Stress wave propagation in adhesively bonded functionally graded cylinders: an improved model

This study presents an improved mathematical model to analyse the stress wave propagation in adhesively bonded functionally graded (FG) circular cylinders (butt joint) under an axial impulsive load. The volume fractions of the material constituents in the upper and lower cylinders were functionally tailored through the thickness of each cylinder using a power-law. The effective material properties of both cylinders, which are made of aluminum (Al) and silicon carbide (SiC), at any point were predicted by using the Mori–Tanaka homogenization scheme. In this improved model, the governing equations of the wave propagation include the spatial derivatives of local mechanical properties and were discretized by means of the finite difference method. The influence of these spatial derivatives and the compositional gradient exponent on the displacement and stress distributions of the joint was investigated. The material composition variations of both cylinders affected the displacement and stress fields whereas the compositional gradient exponent had a minor effect. The stress concentrations were alleviated in time, the displacement and stress distributions/variations around/along the upper and lower cylinder-adhesive interfaces were significantly affected by the adhesive layer. The spatial derivatives also affected the temporal histories of the displacement and stress components evaluated at the selected critical points of the upper cylinder, adhesive layer and lower cylinder. The consideration of the spatial local material derivatives provided a more accurate mathematical model of wave propagations through the graded layered structures.     

Interfacial failure analysis of functionally graded adhesively bonded double supported tee joint of laminated FRP composite plates

This paper deals with three-dimensional non-linear finite element analyses to assess the structural behavior of adhesively-bonded double supported tee joint of laminated FRP composites having embedded interfacial failures. The onset of interfacial failures is predicted by using Tsai–Wu coupled stress failure criterion with pre-determined stress values. The concept of fracture mechanics principle is utilized to study the sustainability of the tee joint having interfacial failures pre-existed at the critical locations. Individual modes of the strain energy release rates (SERR) G_I, G_II and G_III, are considered as the damage growth parameters and, are evaluated using the Modified crack closure integral (MCCI) technique based on the concept of linear elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM). Based on the stress analyses, it has been observed that the interfacial failures in tee joint structure trigger at the interface of base plate and adhesive layer from both ends of base plate. Depending on the SERR magnitudes, it has been noticed that the interfacial failure propagates under mixed mode condition. Therefore total SERR (G_T) is considered as the governing parameter for damage propagation. Furthermore, efforts have been made to retard damage propagation rate by employing functionally graded adhesive (FGA) instead of monolithic adhesive material. Series of numerical simulations have been performed for varied interfacial failure length in functionally graded adhesively bonded double supported tee joint structure in order to achieve the significant effect of FGA with various modulus ratios on SERR. Material gradation of adhesive indicates significant SERR reduction at the incipient stage of failure which necessitates the use of functionally graded adhesive for the tee joint and prolong the service life of the structure.     

Present status and future prospects of plasma sprayed multilayered thermal barrier coating systems

Thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) play a pivotal role in protecting the hot structures of modern turbine engines in aerospace as well as utility applications. To meet the increasing efficiency of gas turbine technology, worldwide research is focused on designing new architecture of TBCs. These TBCs are mainly fabricated by atmospheric plasma spraying (APS) as it is more economical over the electron beam physical vapor deposition (EB-PVD) technology. Notably, bi-layered, multi-layered and functionally graded TBC structures are recognized as favorable designs to obtain adequate coating performance and durability. In this regard, an attempt has been made in this article to highlight the structure, characteristics, limitations and future prospects of bi-layered, multi-layered and functionally graded TBC systems fabricated using plasma spraying and its allied techniques like suspension plasma spray (SPS), solution precursor plasma spray (SPPS) and plasma spray –physical vapor deposition (PS-PVD).     

高温用（SiC—AlN）Mo功能梯度材料的加工

讨论了热屏蔽用（SiC－AIN）／Mo功能梯度材料的粉末冶金加工。利用钼作为基体材料，以承担结构强度和连接可能性。根据在1000K温差内的完全热传递，研究了组分配置的设计，并且以最佳的组分配置成功地加工出了（SiC－AIN）／Mo功能梯度材料的烧结坯料。     

Environmental degradation using functionally graded material approach

Attempts to model the degradation of polymer composites have been restricted to modelling the effects of selected degradation mechanisms. No comprehensive model has yet been accepted to predict the effect of the natural environment on the strength of polymer composites. From a review of available literature, it appears that the matrix of a polymer composite is most affected by exposure to the natural environment. Further, the damage appears to progress from the surface into the interior of the laminate. An approach has been developed to determine the properties of the damaged layer and combine the properties of the damaged and undamaged layer to obtain bulk material properties of the laminate.     

Cobalt doped glass for the fabrication of percolated glass–alumina functionally graded materials

The present research was focused on the development of a new glass to produce glass–alumina FGMs. The glass formulation, belonging to the CaO–ZrO₂–SiO₂ system, was doped with cobalt, by adding a small molar percentage (about 0.1 mol%) of CoO, in order to obtain a blue glass, which could be useful to appreciate the final compositional gradient. The glass was accurately characterized, evaluating its thermal behaviour, its mechanical properties, and its attitude to crystallize during a thermal treatment. Subsequently, the glass was used to produce glass–alumina FGMs via percolation and the so obtained specimens were analysed in order to evaluate the effect of the glass infiltration. The possible development of new crystal phases, in particular, was tested via micro X-ray diffraction and the elastic properties gradient associated with the compositional gradient was measured via depth-sensing Vickers microindentation.     

一种二维梯度电极模型的表面热应力缓和设计

针对一种侧面和一端的成分呈梯度变化的圆柱体电极模型进行了热应力缓和优化设计。模型材料成分是金属Cu和NiFe2O4尖晶石陶瓷。采用混合律定律确定材料组分．性质关系，利用ansys有限元分析软件计算了从300K(零应力状态)升温到1300K时模型表面的热应力，分析了层数n、成分指数p以及锥角θ对模型表面热应力分布的影响。结果表明：层数n主要影响应力曲线的光滑程度，层数增加，曲线变得平滑；成分指数p是热应力缓和设计的关键，指数越小，应力越小；锥角θ的增加也可缓和热应力，但作用不如成分指数。     

Heterogeneous object modeling: A review

A review on the recent development in heterogeneous object modeling is provided in this paper. General problems and prevalent solutions to the modeling of heterogeneous objects are investigated. Vigorous heterogeneous object representations are roughly classified into three major categories: evaluated models, unevaluated models and composite models. We reveal their similarities and study their strengths and weaknesses in terms of the representational capacities, intuitiveness, exactness, compactness, efficiency and other criteria. Different design paradigms are briefly reviewed to provide an overview of the state-of-the-art in heterogeneous object design. Finally, open problems and possible future directions are discussed.     

Fabrication process of smooth functionally graded materials through a real-time inline control of the component ratio

Functionally graded materials (FGMs) play an essential role in tissue engineering because of their satisfactory histocompatibility and excellent mechanical performance. While traditional manufacturing methods allow production of simple FGMs, precise control of composition and customized property at transition between the dissimilar materials is still a challenge. Here, an extrusion-based functionally graded additive manufacturing (FGAM) platform was developed to generate smooth graded parts by thrusting out monolithic cylindrical filaments with high viscosity. Furthermore, the rheological properties, hydrodynamic behavior, and mixed homogeneity of the non-Newtonian fluids were studied. Therefore, the appropriate solid contents, alternative energy-efficient mixers, and optimized printing parameters were proved to be beneficial for an outstanding deposition effect of the suspension. Ultimately, an object with smooth gradient was successfully manufactured. The validity of this strategy was verified via optical microscopy combined with an image processing method to gauge homogeneity and a scanning electron microscope to investigate graded composition and microstructure.     

Crashworthiness design for functionally graded foam-filled bumper beam

Automotive bumper beam is an important component to protect passenger and vehicle from injury and damage induced by severe collapse. Recent studies showed that foam-filled structures have significant advantages in light weight and high energy absorption. In this paper, a novel bumper beam filled with functionally graded foam (FGF) is considered here to explore its crashworthiness. To validate the FGF bumper beam model, the experiments at both component and full vehicle levels are conducted. Parametric study shows that gradient exponential parameter m that controls the variation of foam density has significant effect on bumper beam’s crashworthiness; and the crashworthiness of FGF-filled bumper beam is found much better than that of uniform foam (UF) filled and hollow bumper beam. The multiobjective optimization of FGF-filled bumper beam is also performed by considering specific energy absorption (SEA) and peak impact force as the design objectives, and the wall thickness t, foam densities ρ_f1 and ρ_f2 (foam densities at the end and at mid cross section, respectively) and gradient exponential parameter m as design variables. The Kriging surrogate modeling technique and multiobjective particle swarm optimization (MOPSO) algorithm were implemented to optimize the FGF-filled bumper beam. The optimized FGF-filled bumper beam is of great advantages and it can avoid the harmful local bending behavior and absorb more energy than UF filled and hollow bumper beam. Finally, the optimized FGF-filled bumper beam is installed to a passenger car model, and the results demonstrate that the FGF-filled bumper beam ensures the crashworthiness performance of the passenger car while reduces weight about 14.4% compared with baseline bumper beam.