An exact closed-form analytical solution is presented to solve the thermo-elasto-plastic problem of thick-walled spherical vessels made of functionally graded materials (FGMs). Assuming that the inner surface is exposed to a uniform heat flux, and that the outer surface is exposed to an airstream. The heat conduction equation for the one-dimensional problem in spherical coordinates is used to obtain temperature distribution in the sphere. Material properties are graded in the thickness direction according to a power law distribution, whereas the Poisson’s ratio is kept constant. The Poisson’s ratio due to slight variations in engineering materials is assumed constant. The plastic model is based on von Mises yield criterion and its associated flow rules under the assumption of perfectly plastic material behavior. For various values of inhomogeneity constant, the so-obtained solution is then used to study the distribution of limit heat flux, displacement and stresses versus the radial direction. Moreover, the effect of increasing the heat flux and pressure on the propagation of the plastic zone are investigated. Furthermore, the effect of change in Poisson’s ratio on the value of the critical material parameter is demonstrated. The present study is also validated by comparing the numerical results for thick elasto-plastic spherical shells available in the literature. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, in previous studies, exact thermo-elasto-plastic behavior of FGM thick-walled sphrical pressure vessels has not investigated.
