Abstract
Functionally graded materials (FGMs) are advanced class of composite materials which can be used as the thermal barrier to protect inner components from the outside high temperature environment. In FGMs, the volume fraction of each constituent can be tailored made across the thickness for desired applications. In this work, the simulation of FGMs in pipes is considered. Despite the wide application of pipes in machinery, those pipes would suffer from many safety problems, such as thermal stress, cavitation, fracture etc. Application of FGMs to the piping systems could lead to some new solutions accounting for safety measures and higher service life. However, the complex phenomena within the fluid structure interaction are hard to describe with the theoretical solution. The visualization of results from simulation will be helpful in understanding the distribution of kinds of physical quantities within the concerned model. For the simulation, FGMs are modeled as the layered structure in the standard finite element method (FEM) package based on FGM constituent law. The free vibration of the FG pipe is simulated and the accuracy of layered model is verified by numerical calculations. Further, based on the layered model, conjugate heat transfer simulations in a heat exchanger with FGMs are conducted.
