In this work, four-layered functionally graded materials (FGMs) are fabricated with nickel (Ni) and alumina (Al2O3) as principle materials. Four FGMs of different compositional layers such as PLS10, PLS15, PLS20 and PLS25 are prepared through powder metallurgy. Developing the Ni/Al2O3 FGMs starts with weighing the elementary powders, blending, stacking and cold compacting followed by pressure-less sintering. The sintering is performed at 1200 degrees C for 90 min with different cooling rates such as 5 degrees C/min, 15 degrees C/min, 20 degrees C/min and 25 degrees C/min respectively. In microstructural context, SEM micrographs are the clear evidence for varying microstructure with different percentages of raw materials and cooling rate. Energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) technique is used to determine the composition of sintered FGM samples. As a part of mechanical characterization, both green and sintered densities, hardness and flexural strength are evaluated. The results indicate that densities decrease steadily with increased alumina composition and hardness increases with alumina content. The use of PLS15 layer composition with 20 degrees C/min sinter-cooling rate promoted the best results for the subject FGMs. (C) 2020 SECV. Published by Elsevier Espa n tilde a, S.L.U.
