FGM Modelling using Dummy Thermal Loads

Applied with ANSYS APDL

Ahmed Hassan Ahmed Hassan İbrahim Keleş

Department of Mechanical Engineering, Department of Mechanical Engineering,

Ondokuz Mayis University, 55139 Samsun, Turkey Ondokuz Mayis University, 55139 Samsun, Turkey

Tel: +905388652306 Email: 15210457@stu.omu.edu.tr Email: kelesibrahim@gmail.com

Abstract—This work reports a modelling method of be compounded with metals as FGM to gain the desired
functionally graded materials (FGM) using ANSYS APDL. toughness.
ANSYS, as many other analysis software packages, does
not provide a direct way to model variation in material As in FIG-01, the structure is ranging from one material
properties as a function of position. However, ANSYS phase, i.e. ceramic to another material phase, i.e. metal.
offers the option of temperature dependent properties; The properties transition from one phase to another occurs
and ANSYS also offers the ability of assigning temperature gradually according to the design equation of the
values according to the position; joining these two abilities microstructure. Typically, properties variation could be
offered by ANSYS, the material properties would be linear, exponential, some power equation, etc. as a function
position dependent. In this work, using ANSYS APDL, of some dimension i.e. position.
dummy thermal loads are used to obtain FGM distributed
properties. The presented modelling method is explained
and then applied to some case study of static analysis to
verify its accuracy by comparing its results with the
analytical solution from the case study source. The main
advantage of such a method is its simplicity and ease; it
does not require deep knowledge of mathematical models
of FGM and delivers high accuracy. Although in this study
ANSYS APDL is used, one can apply it in ANSYS Workbench
Mechanical or any other analysis package that has
coupling capabilities of structural and thermal studies. The
presented method is already mentioned in the literature,
but no single documentation about it is found. This paper
presents a complete representation of the method. Figure 1 FGM microstructure. [3]

Keywords—Functionally graded material; ANSYS; FGM properties variation could be modeled as

modeling; Dummy thermal loads method. microstructure changes, layers change, continuous
changing, as shown in FIG-2.

I. INTRODUCTION
Functionally graded materials FGMs are defined as
“materials that comprise a spatial gradation in structure
and/or composition, tailored for specific performance or
function” [1]; i.e. functionally graded material properties at
any point at the structure differ according to the position of
the point. So we can say that Functionally Graded Material
(FGM), a revolutionary material, belongs to a class of
advanced materials with varying properties over a changing
dimension [2]. This distributed properties are achieved by
composing the microstructure using different materials, at Figure 2 FGM modeled by: (a) micro-structure, (b) layers
least two. The microstructure is designed in such a way that and (c) a continuously changing structure. [4]
leads to gain certain desired properties for the whole
The three models have the same concept of dimension
structure. For example, ceramics have high strength and
dependent microstructure, and so the properties. The
high thermal properties, but lack toughness, so they could
microstructure change and layer change models have

pg. 1
additional concept of intervals for properties (regions). The
selection of one model represents the manufacturing
technique, i.e. the design of the microstructure, or the
simplicity level desired in the model.
These models have been the subject of many studies.[3] It
requires a solid knowledge of mathematics, elasticity,
mechanics, etc. to model, solve, or even use these models.
ANSYS and analysis packages offer obtaining solutions and
results without the must of neither the knowledge of
mathematical model nor the solution methods of them. The
only requirement is to express the problem correctly to the
software. ANSYS has wide range options and capabilities
that makes it easy to communicate with it; i.e. express the
problem and extract results.
II. THE CASE PROBLEM DESCRIPTION
An application problem is selected to illustrate the
presented modelling way. It is a static analysis problem of
FGM solid cylinder with radius (b) m, subjected to external
pressure (P0) Pa. The goal is to obtain the normalized radial
displacements, radial stresses and hoop stresses. There are
two material properties in concern here, Elasticity modulus
(E) and Poisson’s ratio (ν). Poisson’s ratio is considered fixed
in this problem, while elasticity modulus of the cylinder
varies exponentially through its radius according to the
following equations:
ɳ
= , = ln , =
where,
r = radius at given point.
E(r) = the elasticity modulus at points at radius r.
E0 = Elasticity modulus at the cylinder center.
n, ɳ = material parameters.
Eout = Elasticity modulus at the cylinder outer surface.
R = rational radius.
b = Radius of the cylinder.
Radial displacements, radial stresses and hoop stresses are
obtained for different values of (n) and (ɳ), while the values
of (b) and (E0) are arbitrary assumed; their values has no
importance because the comparison is between the
normalized outputs. (Eout) is directly related to (E) through
the value of (n). Normalized outputs follows the following
equations:
= , =
where:
U = normalized radial displacement.
u = obtained radial displacement (m).
σ’ = normalized stress, applicable to the radial and hoop
stresses.
σ = obtained stress, radial or hoop stresses (N/m2).
For this particular problem, it can be modelled as 2D plane
strain problem. Due to the symmetry of the cylinder cross
pg. 2
section shape (circle) and the symmetry of the load, only
quarter of the cross section is needed.
The following values are used:
B = 200 mm
E0 = 120 GPa
P0 = 1000 Pa
n = [ -1.0, -0.5, 0.0, 0.5, 1.0 ]
ν = 0.3
ɳ = 0.9
III. METHOD OVERVIEW
The main goal is to obtain dimensional dependent
properties, which is not directly available in ANSYS. The idea
is to make the desired distributed property as a function of
other value which is a function of position only; which
makes the desired property depends only on dimensions.
ANSYS offers the ability of temperature dependent
properties; and ANSYS offers the ability of assigning
temperature value at any point (node) according to the
point’s position; joining these two abilities offered by
ANSYS, the material properties would be position
dependent.
The general steps can be summarized as:
 Define the material properties as a function of
temperature; and make sure the expansion is set to zero to
eliminate any thermal stresses.
 Create and mesh the geometry to obtain the nodes (points).
 Apply thermal loads, i.e. temperature values, for each node
of the structure as a function of position (dimension). This
makes material properties depend only on temperature,
and temperature depends only on position, so material
properties depends only on position. The temperature
value will represent the dimension; i.e. replace the
dimension.
 Apply problem’s loads and constraints
 Run the simulation and obtain results.
IV. METHOD APPLICATION BY STEPS
Here is the detailed step-by-step illustration:
A. Selection of GUI filtering:
This case problem is about static analysis, so select
structural analysis filter. In addition, thermal loads are used
in this method; so thermal analysis has to be selected as
well. Selection of GUI filters is at:
Main Menu > Preferences
B. Selection of the element type and its options
i. Element Type
Selection of the element type depends on the specific
problem as it may be planer 2D elements or solid 3D. Since
the problem includes thermal and structural studies and
since it is decided to be a 2D analysis, a coupled field
element could be selected. Exactly “Quad 8 nodes 223” is
selected as the element type. It is a planer 2D element
which has the ability of performing coupled thermo-
structural analysis. Select element type at:
Main Menu > Preprocessor > Element Type >
Add/Edit/Delete > Add..
ii. Element Options
Since this is a plane strain problem, element behavior has
to be set as plane strain. Set element options at:
Main Menu > Preprocessor > Element Type >
Add/Edit/Delete > Options…
C. Create part geometry
Create the problem geometry. Here for this example case
study, create an area of a circle quarter, with radius of 200
which its center is at (0,0).
Main Menu > Modelling > Areas > Circle > Partial Annulus
If the material property varies linearly, we have to put only
two points to express the straight line. But with nonlinear
variation of the property, as in this case problem
(exponential distribution) we have to assign more the two
points; and it is better to have as much points as possible to
present the curve of distribution. ANSYS allows up to 100
points to be assigned to express the curve. This is tedious to
be achieved manually. We can use other program like MS
Excel to obtain these points, or we can use MACRO. MACRO
is the name of subroutines in ANSYS. We can make a
MACRO that automates the process of assigning these
points of temperature-Elasticity relationship. Here MACRO
is used.
From: Pull Down Menu > Macro> Create Macro, give it a
name end with (.mac).

D. Meshing
Main Menu > Preprocessor > Meshing > Mesh tool
Modify meshing options as to have a fine mesh, which leads
to more real representation of the FGM material. Here
Figure 5 MACRO Creating
Smart Size is used, and its value is set as 1 (Fine Mesh).
Then open it from the directory using any text editor. In the
.mac file write this command series; i.e. program:

/PREP7 ! allows preprocessor commands

E0 = 120 ! GPa
n = -0.5
mu = 0. 3 ! ν = 0.3 constant … Poisson’s ratio
*Do,j,1,100,1 ! loop of 100 points
R = (j-1)/99 ! R ranges from 0 to 1
T = 0 + (100-0)*(j-1)/99 ! T ranges from 0 to 100
Er = 1000*E0*exp(-n*R**mu) ! E(r) ranges from E0 to Eout
MPTEMP,j,T ! assign the (j)th temperature
Figure 3 Meshed Shape MPDATA,EX,1,,Er ! assign the (j)th Elasticity (E)
MPDATA,PRXY,1,,0.3 ! assign the (j)th ν, Poisson’s ratio
E. Material properties *ENDDO
!the following lines of code: Assign expansion to zero,
We want to distribute the elasticity modulus across the
!conductivity to arbitrary value i.e. 60
cross section as a function of the radius, using a linear
MPTEMP,,,,,,,,
distribution of nodes temperatures. ANSYS allows us to
MPTEMP,1,0
express the elasticity as a function of temperature by
UIMP,1,REFT,,,
assigning points of (Temp, Elasticity) in the material model MPDATA,ALPX,1,,0
window. MPTEMP,,,,,,,,
MPTEMP,1,0
MPDATA,KXX,1,,60

This MACRO loops through temperature and calculates E(r)

as a function of R and T, finally in each loop it assign the
calculated values to the material properties.

Run this macro by calling it with its name from the

command line

Figure 4 Material Properties

pg. 3
 Figure 6 Calling created MACRO

Then check the material properties. The material

properties should be filled with points.

Figure 9 Function Creating

 Modify the coordinate system (CSYS) to be polar system

(value 1); now (X) means the radius. Since we want to range
the temperature between 0C and 100C, and our radius
range from 0 to 200, so the result must output the value of
(X / 2). Save the function; and then call it from:
Pull Down menu > Parameters > Functions > Read From File

Figure 7 Checking Material Properties

We can check the variation of elasticity modulus through

the temperature range by clicking on “Graph” button in the
above figure

Figure 10 Creating table from function

 Give it a name at “table parameter name”. Here we named

it as “rad_T”. Now we can finally apply the thermal load.
Main Menu > Preprocessor > loads > Define Loads > Apply
> Temperature > On Nodes

Select all nodes by choosing “pick all” in the selection

window. Select TEMP as DOF to be constrained, and apply
Figure 8 Graph material properties
as “existing table”
F. Loads

In this step we will apply the thermal loads, and for this case
problem we have to apply the external pressure. So we
have two loads to apply. In addition we will express the
symmetry of the shape.

i. Thermal loads

Thermal loads are applied as assigning temperature value

at each node. The range of temperature has to be the same
as the temperature range used in assign properties in Step
5. The range of 0-100C was selected, as the center point has Figure 11 Apply TEMP on Nodes using existing table option
0C and the outer radius has 100C. Temperature varies
 Select the table name previously created “RAD_T”
linearly across the radius. To assign these values of
temperature we use Function capability offered by ANSYS.
Pull Down menu > Parameters > Functions > Define/Edit..

pg. 4
 Figure 12 Calling The created Table

The temperature load applied, and will appear as follows:

Figure 14 Normalized Radial Displacement n=-0.5, ɳ=0.9

Figure 13 Temperature applied to nodes

ii. Structural load

Apply the external pressure at the outer radius of the

quarter. Main Menu> Preprocessor > Loads> Structural >
Pressure > On Lines, and select the outer arc line of the Figure 15 Normalized Radial Stresses n=-0.5, ɳ=0.9
shape. Assign the value of the pressure as given 1000 Pa.

iii. Symmetry boundary condition

From: Main Menu> Preprocessor > Loads> Structural >

Displacement > Symmetry B.C. > On Lines, select the two
straight lines of the circle quarter.

G. Solve

Run the analysis from: Main Menu> Solution > solve >
Current L.S

V. RESULTS
The analysis has been done with different values of
proposed material constant (n). The output files of our
ANSYS analysis are then processed in Excel to obtain the
normalized values, and compared with the analytical
solutions. The obtained values from ANSYS are compared
to those obtained by the formulae in [5]. The comparison Figure 16 Normalized Hoop Stresses n=-0.5, ɳ=0.9
plots are shown in figures 14,15 and 16. The obtained
values from analytical solution and ANSYS are shown in
tables 1 and 2 respectively. Table 2 also contains in its last
column a comparison between the analytical and ANSYS
solution expressed as percentage relative error (ERROR%).

pg. 5
 Table 1 Analytical Solutions

Analytical Solutions

n ɳ R 0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.35 0.4 0.45 0.5 0.55 0.6 0.65 0.7 0.75 0.8 0.85 0.9 0.95 1
0.9

analytical n -1.0 ɳ 0.9

n -1.0 ɳ 0.9
-1 0.9 U 0 -0.020241301 -0.039347171 -0.057459559 -0.074665991 -0.091034202 -0.106620654 -0.121474236 -0.135638271 -0.149151733 -0.162050068 -0.174365772 -0.186128822 -0.197367008 -0.208106192 -0.218370522 -0.228182612 -0.237563681 -0.246533688 -0.255111436 -0.263314666
Sr -0.815549292 -0.825169633 -0.834504871 -0.843724564 -0.852905417 -0.862091493 -0.871311663 -0.880586557 -0.889931877 -0.899360168 -0.908881846 -0.918505845 -0.928240024 -0.938091461 -0.948066643 -0.958171613 -0.968412078 -0.978793486 -0.989321091 -1
St -0.825432761 -0.844039722 -0.862285923 -0.880488928 -0.898793988 -0.91728637 -0.936023728 -0.955048931 -0.974396141 -0.994094057 -1.014167799 -1.034640069 -1.05553191 -1.076863226 -1.098653139 -1.120920257 -1.143682867 -1.16695909 -1.190766995 -1.215124695
analytical n -0.5 ɳ 0.9
n -0.5 ɳ 0.9
-0.5 0.9 U 0 -0.023060545 -0.045465903 -0.06728235 -0.088548096 -0.109291816 -0.129537049 -0.149304047 -0.168610743 -0.187473326 -0.205906613 -0.223924304 -0.241539165 -0.258763167 -0.27560759 -0.292083111 -0.308199865 -0.323967506 -0.339395247 -0.354491905 -0.36926593
Sr -0.907808149 -0.913097608 -0.918172814 -0.923130903 -0.928015694 -0.932852086 -0.937656084 -0.942438825 -0.947208499 -0.951971383 -0.95673245 -0.961495737 -0.966264601 -0.971041879 -0.975830012 -0.980631123 -0.985447087 -0.990279574 -0.99513009 -1
St -0.913273669 -0.923413321 -0.933193346 -0.942795783 -0.952302553 -0.961760198 -0.971198708 -0.980639042 -0.990096715 -0.999583729 -1.009109689 -1.018682507 -1.028308853 -1.037994464 -1.047744364 -1.057563017 -1.067454445 -1.077422315 -1.087470004 -1.097600652
analytical n 0.0 ɳ 0.9
n 0.0 ɳ 0.9
0 0.9 U 0 -0.026 -0.052 -0.078 -0.104 -0.13 -0.156 -0.182 -0.208 -0.234 -0.26 -0.286 -0.312 -0.338 -0.364 -0.39 -0.416 -0.442 -0.468 -0.494 -0.52
Sr -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1
St -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1
analytical n 0.5 ɳ 0.9
n 0.5 ɳ 0.9
0.5 0.9 U 0 -0.029042579 -0.058932046 -0.089624795 -0.121107471 -0.153376158 -0.186431732 -0.220277991 -0.254920718 -0.290367156 -0.326625672 -0.363705553 -0.401616846 -0.440370262 -0.479977096 -0.520449169 -0.561798788 -0.604038707 -0.647182107 -0.691242572 -0.736234075
Sr -1.091322804 -1.08511575 -1.079289983 -1.073717539 -1.068338836 -1.063119047 -1.058035193 -1.053070899 -1.04821386 -1.043454457 -1.03878494 -1.034198912 -1.029690991 -1.025256573 -1.020891669 -1.016592778 -1.012356801 -1.008180969 -1.004062789 -1
St -1.08483618 -1.073146673 -1.062232188 -1.051844121 -1.041865468 -1.032227115 -1.022882986 -1.013799911 -1.004952712 -0.996321511 -0.987890138 -0.979645126 -0.971575038 -0.963670008 -0.955921413 -0.94832163 -0.940863854 -0.933541962 -0.926350402 -0.919284109
analytical n 1.0 ɳ 0.9
n 1.0 ɳ 0.9
1 0.9 U 0 -0.032174299 -0.066249774 -0.102177663 -0.139973602 -0.179674025 -0.221326716 -0.264987132 -0.310716635 -0.358581542 -0.408652585 -0.461004592 -0.51571631 -0.572870301 -0.632552915 -0.694854282 -0.759868352 -0.827692947 -0.898429835 -0.972184818 -1.049067831
Sr -1.181157065 -1.167880743 -1.155553616 -1.143882435 -1.132727209 -1.122004102 -1.111656472 -1.101643031 -1.091932057 -1.082498225 -1.073320722 -1.064382042 -1.055667191 -1.04716313 -1.038858378 -1.030742723 -1.022806993 -1.015042893 -1.007442869 -1
St -1.167205493 -1.142422086 -1.119648104 -1.098298424 -1.078087144 -1.058839316 -1.040434366 -1.02278277 -1.005814595 -0.989473167 -0.973711267 -0.958488703 -0.943770675 -0.929526636 -0.915729462 -0.902354847 -0.889380828 -0.876787431 -0.864556379 -0.852670865

Table 2 ANSYS Solutions, Normalization and Average Error %

ANSYS Solutions and Normalization

ANSYS n -1.0 ɳ 0.9 Average Error %

UX -1.16E-17 -3.37E-02 -6.56E-02 -9.58E-02 -0.12444 -0.15172 -0.1777 -0.20246 -0.22606 -0.24858 -0.27008 -0.29061 -0.31021 -0.32894 -0.34684 -0.36395 -0.3803 -0.39594 -0.41089 -0.42518 -0.43885
Real SX -805.17 -815.1 -824.9 -834.32 -843.58 -852.79 -862 -871.23 -880.51 -889.87 -899.3 -908.83 -918.45 -928.19 -938.05 -948.02 -958.13 -968.37 -978.76 -989.29 -999.98
SY -805.17 -825.33 -844.02 -862.28 -880.48 -898.79 -917.28 -936.02 -955.05 -974.4 -994.1 -1014.2 -1034.6 -1055.5 -1076.9 -1098.7 -1120.9 -1143.7 -1167 -1190.8 -1215.1
U -6.9714E-18 -0.0202362 -0.039345 -0.0574584 -0.074664 -0.091032 -0.10662 -0.121476 -0.135636 -0.149148 -0.162048 -0.174366 -0.186126 -0.197364 -0.208104 -0.21837 -0.22818 -0.237564 -0.246534 -0.255108 -0.26331 -0.002531902
normalized Sr -0.80517 -0.8151 -0.8249 -0.83432 -0.84358 -0.85279 -0.862 -0.87123 -0.88051 -0.88987 -0.8993 -0.90883 -0.91845 -0.92819 -0.93805 -0.94802 -0.95813 -0.96837 -0.97876 -0.98929 -0.99998 -0.011333669
St -0.80517 -0.82533 -0.84402 -0.86228 -0.88048 -0.89879 -0.91728 -0.93602 -0.95505 -0.9744 -0.9941 -1.0142 -1.0346 -1.0555 -1.0769 -1.0987 -1.1209 -1.1437 -1.167 -1.1908 -1.2151 -0.000451099

ANSYS n -0.5 ɳ 0.9

UX -1.30E-17 -3.84E-02 -7.58E-02 -0.11214 -0.14758 -0.18215 -0.21589 -0.24884 -0.28102 -0.31245 -0.34318 -0.37321 -0.40256 -0.43127 -0.45935 -0.4868 -0.51367 -0.53994 -0.56566 -0.59082 -0.61544
Real SX -902.04 -907.56 -912.95 -918.07 -923.05 -927.95 -932.8 -937.61 -942.4 -947.17 -951.94 -956.7 -961.47 -966.24 -971.02 -975.81 -980.61 -985.43 -990.26 -995.12 -999.99
SY -902.04 -913.22 -923.41 -933.19 -942.79 -952.3 -961.76 -971.2 -980.64 -990.1 -999.58 -1009.1 -1018.7 -1028.3 -1038 -1047.7 -1057.6 -1067.5 -1077.4 -1087.5 -1097.6
U -7.821E-18 -0.023058 -0.045465 -0.067284 -0.088548 -0.10929 -0.129534 -0.149304 -0.168612 -0.18747 -0.205908 -0.223926 -0.241536 -0.258762 -0.27561 -0.29208 -0.308202 -0.323964 -0.339396 -0.354492 -0.369264 -0.000846822
normalized Sr -0.90204 -0.90756 -0.91295 -0.91807 -0.92305 -0.92795 -0.9328 -0.93761 -0.9424 -0.94717 -0.95194 -0.9567 -0.96147 -0.96624 -0.97102 -0.97581 -0.98061 -0.98543 -0.99026 -0.99512 -0.99999 -0.005665844
St -0.90204 -0.91322 -0.92341 -0.93319 -0.94279 -0.9523 -0.96176 -0.9712 -0.98064 -0.9901 -0.99958 -1.0091 -1.0187 -1.0283 -1.038 -1.0477 -1.0576 -1.0675 -1.0774 -1.0875 -1.0976 -0.000135983

ANSYS n 0.0 ɳ 0.9

UX -1.45E-17 -4.33E-02 -8.67E-02 -0.13 -0.17333 -0.21667 -0.26 -0.30333 -0.34667 -0.39 -0.43333 -0.47667 -0.52 -0.56333 -0.60667 -0.65 -0.69333 -0.73667 -0.78 -0.82333 -0.86667
Real SX -1000 -1000 -1000 -1000 -1000 -1000 -1000 -1000 -1000 -1000 -1000 -1000 -1000 -1000 -1000 -1000 -1000 -1000 -1000 -1000 -1000
SY -1000 -1000 -1000 -1000 -1000 -1000 -1000 -1000 -1000 -1000 -1000 -1000 -1000 -1000 -1000 -1000 -1000 -1000 -1000 -1000 -1000
U -8.6826E-18 -0.0259998 -0.0520002 -0.078 -0.103998 -0.130002 -0.156 -0.181998 -0.208002 -0.234 -0.259998 -0.286002 -0.312 -0.337998 -0.364002 -0.39 -0.415998 -0.442002 -0.468 -0.493998 -0.520002 -5.33656E-05
normalized Sr -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 0
St -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 0

ANSYS n 0.5 ɳ 0.9

UX -1.59E-17 -4.84E-02 -9.82E-02 -0.14938 -0.20185 -0.25563 -0.31072 -0.36713 -0.42487 -0.48394 -0.54437 -0.60617 -0.66936 -0.73395 -0.79996 -0.86741 -0.93633 -1.0067 -1.0786 -1.1521 -1.2271
Real SX -1098.2 -1091.6 -1085.3 -1079.4 -1073.8 -1068.4 -1063.2 -1058.1 -1053.1 -1048.2 -1043.5 -1038.8 -1034.2 -1029.7 -1025.3 -1020.9 -1016.6 -1012.4 -1008.2 -1004.1 -1000
SY -1098.2 -1084.9 -1073.1 -1062.2 -1051.8 -1041.9 -1032.2 -1022.9 -1013.8 -1005 -996.32 -987.89 -979.64 -971.57 -963.67 -955.92 -948.32 -940.86 -933.54 -926.35 -919.28
U -9.5484E-18 -0.029046 -0.0589332 -0.089628 -0.12111 -0.153378 -0.186432 -0.220278 -0.254922 -0.290364 -0.326622 -0.363702 -0.401616 -0.44037 -0.479976 -0.520446 -0.561798 -0.60402 -0.64716 -0.69126 -0.73626 0.000817387
normalized Sr -1.0982 -1.0916 -1.0853 -1.0794 -1.0738 -1.0684 -1.0632 -1.0581 -1.0531 -1.0482 -1.0435 -1.0388 -1.0342 -1.0297 -1.0253 -1.0209 -1.0166 -1.0124 -1.0082 -1.0041 -1 0.005178851
St -1.0982 -1.0849 -1.0731 -1.0622 -1.0518 -1.0419 -1.0322 -1.0229 -1.0138 -1.005 -0.99632 -0.98789 -0.97964 -0.97157 -0.96367 -0.95592 -0.94832 -0.94086 -0.93354 -0.92635 -0.91928 -6.3199E-05

ANSYS n 1.0 ɳ 0.9

UX -1.74E-17 -5.36E-02 -0.11042 -0.1703 -0.23329 -0.29945 -0.36887 -0.44164 -0.51786 -0.59763 -0.68108 -0.76833 -0.85952 -0.95478 -1.0542 -1.1581 -1.2664 -1.3795 -1.4974 -1.6203 -1.7484
Real SX -1196.1 -1181.8 -1168.3 -1155.8 -1144.1 -1132.9 -1122.1 -1111.8 -1101.7 -1092 -1082.6 -1073.4 -1064.4 -1055.7 -1047.2 -1038.9 -1030.8 -1022.8 -1015.1 -1007.5 -1000
SY -1196.1 -1167.3 -1142.4 -1119.6 -1098.3 -1078.1 -1058.8 -1040.4 -1022.8 -1005.8 -989.47 -973.71 -958.49 -943.77 -929.52 -915.72 -902.35 -889.37 -876.78 -864.55 -852.66
U -1.04136E-17 -0.032181 -0.066252 -0.10218 -0.139974 -0.17967 -0.221322 -0.264984 -0.310716 -0.358578 -0.408648 -0.460998 -0.515712 -0.572868 -0.63252 -0.69486 -0.75984 -0.8277 -0.89844 -0.97218 -1.04904 0.000347489
normalized Sr -1.1961 -1.1818 -1.1683 -1.1558 -1.1441 -1.1329 -1.1221 -1.1118 -1.1017 -1.092 -1.0826 -1.0734 -1.0644 -1.0557 -1.0472 -1.0389 -1.0308 -1.0228 -1.0151 -1.0075 -1 0.011203012
St -1.1961 -1.1673 -1.1424 -1.1196 -1.0983 -1.0781 -1.0588 -1.0404 -1.0228 -1.0058 -0.98947 -0.97371 -0.95849 -0.94377 -0.92952 -0.91572 -0.90235 -0.88937 -0.87678 -0.86455 -0.85266 -0.000516366

VI. CONCLUSIONS AND COMMENTS connected i.e. glued. This later method is also effective and
From the obtained results comparison with the analytical can solve all kinds of analysis but it will need much more
results the validity of this method is justified. As seen in the MACRO programming skills especially if the change in
results section in Table-2, there is a very small relative error properties is in more than one dimension.
in the results; sometimes the error vanishes to zero. The
REFERENCES
main advantage of such a method is its simplicity and ease;
1. Reimanis, I.E., Functionally graded materials. Handbook of advanced
it does not require deep knowledge of mathematical models materials, 2004: p. 465.
of FGM and delivers high accuracy. 2. Mahamood, R.M., E.T. Akinlabi, M. Shukla, and S. Pityana.
Functionally Graded Material: An Overview. in Proceedings of the
In this paper a static loads problem is solved successfully but World Congress on Engineering. 2012.
3. Birman, V. and L.W. Byrd, Modeling and analysis of functionally
other certain types of analysis will not work. The first graded materials and structures. Applied mechanics reviews, 2007.
problem with the illustrated method is the lack of ability of 60(5): p. 195-216.
performing thermal studies on FGM. Because thermal 4. Banks-Sills, L., R. Eliasi, and Y. Berlin, Modeling of functionally
graded materials in dynamic analyses. Composites Part B: Engineering,
properties and loads are already used to present the 2002. 33(1): p. 7-15.
dimension change. So, if thermal study is needed other 5. Abedi, M., M.Z. Nejad, M.H. Lotfian, and H. Sabouri, Effects of
methods of modelling FGM in ANSYS have to used. The Exponential Varying Moduli on Stress Distribution of Solid Shafts.
American Journal of Scientific Research, 2011. ISSN 1450-223X(37):
second problem is that it cannot be applied to obtain normal p. 68-74.
modes, since this kind of studies simply ignores the thermal
and all other loads.

This method is not the only method to model FGM in ANSYS;

i.e. one can build the model as layers stacked in the changing
dimension, then assign different properties to each layer
while making sure each adjacent layers are somehow

pg. 6