About us
The cross-disciplinary FUNctional MATerials group at LEME was created in 2018 at the initiative of Isabelle Bruant. Positioned at the interface of the laboratory’s three research divisions (M2S2, STE, and EMS), it acts as a unifying bridge between them.
The group focuses on the development and characterization of innovative functional materials, combining experimental investigations with numerical modelling and simulation, from design through to property validation. Key research topics include functionally graded materials (tailoring properties through controlled gradients) and a new generation of architectured graded materials enabled by additive manufacturing, offering strong potential for aerospace and biomedical applications. The group also relies on a dynamic network of national and international collaborations to accelerate scientific advances and real-world impact.
Group Leader
Isabelle Bruant is an Associate Professor (Maître de conférences – HDR, CNU Section 60) at the IUT of Ville d’Avray, Université Paris Nanterre, and a researcher at the LEME laboratory. Her research focuses on the interface between mechanics and functional materials, combining experimental characterisation, numerical modelling, and simulation to advance the understanding of material behaviour, inform design approaches, and evaluate performance.
Since 2018, she has been leading the group’s research on functionally graded materials. She also coordinates piezoelectricity-related projects within FunMat, thereby contributing to the emergence of innovative research directions in functional materials.
In addition to Isabelle Bruant, the team is comprised of four permanent members: Johann Petit and Jihed Zghal (CNU section 60, M2S2 Cluster), and Julie Cédelle and Isabelle Ranc (CNU section 62, STE Cluster).
Our Expertise
At FunMat Group, we conduct research on functional materials with a particular focus on their modeling, characterization, and performance in advanced engineering applications. Our work aims to deepen the understanding of material behavior across multiple scales and to support the development of innovative, reliable, and efficient material systems.
Our expertise includes Functionally Graded Materials (FGMs) and Functionally Graded Piezoelectric Materials (FGPMs), whose graded properties provide unique opportunities for the design of multifunctional and adaptive structures. We investigate their mechanical and multiphysical response through rigorous theoretical, experimental, and computational approaches.
We also develop research in the mechanical characterization of materials, addressing the relationships between microstructure, constitutive behavior, and damage evolution. This framework enables a refined understanding of degradation mechanisms and contributes to the formulation of predictive methodologies for advanced materials.
In parallel, we advance numerical simulation strategies for the analysis of complex phenomena, including damage, failure, and active control in material and structural systems. Through the integration of mechanics, materials science, and computational methods, FunMat Group contributes to the advancement of knowledge in the field of functional and graded materials.
Our Projects
FunGPT: Design and elaboration of advanced lead-free functionally graded piezoelectric transducers
ANR-25-ASTR-0001
French collaborating laboratories: LCMCP, FEMTO-ST, LTDS, CréA
FunGPT aims to develop new piezoelectric transducers made from functionally graded piezoelectric materials (FGPMs). The originality of this project lies in conducting ambitious experimental investigations on lead-free FGPMs by pairing the development of an innovative, low-energy manufacturing process with an in-depth characterization of the materials’ electromechanical properties. Implementation within a fully integrated isolation/stabilization system will serve to validate the resulting materials. The findings will provide crucial data for numerical modeling, which, in turn, will lead to the optimization of the processing stage.
FGAM: Architected Functionally Graded Materials (FGAMs): Design and Characterization
Project: Paris Lumière Alliance
French Collaborating Laboratory: QUARTZ
The search for new materials that are increasingly strong, lightweight, and durable is essential for numerous industrial sectors (aerospace, automotive, biomedical, etc.). Architected Functionally Graded Materials (FGAMs) are innovative materials capable of meeting these needs. This project aims to study and analyze architected materials through both experimental and numerical approaches. Developing, characterizing, modeling, and optimizing these structures will demonstrate their full potential, particularly as bio-inspired composites integrated into bone implants.
ODEGAM: Optimization of Damage propagation and Energy absorption using functionally Graded and Auxetic Materials
European Digital UniverCity project, FRI_ANREDUC2G
European Partner University: University of Cagliari
Functionally graded materials (FGMs) provide a controlled variation of mechanical properties, guiding crack nucleation and orientation in order to delay growth. On the other hand, auxetic materials—thanks to their negative Poisson’s ratio—enhance energy dissipation, thereby boosting impact-absorption capacity. The ODEGAM project leverages the synergy between these two material families to develop a structured metamaterial that is both lightweight and extremely resilient, capable of containing crack initiation and propagation while optimizing impact-energy diffusion.
FRAME: From Architectural Engineering via Additive Manufacturing to Response: The Thermomechanical Behavior of Functionally Graded Metamaterials
European Digital UniverCity project, FRI_ANREDUC2G
European Partner University: University of South-Eastern Norway (USN)
The project “From Architectural Engineering via Additive Manufacturing to Response: Thermomechanical Behavior of Functionally Graded Metamaterials (FRAME)” targets fast, experimentally grounded design and coupled thermo-mechanical characterization of functionally graded architected materials (FGAMs) produced by additive manufacturing.