Beyond Composition: A Geometry-Aware Framework for Functionally Graded Material Design Demonstrated in Monel 400 to Inconel 625 Gradients

Functionally graded material (FGM) design has typically focused on designing compositional paths between terminal alloys to avoid cracking. In this study, a framework is developed to vary both composition and geometry for desired spatial- or component-level properties. To efficiently characterize mechanical properties for FGM component design, a multi-material property characterization process was developed to extract multiple compositions’ constitutive behavior simultaneously from variable-width FGM tensile specimens. The mechanical performance of Monel 400-Inconel 625 (IN625) FGM tensile specimen was used as a representative example to demonstrate the geometry and composition FGM design framework.