Cent. Eur. J. Eng.

• 3(3) • 2013 • 459-465

DOI: 10.2478/s13531-013-0110-0

Central European Journal of Engineering

Elastic analysis of exponential FGM disks subjected to

internal and external pressure
Research Article

Mohammad Zamani Nejad1∗ , Majid Abedi1 , Mohammad Hassan Lotfian1 , Mehdi Ghannad2

1 Mechanical Engineering Department, Yasouj University, P. O. Box: 75914-353, Yasouj, Iran

2 Mechanical Engineering Faculty, Shahrood University of Technology, Shahrood, Iran

Received 03 December 2012; accepted 23 June 2013

Abstract: Assuming exponential varying properties in the radial direction and constant Poisson’s ratio, a closed-form
analytical solution based on the elasticity theory is obtained to elastic analysis of disks made of functionally
graded materials (FGMs) subjected to internal and external pressure. Following this, radial displacement, radial
stress, and circumferential stress profiles are plotted for different values of material inhomogeneity constant, as
a function of radial direction. The displacements and stresses distributions are compared with the solutions of
the finite element method (FEM) and comparison with the corresponding numerical solution indicates that the
proposed solution has excellent convergence and accuracy.
Keywords: Disk • Functionally graded material (FGM) • Finite element method (FEM) • Exponential
© Versita sp. z o.o.

1. Introduction of the radial coordinate provided a stress shielding

In the recent past, there has been a strong increase
in interest in functionally graded materials (FGMs).
FGMs are composite materials that are microscopically
nonhomogeneous but at macro level, the mechanical
properties vary continuously from one surface to another
by smoothly varying the volume fractions of the material
constituents. The FGM disks are widely used in
many engineering fields such as aerospace, mechanical,
naval, nuclear energy, chemical plant, electronics, and
biomaterials and so on.
A paper was also published by Horgan and Chan [1],
where it was noted that increasing the positive exponent
∗
E-mail: m.zamani.n@gmail.com
effect whereas decreasing it created stress amplification.
Assuming the disk is under axi-symmetric thermal shock,
applied to its inner surface, and the disk material is
considered to be graded along the radial direction,
Bakhshi et al. [2], studied the coupled thermoelastic
response of functionally graded annular disk based on the
classical theory of thermoelasticity.
Eraslan and Akis [3] obtained an analytical solution for
rotating solid shafts/disks by considering the nonlinear
variation of the modulus of elasticity in radial direction as
two different functions, one in exponential form, and the
other in parabolic form. Zenkour [4] obtained an accurate
solution for a rotating functionally graded annular disk,
with assuming that material properties to be graded in
the radial direction according to a simple exponential-law
distribution.
Based on the assumption that Poisson’s ratio is constant

459
 Elastic analysis of exponential FGM disks subjected to internal and external pressure

and modulus of elasticity is an exponential function of radially according to exponential form as follows,
radius, Chen and Lin [5] have analyzed stresses and
1 − Rη
  
displacements in functionally graded (FG) cylindrical and  E(r) E i
spherical pressure vessels. Zamani Nejad et al. [6]

1 − Kη
 = exp ln(ξ)



E0
developed 3-D set of field equations of FGM thick 
ξ= (1)
shells of revolution in curvilinear coordinate system by 

 Ei
R = r , K = b
tensor calculus. Using plane elasticity theory (PET) and 


complementary functions method, Tutuncu and Temel [7] a a
are obtained axisymmetric displacements and stresses in
functionally-graded hollow cylinders, disks and spheres Here, Ei and E0 are modulus of elasticity in inner
subjected to uniform internal pressure. An analytical and outer surfaces, respectively. ξ and η are material
solution is developed to determine deformations and parameters
stresses in circular disks made of functionally graded
materials subjected to internal and/or external pressure
by You et al. [8].

Assuming exponential varying the Young’s modulus and

density in the radial direction, Zenkour [9] presented
accurate analytical solutions for the composite structure
solid disks of made of FG materials.

Afsar et al. [10], obtained the thermoelastic characteristics

due to a thermal load and rotation of the disk thin
circular rotating disk. Assuming that the Young’s modulus,
coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE), and density of
the disk are assumed to vary exponentially in the radial
direction only while the Poisson’s ratio is assumed to
be constant, Go et al. [11] presented the thermoelastic
analysis of a thin circular functionally graded material
rotating disk having a concentric hole and subjected to a
thermal load by FEM. Assuming that the center and outer
regions of the solid disk are two homogeneous isotropic
Figure 1.
media, and the middle region is a transition zone made of
Configuration of an FGM disk with radially varying
functionally graded materials. Peng and Li [12], presented properties.
the elastic analysis of a rotating sandwich solid disk
composed of three-layered perfectly-bonded composites.
Radial and circumferential strains (εr , εθ ), in the polar
coordinates are as follows,
In this paper, an elastic solution and a numerical solution
for hollow disks made of exponential FGM materials is du
εr = (2)
presented. dr

u
εθ = (3)
r
2. Problem Formulation where u is radial displacement.
The stress-strain relations for non-homogenous and
isotropic materials are
Consider an FGM disk with an inner radius a, and an
outer radius b, subjected to internal and external pressure
 
E(R) du u
σr = A +B
Pi and P0 , respectively. (Figure 1).
(4a)
a dR R

It is assumed that the Poison’s ratio υ, takes a constant

 
E(R) du u
σθ = B +A
value and the modulus of elasticity E, is assumed to vary
(4b)
a dR r

460
M. Z. Nejad, M. Abedi, M. H. Lotfian and M. Ghannad

where σr and σθ are radial and circumferential stresses. With FC (α, β; x) being the hypergeometric function
A and B are related to Poisson’s ratio υ as defined by Abramowitz and Stegun [13],
 ∞
A=
 1 X (α)k x k
1 − υ2 FC (α, β; x) = 1 + (13)
(β)k k!
B = υ
(5)
 k=1

1 − υ2
where
The equilibrium equation in the absence of body forces, is
expressed as (α)k = α(α + 1)(α + 2) · · · (α + k − 1) (14)
dσr σr − σθ
+ =0 (6)
dR R Thus
Here, prime denotes differentiation with respect to R.
Substituting equations (4a,4b) into equation (6), the α x α(α + 1)x 2
FC (α, β; x) =1 + + +
equilibrium equation is expressed as β 1! β(β + 1)2!
(15)
α(α + 1)(α + 2)x 3
 0
  0
 + ···
d2 u RE du RE
+
β(β + 1)(β + 2)3!
R2 +R 1 + − 1 − υ∗ u = 0 (7a)
dR 2 E dR E
In equation (15), the arguments α and β are determined
where as
B 1 + υ∗

υ∗ = (7b) α =


A η
(16)
 2
The general solution of equation (7a) is as follows β = 1 +

η
u(R) = C1 G(R) + C2 H(R) (8) From u(R) = Ry(nR η ), the homogeneous solutions G and
H are found in the form
where C1 and C2 are are arbitrary integration constants.
 G(R) = RFC (α, β; nR η )

Here G and H are homogeneous solutions.
(17)
Substituting equation (8) into (4a,4b) yields  H(R) = 1 FC (α − β + 1, 2 − β; nR η )
R
! 
C1 G 0 + C2 H 0
!
σr E(R) A B
G H 
=  (9) The equations (8) and (9) may be rewritten with non-
σθ a B A C1 + C2
R R
dimensional parameters as

The forms of G and H will be determined next. U(R) = C3 G(R) + C4 H(R) (18)
Substituting equation (1) into equation (7a), the governing !
1 − Rη
 
differential equation is as follows σr
1 − Kη
= exp ln(ξ)
σθ
d2 u du ! 
R2 + R(1 − ηnR η ) − (1 + υ∗ ηnR η )u = 0 (10) 0 0
(19)
dR 2 dR A B  C3 G + C4 H 
× G H
B A C3 + C4
Equation (10) is a homogeneous hypergeometric R R
differential equation. where
uEi

Using a new variable x = nR n = (ln(ξ)/(1 − K η ))R η 
 U=
aPi


and applying the transformation u(R) = ry(x), the result 

 σ
σ=
P
equation (10) is (20)

 i
C C4 Ei



dy 1 + υ∗
   3
d2 y 2 
C1
=
C2
=
aPi
x 2 + 1+ −x − y=0 (11)
dx η dx η
Integration constants C3 and C4 are determined by using
the following boundary conditions
The solution of equation (11) is given as
P0
y(x) = C1 FC (α, β; x) + C 2 x − η FC (α − β + 1, 2 − β; x) (12)
2
σ r (R = 1) = 1, σ r (R = K ) = − = −P (21)
Pi

461
 Elastic analysis of exponential FGM disks subjected to internal and external pressure

 
P
Thus Q2 = A G 0 (K ) − G 0 (1)
ξ
0
  (30)
(1) + BG(1)]C3 + [AH 0 (1) + BH(1)]C4 = −1 P

 [AG
 + B G(K ) − G(1)


 
G(K )
 ξ
0
AG (K ) + B C3 +

 K (22)
  
H(K ) P
3. Results and discussion

 AH 0 (K ) + B

 C4 = −
K ξ
The analytical solution described in the preceding section
Using equation (22), the constants C3 and C4 are
for a disk with b = 1.5a, Pi = P0 and υ = 0.3 is examined.
For different values of η and ξ, dimensionless modulus of
determined as follows

D2 D5 + D4 elasticity along through the radial direction is plotted in
 C3 =


D2 D3 − D1 D4 Figure 2. According to this figure, at the same position
 D1 D5 + D3
(23) (1 < R < 1.5), for ξ = +0.5, dimensionless modulus
 C4 =

of elasticity decreases as η decreases, while for ξ, the
D1 D4 − D2 D3
reverse holds true.
where
D1 = AG 0 (1) + BG(1)




 0
 D2 = AH (1) + BH(1)



D3 = AG 0 (K ) + B(G(K )/K ) (24)

 0
 D4 = AH (K ) + B(H(K )/K )




D5 = −(P/ξ)


Hence, the radial displacement, radial stress, and

circumferential stress are as follows

Q1 G(R) − Q2 H(R)
U(R) = (25)
Q0

 
Q1 0 0 B
σ r (R) = A[G (R) − H (R)] + [G(R) − H(R)]
Q0 R
1 − Rη
 
· exp Figure 2. Radial distribution of modulus of elasticity
1 − Kη
ln(ξ)

 (26)
Q1 A 0 0
σ θ (R) = [G(R) − H(R)] + B[G (R) − H (R)] In this study in order to numerical analysis of problem,
A0 R a geometry specimen was modelled using a commercial
1 − Rη
 
· exp
finite elements code, ANSYS 12, for a comparative study.
1 − Kη
ln(ξ)
In the FE model, due to symmetry, only a quarter of
(27) the disk specimen geometry was considered. An 8-node
where axisymmetric quadrilateral element was used to represent
the FGM specimen. For modelling of FGM hollow disk,
Q0 =A2 [G 0 (K )H 0 (1) − G 0 (1)H 0 (K )] the variation in material properties was implemented by
 
2 G(K )H(1) − G(1)H(K )
+B
40 layers, with each layer having a constant value of
K material properties. Figure 10 illustrates the meshing
(28)
+ AB [G 0 (K )H(1) − G 0 (K )H(1) region. The nodal points along the horizontal edge
G(K )H 0 (1) − G 0 (1)H(K )
 passing through the center were free to move in X direction
+
K
but were constrained from moving in the Y direction to
reflect the symmetry of disk specimen geometry. In the
  finite element model input dada are as follows
P
Q1 = A H 0 (K ) − H 0 (1)
ξ (

P
 (29) Pi = 80 MPa, Ei = 200 GPa, υ = 0.3
+ B H(K ) − H(1)
ξ a = 40 mm, b = 60 mm

462
M. Z. Nejad, M. Abedi, M. H. Lotfian and M. Ghannad
Figure 3. Radial distribution of radial displacement (η = 1.5).
Figure 4. Radial distribution of radial stress (η = 1.5).
Figure 3 and Figure 4 show plots of the radial
displacement and the radial stress along the radial
direction for different values of ξ and η = 1.5. From
these figures it is observed that at the same position
(1 < R < 1.5), for higher values of ξ, radial displacement
and radial stress decrease.
The circumferential stress along the radial direction for
different values of ξ and η = 1.5 is plotted in Figure 5. It
must be noted from this figure that at the same position,
almost for R < 1.25, there is an decrease in the value
of the circumferential stress as ξ increases, whereas for
R < 1/25 this situation was reversed. Besides, along the
radial direction, almost for the ξ > 1.9, circumferential
stress increases, while for ξ < 1.9, the circumferential
stress decreases.
In Figure 6 and Figure 7, radial displacement and stresses
using values ξ = 1.5 and η = 3, is calculated and
Figure 5. Radial distribution of circumferential stress (η = 1.5).
Figure 6. Comparison of radial displacement in an FGM thick hollow
disk (ξ = 1.5, η = 3) to those in homogeneous thick hollow
disk (ξ = 1).
compared to those in a homogeneous disk (ξ = 1).
Radial displacement in the plane strain and plane stress
conditions are compared in Figure 8. It is observed that
value of radial displacement is the higher for the plane
stress condition and for the plane strain condition it is
the lower.
For the purpose of comparison of stress distribution along
the disk radius in the plane stress and plane strain
condisions, in Figure 9, the von Mises equivalent stress of
σeq = √12 [(σr − σθ )2 + (σθ − σx )2 + (σr − σx )2 ]0.5 is plotted. It
must be noted that value of von Mises equivalent stress is
the higher for the plane stress condition and for the plane
stress condition it is the lower. Besides, for the conditions
considered, the von Mises equivalent stress increases as
the radius increases.
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 Elastic analysis of exponential FGM disks subjected to internal and external pressure

Figure 7. Comparison of stresses in an FGM thick hollow disk Figure 9. von Mises equivalent stress in the plane stress and plane
(ξ = 1.5, η = 3) to those in homogeneous thick hollow strain conditions (ξ = 3, η = −1.5).
disk (ξ = 1).

Figure 8. Radial displacement in the plane stress and plane strain Figure 10. Finite elements mesh region.
conditions (ξ = 3, η = −1.5).

The radial displacements, radial stresses, and

circumferential stresses values obtained from ANSYS
commercial finite elements analysis program and their
numerical results are depicted in Figures 10 to 13.

4. Conclusions
It is apparent that analytical solutions to simplified
versions of real engineering problems are important. In the
present study, using the infinitesimal theory of elasticity,
a new analytical procedure has been developed for stress
analysis of axisymmetric pressurized FGM disks. Material
properties except Poisons’ ratio vary as exponential
Figure 11. Radial displacement obtained from ANSYS code in an
FGM disk (ξ = 1.5, η = 3).
function in the radial direction. To show the effect of
inhomogeneity on the stress distributions, different values

464
M. Z. Nejad, M. Abedi, M. H. Lotfian and M. Ghannad
Figure 12. Radial stress obtained from ANSYS code in an FGM disk
(ξ = 1.5, η = 3).
Figure 13. Circumferential stress obtained from ANSYS code in an
FGM disk (ξ = 1.5, η = 3).
were considered for material inhomogeneity constants ξ
and η. Changes in the values of material inhomogeneity
constants on the stiffness have a significant effect. For
example, at the same position in an arbitrary value of ξ,
stiffness can be decreased or increased as η decreases or
increases. The presented results show that the material
inhomogeneity constants have a significant influence on
the mechanical behaviors of disks made of exponential
FG. In this study, in order to numerical analysis of
problem, an axisymmetric element has been applied for
modeling and meshing. Good agreement was found
between the analytical solutions and the solutions carried
out through the FEM.
References
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cylinder or disk problem for functionally graded
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