Analysis of elastic wave propagation in a functionally graded thick hollow cylinder using a hybrid mesh-free method

In this paper, a hybrid mesh-free method based on generalized finite difference (GFD) and Newmark finite difference (NFD) methods is presented to calculate the velocity of elastic wave propagation in functionally graded materials (FGMs). The physical domain to be considered is a thick hollow cylinder made of functionally graded material in which mechanical properties are graded in the radial direction only. A power-law variation of the volume fractions of the two constituents is assumed for mechanical property variation. The cylinder is excited by shock loading to obtain the time history of the radial displacement. The velocity of elastic wave propagation in functionally graded cylinder is calculated from periodic behavior of the radial displacement in time domain. The effects of various grading patterns and various constitutive mechanical properties on the velocity of elastic wave propagation in functionally graded cylinders are studied in detail. Numerical results demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed method in simulating the wave propagation in FGMs. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.