The increasing need for materials with light weight, high resistance to corrosion and wear, toughness and strength, machinability, high thermal capacity etc. for various applications is unending. This demand has continued to stretch the exploitation and manipulation of various functionally graded materials (FGMs) and their production methods. This study explores one of the FGM production processes called the centrifugal casting technique (CCT). The centrifugal casting process has several potential advantages over traditional casting methods. This study provides information regarding the basic functionally graded production methods and their applications and also discusses categories of CCT, evolution and process parameters.

This paper discusses the main Functionally Graded Materials (FGMs) and their bulk fabrication techniques, their development, principles and applications. The fabrication processes considered include powder metallurgy (PM), sintering, squeeze casting, infiltration process, compocasting, centrifugal casting, stir casting, material prototyping. The paper provides an overview of the FGM processing parameters including reinforcement particles size and volume %, temperature, pressure (for PM), and stirrer and mould rotational speeds (for stir and centrifugal casting processes respectively). The paper notes that the FGMs are widely used in the following sectors: automotive, medical, aerospace, aviation, nuclear energy, renewable energy, chemical, engineering, optics electronics etc.

Enhanced tribological and location-specific properties achieved in functionally graded metallic composites make them potential materials for futuristic engineering components. The present investigation aims on the processing of homogenous and functionally graded Al matrix composites reinforced with SiC particles of 23 µm average particle size by gravity and centrifugal casting techniques. The sizes of the primary aluminium and eutectic silicon phases are finer towards the outer periphery due to the higher solidification rate. Functionally graded Al–SiCp composite rings produced by centrifugal casting show higher concentration of SiCp towards outer periphery, followed by a gradient transition region and the particle depleted zone. Particle agglomerates formed due to partially wetted particles associated with voids and gas porosities segregate towards the inner periphery. The higher concentration of reinforcement particles near the outer periphery in FGM enhances the hardness and wear resistance in rotary and reciprocating wear studies. Centrifugal cast alloys show enhanced wear resistance than the gravity cast specimen due to fine grains of primary aluminium and eutectic silicon. The rotary and reciprocating wear test shows the adhesive and abrasive type wear mechanisms.

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