Guest Editors
Associate Professor Pawan Kumar
Email: pawan.k@manipal.edu
Affiliation: Department of Mechatronics, Manipal Institute of Technology, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, India
Homepage:
Research Interests: nonlinear dynamics, smart materials and structures, metamaterials and metastructures, data-driven modelling, and energy harvesting system
Assistant Professor Narayan Sharma
Email: nsharma28@amity.edu
Affiliation: Amity institute of Defense Technology, AMITY University, Noida, India
Homepage:
Research Interests: FEM analysis (stress, modal, thermal), stochastic analysis, aeroelastic analysis, damage modelling, advanced composites, smart materials
Professor S.P. Harsha
Email: s.harsha@me.iitr.ac.in
Affiliation: Advanced Mechanical Vibration Lab, Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Department, IIT Roorkee, Haridwar, India
Homepage:
Research Interests: machine learning and soft computing methods, dynamics of smart structures (FGM) & rail dynamics, whole body vibrations, CNT based mass sensors, condition monitoring of high speed ball bearings
Summary
1. Introduction: Background and Importance
The pursuit of superior performance, adaptability, and efficiency in modern engineering systems is relentlessly driving innovation in advanced materials. Functionally Graded Materials (FGMs) have emerged as a pivotal class of composites, enabling the seamless tailoring of material properties such as stiffness, thermal conductivity, and density across their volume to mitigate critical issues like thermal stress concentration, delamination, and poor damage tolerance prevalent in traditional laminated composites. The integration of these FGMs with smart materials, including piezoelectric, shape memory alloys, and magnetostrictive materials, has given rise to a new generation of multifunctional structures capable of self-sensing, actuation, and real-time adaptation to changing operational conditions. However, the design and deployment of these smart FGMs introduce profound modeling challenges, particularly when considering their nonlinear dynamics under coupled electromechanical-thermal loads, intricate structural dynamics at various scales, and performance in extreme environments such as the high-temperature conditions found in aerospace engineering applications. Concurrently, the application of these principles to soft materials is revolutionizing fields like soft robotics and biomedical devices, where large deformations and complex material behavior are the norms. The computational modeling of these systems spanning from hard, high-temperature ceramics to soft, compliant polymers requires advanced numerical frameworks that can capture geometric, material, and contact nonlinearities across multiple physical domains.
This research area is critically important as it forms the computational foundation for next-generation technologies, including hypersonic vehicle skins, adaptive jet engine components, intelligent thermal barrier coatings, and biomimetic soft robots. This Special Issue aims to address this compelling need by highlighting cutting-edge computational strategies that bridge material science, Multiphysics analysis, and nonlinear dynamics.
2. Aim and Scope of the Special Issue
Aim:
The primary aim of this Special Issue is to compile and disseminate state-of-the-art research on the development and application of advanced computational models for analyzing and optimizing the behavior of smart functionally graded materials and structures. It seeks to address the Multiphysics and nonlinear challenges inherent in their design, with a specific focus on applications in extreme environments and soft material systems.
Scope:
This Special Issue will cover, but is not limited to, the following topics:
• Novel computational techniques (e.g., Isogeometric Analysis, Peridynamics, Machine Learning-based methods) for modeling FGMs and smart structures.
• Multiphysics modeling of thermo-electro-magneto-mechanical coupling in smart FGM systems.
• Analysis of nonlinear dynamics, vibration, buckling, and wave propagation in FGM structures.
• Temperature-dependent material modeling and its effect on structural dynamics and performance.
• Computational studies focused on aerospace engineering applications (e.g., morphing wings, thermal protection systems, engine components).
• Modeling and simulation of soft material applications in robotics, energy harvesting, and biomedical devices.
• Optimization and AI-driven design of material gradation for targeted functional performance.
3. Suggested Themes
Prospective authors are invited to contribute original research and review articles aligned with the following themes:
• Theme 1: Advanced Numerical Methods for FGM Analysis.
• Theme 2: Integrated Multiphysics Modeling of Smart Materials (Piezoelectric, SMAs).
• Theme 3: Nonlinear Vibrations and Dynamics of FGM Structures under Extreme Loading.
• Theme 4: High-Temperature Applications in Aerospace Engineering.
• Theme 5: Soft Functional Materials and Structures for Robotics and Biomedicine.
• Theme 6: Machine Learning and Optimization for the Design of FGMs.
• Theme 7: Dynamic Stability, Control, and Wave Propagation in Graded Structures.
Keywords
functionally graded materials (FGMs), smart structures, nonlinear dynamics, multiphysics modeling, aerospace structures, soft robotics, isogeometric analysis (IGA), thermal-mechanical analysis, piezoelectric materials
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