Numerical analysis of functionally graded material (FGM) beams using COMSOL

An Alumina–Aluminum functionally graded material (FGM) beam's dimensionless critical buckling load was calculated using COMSOL Multiphysics 4.2 and verified against Li and Batra's benchmark results, showing a strong connection and validating the precision of the numerical method. After this validation, a thorough structural analysis was carried out to examine how the beam responded to three different boundary conditions: Clamped–Simple (C–S), Simple–Simple (S–S), and Clamped–Free (C–F). These conditions included Total Point Displacement (TPD), Total Surface Displacement (TSD), Von Mises Stress (VMS), and Principal Stresses (PS). To accurately simulate the gradation effect, the FGM's material properties—specifically, Young's modulus and Poisson's ratio—were continually changed throughout the thickness using a power-law distribution. Total Point Displacement (TPD) for the CS beam increased by 30.8% at C3 and decreased by 34.1% at C4.