Functionally graded material (FGM) can optimize the mechanical properties of composites by designing the spatial variation of material properties. In this paper, the stress distribution of functionally graded panel with a central elliptical hole under uniaxial tensile load is analyzed. Based on the inhomogeneity variation and three different gradient directions, the effects of the inhomogeneity on the stress concentration factor and damage factor are discussed. The study results show that when Young’s modulus increases with the distance from the hole, the stress concentration factor decreases compared with that of homogeneous material, and the optimal design of r-FGM is better than that of x-FGM and y-FGM when the tensile load. In addition, when the associated variation of ultimate stress is considered, the choice of scheme to reduce the failure index is related to the strength-modulus exponent ratio. When the strength-modulus exponent ratio is small, the failure index changes with the index of power-law, which means there is an optimal FGM design. But when the strength-modulus exponent ratio is large, the optimal design modulus design is to select a uniform material that maximizes the modulus at each point. These research results have a certain reference value for further in-depth understanding of the inhomogeneous design for FGM.

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