DESIGN OF THERMOELASTIC MATERIALS USING DIRECT SENSITIVITY AND OPTIMIZATION METHODS - REDUCTION OF THERMAL-STRESSES IN FUNCTIONALLY GRADIENT MATERIALS

A methodology is presented for thermoelastic material design in functionally gradient materials (FGMs) to reduce the thermoelastic thermal stresses induced under the would-be operational thermal boundary conditions. Direct sensitivity analysis and optimization techniques are employed to reach an optimal distribution of the volume fraction of the phases in the FGM. A numerical example is given to show the potential applicability of the proposed formulation.