Composites: Part B 32 (2001) 683686

www.elsevier.com/locate/compositesb

Exact solutions for stresses in functionally graded pressure vessels

Naki Tutuncu a,*, Murat Ozturk b
a

Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, C

ukurova University, 01330 Adana, Turkey
b
Department of Mechanical Engineering and Mechanics, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA 18015, USA
Received 19 December 2000; revised 20 August 2001; accepted 21 August 2001

Abstract
Closed-form solutions for stresses and displacements in functionally graded cylindrical and spherical vessels subjected to internal pressure
alone are obtained using the innitesimal theory of elasticity. The material stiffness obeying a simple power law is assumed to vary through
the wall thickness and Poisson's ratio is assumed constant. Stress distributions depending on an inhomogeneity constant are compared with
those of the homogeneous case and presented in the form of graphs. The inhomogeneity constant, which includes continuously varying
volume fraction of the constituents, is empirically determined. The values used in this study are arbitrarily chosen to demonstrate the effect of
inhomogeneity on stress distribution. q 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: FGM; B. Elasticity

1. Introduction
The idea of grading the thermomechanical properties of
particulate composites was rst concieved by a group of
materials scientists in Japan [1,2]. Functionally graded
materials (FGMs) have attracted much interest primarily
as heat-shielding materials. FGMs are made by combining
different materials using powder metallurgy methods. An
example of such a manufacturing process is the application
of a centrifugal force by which a continuously varying
volume fraction of the inclusion material is formed. The
possibility of tayloring the desired thermomechanical
properties holds an enormous application potential for
FGMs. Apart from the thermal barrier coatings, some of
the potential applications of FGMs include their use as interfacial zones to improve the bonding strength and to reduce
residual stresses in bonded dissimilar materials and as wearresistant layers such as gears, cams, ball and roller bearings
and machine tools [3]. Most of the studies conducted on
FGMs are conned to the analysis of thermal stress and
deformation (e.g. see Refs. [47]). The works concerned
with the stress analysis of cylindrical and spherical
structural elements involve nite elements and other numerical techniques due to the nature of functions chosen to
describe the inhomogeneous properties [810].
Conceptually, the problems in solid mechanics involving
* Corresponding author. Tel.: 190-322-338-6084; fax: 190-322-3386999.
E-mail address: ntutuncu@mail.cu.edu.tr (N. Tutuncu).

inhomogeneous media are relatively straightforward. Such

problems can be formulated in terms of partial differential
equations with variable coefcients by using the basic
conservation laws. There has always been difculty in
developing general methods for solving specic boundary
value problems. In fact, for the most general second-order
partial differential equations with variable coefcients (e.g.
one-dimensional wave and diffusion equation), such general
methods do not exist. The most comprehensive solution
proposed for such equations is based on an inverse method
[11]. Because of this difculty, all existing treatments dealing with the mechanics of inhomogeneous solids are based
on a simple function representing material inhomogeneity.
For example, in the half-plane elasticity problems considered in [12,13], it is assumed that the shear modulus is a
power function of the depth coordinate of the form my
m0 ym and the Poisson's ratio n is constant. Modelling of
density and stiffness by the same power-law are proposed
in [1416]. The functionally gradient material considered in
[9] is composed of stainless steel and nickel where the
volume fractions follow a power-law distribution.
The purpose of the present paper is, upon employing
simplifying assumptions, to present to the technical community in the eld simple, tractable closed-form solutions in
FGM pressure vessels. Closed-form solutions for throughthe-thickness stresses in FGM hollow cylinders and spheres
will be obtained. The model used will lead to solving the
standard EulerCauchy equation. Use of a more general
model will inevitably necessitate the employment of
numerical techniques.

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PII: S 1359-836 8(01)00041-5

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N. Tutuncu, M. Ozturk / Composites: Part B 32 (2001) 683686

It is assumed that the material is isotropic with constant

Poisson's ratio and radially varying elastic modulus is
approximated by Er E0 r b : Since r is away from zero
and ranges in a; R; by adjusting the constants E0 and b , it
is possible to obtain physically meaningful results. The
range 22 # b # 2 to be used in the present study covers
all the values of coordinate exponent encountered in the
references cited earlier. However, these values for b do
not necessarily represent a certain material. Various b
values are used to demonstrate the effect of inhomogeneity
on the stress distribution.

The stress distribution in thick-walled cylindrical and

spherical pressure vessels will be calculated. The radial
coordinate r and the displacement u are normalised as
 where R is the outer radius of the
r r=R and u u=R
cylinder. The stiffness is assumed to vary as Er E0 r b
through the wall thickness. Here, E0 is the stiffness at the
outer surface r 1 and b is the inhomogeneity constant
determined empirically.
2.1. Cylindrical vessel
Employing the plain strain assumption and axisymmetry,
the strain-displacement and constitutive equations are

er

du
dr

1a

eu

u
r

1b

gr u 0

1c

s r C11 er 1 C12 eu

2a

s u C12 er 1 C11 eu

2b


E0 1 2 n
rb
1 1 n1 2 2n


E0 n
rb
1 1 n1 2 2n

C11
C12

1
2

q
2b 2 4 1 b2 2 4bnp

m2

1
2

q
2b 1 4 1 b2 2 4bnp

These roots may be (a) real, distinct, (b) double roots,

(c) complex conjugate. For real, distinct roots, the solution is
u Ar m1 1 Br m2

For double roots m1 m2 m; the solution becomes

6

In the case of complex roots m1 x 1 yi; m2 x 2 yi;

the solution takes the form
u A cosy ln r 1 B siny ln rr x

7
p

For the numerical values to be used (n 0:3 and 22 #

b # 2; only real, distinct roots will be obtained. Thus, the
stress expressions will be obtained using Eq. (5).
The constants A and B are determined from the boundary
conditions s r a=R 2P; where P is the pressure applied
on the inner surface, a is the inner radius and s r 1 0 as
 12b
a
P
1 1 n1 2 2n
R
A 2  m1  m2 
8a
a
a
E0
2
n 1 1 2 nm1
R
R



a 12b
P
1 1 n1 2 2n
 mR1  m2 
B
a
a
E0
2
n 1 1 2 nm2
R
R
The resulting stress expressions are
 12b
a
P
r m1 2 r m2 r b21
R 
 m2
sr 2
a m1
a
2
R
R

8b

 12b
a
P
x1 2 x2
R
s u  m1  m2 
a
a
2
m1 n 2 1 2 nm2 n 2 1 2 n
R
R
10

The only nontrivial equilibrium equation is

ds r
s 2 su
1 r
0
dr
r

m1

u A 1 B ln rr m

2. Analysis

where

roots are

where
3

x1 r m1 m2 n 2 1 2 n1 1 m1 2 1n

Using Eqs. (1)(3), the governing equation of radial

displacement becomes

x2 r m2 m1 n 2 1 2 n1 1 m2 2 1n

r 2 u 00 1 b 1 1ru 0 1 np b 2 1u 0

2.2. Spherical vessel

where np n=1 2 n:
Eq. (4) is the familiar EulerCauchy equation with the
characteristic equation m2 1 bm 1 np b 2 1 0; whose

The strain-displacement and constitutive equations are

er

du
dr

11a

N. Tutuncu, M. Ozturk / Composites: Part B 32 (2001) 683686

eu ef
gru grf

u
r
guf 0

11b
11c

s r C11 er 1 C12 eu 1 C12 ef

12a

s u s f C12 er 1 C11 eu 1 C12 ef

12b

The only nontrivial equilibrium equation is

ds r
2s r 2 s u
0
1
r
dr

13

Following the same procedure as that in the cylindrical

vessel case, yields the following governing equation of
radial displacement
r 2 u 00 1 r2 1 bu 0 1 2np b 2 1u 0

14
2

The related characteristic equation is s 1 b 1 1s 1

2np b 2 1 0 with the roots
q
s1 12 21 2 b 2 9 1 2b 1 b2 2 8bnp
s2

1
2

q
21 2 b 1 9 1 2b 1 b2 2 8bnp

Here also, only real, distinct

considered.The general solution is

roots

will

u Cr s1 1 Drs2

be
15

The constants C and D are determined from the boundary

conditions s r a=R 2P and s r 1 0 as
 12b
a
P
1 1 n1 2 2n
R
16a
C 2  s1  s2 
a
a
E0
2
2n 1 1 2 ns1
R
R



a 12b
P
1 1 n1 2 2n
 R
 
D
s1 
a
a s2
E0
2
2n 1 1 2 ns2
R
R
The resulting stress expressions are
 12b
a
P
r s1 2 r s2 r b21
R   
sr 2
a s1
a s2
2
R
R


s u 

 
a s1
a
2
R
R

a
P
R
 
s2

12b

16b

Stresses for the FGM pressure vessels will be compared

with those for the homogeneous ones. The well-known
stress expressions for the homogeneous cylinder under
internal pressure are
 2
a
P
r 2 2 1
R
H
sr 2
19
 2 !
a
2
21
r
R
 2
a
P
r 2 1 1
R
20
s uH 2
 2 !
a
21
r2
R
For the homogeneous sphere under internal pressure, they
are
 3
a
P
r 3 2 1
R
H
21
sr 2
 3 !
a
3
r
21
R
 3
a
P
2r 3 1 1
R
H
22
su 2
 3 !
a
3
2r
21
R
Note that the above expressions can also easily be
obtained by setting b 0 in the FGM case. It should also
be noted that no Poisson's ratio is present in the homogeneous case whereas it is clearly noticed in the FGM case
along with the inhomogeneity constant.
3. Results and conclusions
The results are presented for a=R 0:6 and n 0:3:
Stresses in FGM vessels are normalised by corresponding
stresses in the homogeneous case to demonstrate the effect
of inhomogeneity. A positive b means increasing stiffness

17

c 1 2 c 2

s1 n 2 1 2 2ns2 n 2 1 2 2n
18

where

c 1 rs1 21 s2 n 2 1 2 2nn 1 rb 1 1 s1 2 1n
c 2 rs2 21 s1 n 2 1 2 2nn 1 rb 1 1 s2 2 1n

685

Fig. 1. Radial stress distribution in FGM cylinder.

686

N. Tutuncu, M. Ozturk / Composites: Part B 32 (2001) 683686

stiffness in the radial direction increases stresses with

respect to the homogeneous case. The converse is obviously
true; having higher stiffness near the inner surface carries
the applied pressure leading to decreasing stresses through
the wall thickness. Figs. 1 and 2 show the stress distribution
in an FGM cylinder. The same trend in stress distribution in
FGM spherical vessel is observed in Figs. 3 and 4.
The inhomogeneity constant presented in the present
study is a useful parameter from a design point of view in
that it can be tailored for specic applications to control the
stress distribution.
Acknowledgements

Fig. 2. Circumferential stress distribution in FGM cylinder.

The rst author was supported through a grant in

scope of the NATO Science Fellowship Program by
The Scientic and Technical Research Council of
BITAK).
Turkey (TU
References

Fig. 3. Radial stress distribution in FGM sphere.

Fig. 4. Circumferential stress distribution in FGM sphere.

in the radial direction for 0:6 # r # 1 (at r 1; the limit of

normalised stress is calculated). Under internal pressure
alone, more stiffness is needed near the inner surface to
better withstand the applied pressure. Thus, decreasing the

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