG
) method. Engineering Analysis With Boundary Elements, 35(11), 11681180.

Mller, E., Draar, ., Schilz, J., & Kaysser, W. . (2003). Functionally graded materials for sensor and energy applications.
Materials Science and Engineering: A, 362(1-2), 1739.

Rajan, T. P. D., & Pai, B. C. (2009). Development in manufacturing process of functionally graded materials. International
journal of advanced enginnering applications.

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AND MECHANICAL ENGINEERING June 2016
ISSN (ONLINE): 2321-3051 Pgs: 8-14

Rasheedat, M., Mahamood, E., Akinlabi, T., Shukla, M., & Pityana, S. (2012). Functional Graded Material An Overview. In
proceeding of the world congress on engineering 2012 Vol III, London , U.K. proceedings of the world congress on
engineering 2012.

Santare, M. H., & Gazonas, G. A. (2003). The use of graded finite elements in the study of elastic wave propagation in
continuously nonhomogeneous materials. International journal of Solids and structures, 40, 56215634.

Sevcik, M., Hutar, P., Bahlik, L., & Knesl, Z. (2009). An evaluation of the stress intensity factor in functionally graded
materials. Applied and computational Mechanics, 3, 401410.

Sofiyev, A. H., & Kuruoglu, N. (2015). On the solution of the buckling problem of functionally graded truncated conical shells
with mixed boundary conditions. Composite Structures, 123, 282291.

Wang, H., Qin, Q. H., & Kang, Y.-L. (2006). A meshless model for transient heat conduction in functionally graded materials.
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Wo, M., Paszkiewicz, B., & Piasecki, T. (2005). Application and modeling of functionally graded materials for optoelectronic
devices. 2005 International student and young scientist workshop, photonics and microsystem, 810.

Wu, X. (2011). Heterogeneous object modeling for rapid prototyping. Rapid Prototyping Technology - Principles and
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Xiaoping Qian, D. D. (2004). Feature Based design of Heterogeneous Objects. Computer Aided Design, 36, 12631278.
Yao, D., Qi, S., Gui-xiang, H., Xiu-fa, Y., & Dong, L. Y. (2005). Methods of lines of temperature of functionaly graded
material. J. Cent. South Univ. Technol., 2(2), 230232.

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