Functionally graded material is a component in which one material can be graded in another

material along its dimension. This results in grading of microstructure, mechanical and thermal
properties along the component dimension. This grading of a property is continuous or quasi
continuous. Conventional composite material suffers from separation of matrix and reinforcement
under extreme working condition. Functionally graded material replaces the sharp interface exiting
in conventional composite material with graded interface. The gradation of properties in an FGM
helps reduces thermal stresses, residual stresses and stress concentrations found in conventional
composites.

FGM can be produced in bulk form or thin coating and structure can continuous or discontinuous.

There are several conventional approaches to obtain the composition grading in the composite, this
includes gas based, liquid based and solid phase methods which can be used to physically or
chemically obtain tailored properties. Chemical vapour deposition / infiltration, ion plating, plasma
spraying and ion mixing are some examples of gas based methods used to fabricate FGM . In
vapour phase process such as CVD and PVD, deposited product can obtain a gradient composition
depending on phases reaction’s ratio in the mixture and production controlling system. In liquid
phase processes such as plasma spray flexibility for production and high deposition rate as well as
complex geometry of coating make it extremely popular for coating applications. In electro
deposition method, composition gradient closely depends on electrochemical factors and proper
selection of electrolytic solution.

Lasers based manufacturing can be used in advantage for dissimilar metal weld e.g. Al to Steel for
automobile , Inconel 625 to Ti6Al4V for space heat exchanger and cladding of wear resistant
material such as TiC on Ti6Al4V turbine engine parts

Additive manufacturing is tool by use of laser as heat or power source for rapid prototyping. FGM
can be made by direct laser sintering of different metal or ceramic powders

Examples :

Intake and exhaust valves of IC engine : Gasoline combustion engines make use of intake and
exhaust valves ( forged , machined and coated for wear protection ) driven by cam system . Exhaust
valves are subjected to high thermal and mechanical alternating stresses and chemical corrosion .
The stainless steel valves are heavy causing high inertia , high friction and power dissipation. Inter
metallic phases of Ni-Al type belong to a class of materials with high thermal conductivity ( NiAl :
76 W/mK ) low density ( NiAl 5.9 g/cc ) , high melting temperature (NiAl 1638 deg C ) . The
drawback to intermetallic compounds is that they are brittle, difficult to machine and susceptible to
creep . It is possible to make FGM component by adding varying 5 to 10 % of ceramic phases eg.
Al oxide ( Al2O3 ) , such FGM can be used as valve elements . Valve head is exposed to high
temperatures in corrosive environment . Therefore valve head should have high mechanical strength
at elevated temperatures and high wear resistant properties . The intake and exhaust Valve will be
made of NiAl intermetallic functionally graded with ceramic Aluminium oxide ( 5-10 % ) .

Cu-AlN functionally graded materials for electronics industry – heat dissipation element . A
better efficiency of operation of high power electronics equipments such as lasers , thyristors , diode
can be achieved by proper design heat dissipation system and by selecting high thermal
conductivity materials . Cu-AlN is the material of interest for this application . Cu has thermal
conductivity of about 400 W/mK depending upon purity of Cu , but Cu do not have the adequate
mechanical strength at high temperature , more over high value of thermal dilation ( 16.5 x 10-06 /
K ) is likely to generate thermal stresses. AlN is particularly interested for electronics due to its high
thermal conductivity( mono crystal AlN 319 W/mK , 119 W/mK for polycrystalline ) , satisfactory
mechanical properties and low thermal expansion coefficient ( 4.0 x 10 -6 / K ) that matches with
Si ( 2.7 x 10 -6 1/K ) , thus preventing high thermal stress .

Cr- Al2O3 Functionally graded material for Power industry : In order to prevent the surface of
steam boiler from corrosive influence of combustion , protective coating is an efficient method of
preventing chloride corrosion . Metallic coating such as Cr or Ni are expensive , hybrid coating
based on oxide of aluminium such as Cr- Al2O3 , has high resistance to sudden temperature
changes ( thermal shocks ) , resistance to oxidation at high temperature , mechanical strength and
hardness . Small amount of Re ( rhenium) can be doped in metal matrix to improve hardness and
resistance to corrosion . Plasma spraying on chrome steel substrate with Cr – 25 % Al2O3 / Cr – 40
% Al2O3 with and with out Re shows improvement wear profile with functionally graded coating

PbTe based Functionally graded thermoelectric material. A good thermoelectric material

should have large Seebeck coefficient with high electrical conductivity and low thermal
conductivity to have high figure of merit . High electrical conductivity minimizes joule heating ,
low thermal conductivity helps to retain heat at junctions and maintains large temperature gradient .
Thermoelectric material has constant ratio of high electric to low thermal conductivity. The Seebeck
coefficient of most materials is of order 10 microvolts/K , this results in generating efficiency of
fraction of a percent . Therefore formulated semiconductors with higher Seebeck coefficient in
excess of 100 microvolt/K increased the interest in thermoelectricity. Thermoelectric material show
a high performance at a specific narrow temperature range. Be2Te3 ( Bismuth Telluride ) , PbTe
( lead telluride ) and SiGe are used for low , medium and high temperature range respectively. The
specific temperature range can be increased by use of functionally graded material by grading
carrier concentration . PbTe with different carrier concentration 0.5 x1025 to 7 x 1025 m-3 can be
applied to create functionally graded thermoelectric material (

Graded optical materials are widely used in antireflective coating , optical fibres , graded index
lenses , sensors , energy application . There is a possibility to use gradation in semiconductor active
devices to affect band gap , carrier concentration , mobility , diffusion length , electric field
influencing parameters of optoelectronic devices . AIII-BV group materials with graded composition
one can obtain higher sensitivity of optoelectronic detectors. It is also possible to fabricate photonic
devices which could operate in a wide spectral range and also a voltage tuneable photo detectors .

High efficient photo detector and solar cells . The solar radiation is absorbed in shallow depth
below the surface , therefore it is necessary to have high electric field in close vicinity to surface
and thus increases diffusion length of generated carrier more than junction length . AlxGa1-xN ( n
type high band gap ) and GaN ( p type low band gap ) ( Substrate – GaN – AlxGa1-xN )
semiconductor junction thin-layer photovoltaic cells made from FGM can overcome theoretical
limit of 20% quantum efficiency specified for silicon homogenous elements. Moreover, gradation of
composition and doping concentration in semiconductor materials makes possible to modify their
electrical properties i.e. the modulation of built-in electric field and carrier concentration in FGM
structures fabricated from AIII( Al , Ga , In , Ti ) B( N , As , Sb , Bi ) V and AIII ( Al / Ga ) N
compounds.

Dental implants coated with hydroxyapatite (HA), zirconia (Zr), and its oxides improves
osseointegration and reduces stress behaviour

Functionally graded structure and materials for energy absorption : Energy absorbing
materials such as thin wall components , cellular materials such as foams or honeycombs or
composite material structure can have better crashworthiness and remarkable energy efficiency with
functionally graded geometrical parameters .
References:

Metal-Ceramic functionally graded materials – manufacturing , characterization , application ,

Bulletin of the polish academy of sciences , Technical Sciences , Vol 64 No. 1 , 2016

Functionally graded materials : A review of fabrication and properties , Applied Materials Today 5
(2016) 223-245

Direct metal deposition of functionally graded structures in Ti-Al System , Physics Procedia 39
(2012) 382-391

A review on functionally graded structures and materials for energy absorption , Engineering
Structures 171 (2018) 309-325

Functionally graded Ti6Al4V and Inconel 625 by laser metal deposition , Doctoral Dissertation
2014 , Missouri university of Science and Technology

Laser cladding of Ti-6Al-4V with carbide and boride reinforcements using wire and powder
feedstock , Phd thesis 2014, University of Nottingham