The Pressurized Hollow Cylinder or Disk Problem for Functionally Graded Isotropic Linearly Elastic Materials

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to investigate the effects of material inhomogeneity on the response of linearly elastic isotropic hollow circular cylinders or disks under uniform internal or external pressure. The work is motivated by the recent research activity on functionally graded materials (FGMs), i.e., materials with spatially varying properties tailored to satisfy particular engineering applications. The analog of the classic Lame problem for a pressurized homogeneous isotropic hollow circular cylinder or disk is considered. The special case of a body with Young"s modulus depending on the radial coordinate only, and with constant Poisson"s ratio, is examined. It is shown that the stress response of the inhomogeneous cylinder (or disk) is significantly different from that of the homogeneous body. For example, the maximum hoop stress does not, in general, occur on the inner surface in contrast with the situation for the homogeneous material. The results are illustrated using a specific radially inhomogeneous material model for which explicit exact solutions are obtained.