In this study we have carried out the thermal residual stress analyses of adhesively bonded functionally graded clamped plates for different edge heat fluxes. The material properties of the functionally graded plates were assumed to vary with a power law along an in-plane direction not through the plate thickness direction. The transient heat conduction and Navier equations describing the two-dimensional thermo-elastic problem were discretized using the finite-difference method, and the set of linear equations was solved using the pseudo singular value method. The plate material properties near the interfaces played an important role in the interfacial adhesive stresses. The compositional gradient affected considerably both in-plane temperature distributions and heat transfer periods. The type of in-plane heat flux had only a minor effect on the temperature profiles but affected both the temperature levels and heat transfer period. Both plates undergo considerable compressive normal strains and stresses, but shear strains were more effective. Peak equivalent strains were observed for a constant heat flux and plates with a metal-rich composition. The compositional gradient and direction played important role in the profiles and levels of normal, shear and equivalent stresses as well as strains. The equivalent stress and strains concentrated along the free edges of the adhesive layer. The adhesive layer experienced a considerable distortional deformation rather than volumetric deformation. The equivalent stress exhibited small changes through the adhesive thickness and along the overlap length. The equivalent stress remained uniform in a large region of the overlap length and increased to a peak level around the free edges of the first plate-adhesive interface, whereas it increased to a peak level in a large region of the overlap length from a minimum level around the free edges of the second plate-adhesive interface. The strains and equivalent strains were higher for a metal-rich material composition. The direction of the material composition of the plates affected both stress and strain levels; thus, the CM-CM and CM-MC plates exhibited lower strain and stress levels than those in the MC-CM and MC-MC plates. However, only the adhesively bonded CM-MC plate configuration could achieve the lowest deformations and stresses in both plates and adhesive layer. (C) Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2011