Multi-objective optimization of thermo-mechanical properties of metal-ceramic composites

The optimization procedure is worked out for finding an optimal content of phases in metal-ceramic composites in case of conflicting objectives regarding thermo-mechanical properties of the material for a specific target application. Relationships between the material composition and effective properties of the composite are calculated by employing several methods of continuum micromechanics. A constrained minimization problem is solved for a single objective function based on the weighted squared distances from the best available thermo-mechanical properties for the material system selected. A compound block diagram is proposed for quick assessment of the consequences of deviating from the optimal composition. The developed procedure is applied to practical examples of Al2O3-Cu composites for brake disks and Al2O3-NiAl composites for valves of potential use in automotive industry.