In today's highly demanding technological environment, one of the main challenges in new material design is combining seemingly irreconcilable thermomechanical properties in the same component (e.g., high heat and corrosion resistance, high strength in elevated-temperature applications and high resistance to wear, and high toughness in load-bearing elements). In many cases, the problem may be solved by using coatings or by layering dissimilar materials. From a structural viewpoint, a major disadvantage of these techniques, particularly in ceramic coating of metals, has been the resulting high thermal and residual stresses and relatively poor bonding strength. Thus, in thin films, coatings, and layered materials, surface cracking and debonding or delamination have been common forms of mechanical failure. One effective way of reducing residual and thermal stresses and enhancing bonding strength has been to eliminate material-property discontinuities by grading the material composition near the interfaces or through the coating. These new materials, with continuously varying compositions or volume fractions, are known as functionally graded materials (FGMs).

In developing FGMs, research on the mechanics, and particularly on the fracture mechanics of these inhomogeneous materials, is needed to provide technical support to materials scientists and to manufacturing and design engineers. In the past, fracture mechanics has been useful both as a screening tool during material processing and as a design and maintenance tool for service-life assessment. Broadly speaking, fracture mechanics involves studying the effect of the applied loads, the component/flaw geometry, and the environmental conditions on the fracture of engineering materials.