Calculation of the composition profile of a functionally graded material produced by centrifugal casting

Functionally graded materials have designed inhomogeneous distributions of different components on the scale of the material. They can be made by susp ension processing, in which particles are stacked in a controlled manner. S egregation effects can be used to obtain the required gradient if the parti cles in suspension have different velocities. A model is derived for the co mposition profiles that develop as a result of these effects. The model can be used to determine the most suitable process conditions. The outcome of the model shows fair agreement with experiments found in the literature in which an Al2O3/ZrO2 composite has been produced by uniaxial centrifugal cas ting.