Analysis of Load Capacity of Functionally Graded Material Structures

Functionally graded materials are made up of predefined combination of ceramic and metals. The functionally graded materials (FGM) have been developed as high temperature-resistant and heat-resistant materials in space engineering and nuclear engineering. The FGM exhibits the resultant properties of ceramics and metal. The ceramics are involved for resistance in a high-temperature environment, while the metal contributes toward fracture toughness. The variation in strength and other properties may arise from geometry and other variable material properties like density. The studies related to energy-absorbing configurations in consideration with graded properties are of a great interest these days in research areas. These structural elements having graded properties have application in areas like vehicles, ships, safety devices and other load carrying members. The idea behind the functionally graded materials (FGM) is to have variable properties in a dimension following a particular law. The main objective of this paper is to understand the load capacity variations of such materials when graded in terms of different parameters such as diameter and thickness. In this research paper, a study is conducted on a FGM tapered frustum structure to identify the exact variation in the load capacities of such members when graded in terms of diameter, thickness, endurance strength, etc., in accordance with the empirical relations, the study on which has been previously conducted, to make it useful for designing of such members.