Functionally Graded Materials in the 21st Century: A Workshop on Trends and Forecasts

This book is the proceedings of an international workshop on `Functionally Graded Materials in the 21st Century: A Workshop on Trends and Forecasts', which was held on March 26-28, 2000, in Tsukuba, Japan. In a Functionally Graded Material (FGM), which is a kind of advanced composite materials, the composition and structure change gradually over volume, resulting in corresponding changes in the properties of the material.

By applying the possibilities inherent in the concept of FGM, it is anticipated that materials will be improved and new functions for them will be also created. A comprehensive description of status of the art and perspectives, modeling and simulation, processing and system, characterization of properties as well as applications of FGMs is covered in this book.

In the simplest FGMs, two different material ingredients change gradually from one to the other. Discontinuous changes such as a stepwise gradation of the material ingredients can also be considered a FGM. The most familiar FGM is compositionally graded from a metal to a refractory ceramic. It can incorporate incompatible functions such as the high toughness, high strength, machinability and bonding capability of metals and the heat, wear and oxidation resistance of ceramics without severe internal thermal stress.