Research on recent processing technologies for functionally graded materials in China

Functionally graded materials (FGMs) are attracting more and more attentions of materials scientists, because their composition, structures and properties vary gradually and continuously from one material to another along one or more direction, which satisfy the demands of the advanced materials. The studies on FGMs have been performed for nearly 20 years around the world. In China, the related research also has been carried out for more than 10 years and some notable progress is noted. This paper presents an overview on emerging technologies for FGMs in China, including ultra-high consolidation with graded sintering, spark plasma sintering (SPS), self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS), thermal spraying, chemical vapor deposition, physical vapor deposition, laser cladding and so on. In addition, various applications of these technologies are presented and some new technologies to the next level are also discussed.