Supersonic flutter prediction of functionally graded conical shells

Aero-thermoelastic analysis of a simply supported functionally graded truncated conical shell subjected to supersonic air flow is performed to predict the flutter boundaries. The temperature-dependent properties of the FG shell are assumed to be graded through the thickness according to a simple rule of mixture and power-law function of volume fractions of material constituents. Through the thickness steady-state heat conduction is considered for thermal analysis. To perform the stability analysis, the general nonlinear equations of motion are first derived using the classical Love’s shell theory and the von Karman–Donnell-type of kinematic nonlinearity together with the linearized first-order piston theory for aerodynamic loading. Then the nonlinear equations of motion are linearized to obtain the linear equilibrium and aeroelastic equations. The equilibrium equations are solved using power series method to obtain the initial stresses induced by aerodynamic and thermal loadings. The results are then used as an input to the aeroelastic stability equations which are finally solved with the generalized Galerkin method. The flutter boundaries are obtained for the FG conical shells with different semi-vertex cone angles, different temperature distributions, and different volume fraction indices.     

Buckling of functionally graded conical panels under mechanical loads

This paper presents an analytical approach to investigate the linear buckling of truncated conical panels made of functionally graded materials and subjected to axial compression, external pressure and the combination of these loads. Material properties are assumed to be temperature-independent, and graded in the thickness direction according to a simple power law distribution in terms of the volume fractions of constituents. Equilibrium and linear stability equations in terms of displacement components for conical panels are derived by using the classical thin shell theory. Approximate analytical solutions are assumed to satisfy simply supported boundary conditions and Galerkin method is applied to obtain closed-form relations of bifurcation type buckling loads. An analysis is carried out to show the effects of material and geometrical properties and combination of loads on the linear stability of conical panels.     

Optimization of volume fractions for functionally graded panels considering stress and critical temperature

Volume fraction optimization of Functionally Graded Materials (FGMs) is investigated considering stress and critical temperature. Material properties are assumed to be temperature dependent, and are assumed to be varied continuously in the thickness direction according to a simple power law distribution in terms of the volume fractions of the constituent materials. The effective material properties are obtained by applying linear rule of mixtures. The 3-D finite element model is adopted using an 18-node solid element to analyze more accurately the variation of material properties and temperature field in the thickness direction. For the various FGMs volume fraction distributions, mechanical stress analysis and thermo-mechanical buckling analysis are performed to get the critical conditions. Finally, the optimal designs of FGMs panels are investigated for stress reduction and improving thermo-mechanical buckling behavior.     

Aero-thermoelastic stability of functionally graded plates

In this paper, an analytical investigation intended to determine the aero-thermoelastic stability margins of functionally graded panels is carried out. For this purpose, piston theory aerodynamics has been employed to model quasi-steady aerodynamic loading. The material properties of the plate are assumed to be graded continuously across the panel thickness. A simple power-law and the Mori–Tanaka scheme are used for estimating the effective material properties such as temperature-dependent thermoelastic properties. The effects of compressive in-plane loads and both uniform and through the thickness non-linear temperature distributions are also considered. Hamilton’s principle is used to determine the coupled partial differential equations of motion. Using Galerkin’s method, the derived equations are transformed into a set of coupled ordinary differential equations, and then solved by numerical time integration. Some examples comparing the stability margins of functionally graded panels with those of plates made of pure metals and pure ceramics are presented. It is shown that the use of functionally graded materials can yield an increase or decrease of the aeroelastic stability in the supersonic flow for different regions.     

Environmental degradation using functionally graded material approach

Attempts to model the degradation of polymer composites have been restricted to modelling the effects of selected degradation mechanisms. No comprehensive model has yet been accepted to predict the effect of the natural environment on the strength of polymer composites. From a review of available literature, it appears that the matrix of a polymer composite is most affected by exposure to the natural environment. Further, the damage appears to progress from the surface into the interior of the laminate. An approach has been developed to determine the properties of the damaged layer and combine the properties of the damaged and undamaged layer to obtain bulk material properties of the laminate.     

Thermal post-buckling and the stability boundaries of structurally damped functionally graded panels in supersonic airflows

In this study, the thermal post-buckling behaviors and linear flutter analysis of structurally damped functionally graded (FG) panels under a supersonic airflow are investigated. The material properties are assumed to be temperature-dependent and vary in the thickness direction of the panel. First-order shear-deformation theory (FSDT) is applied to model the panel, and the von Karman strain–displacement relations are adopted to consider the geometric nonlinearity. In addition, the damping is modeled as the Rayleigh damping, and first-order piston theory is applied for the supersonic aerodynamic load. Results are obtained for the thermal post-buckling behavior, and linear flutter analysis of FG panels with a damping effect is performed to search for the origin of the flutter. The numerical data are validated through a comparison with the previous works, and the effects of structural damping are discussed in detail for various cases.     

Nonlinear response of pressure-loaded functionally graded cylindrical panels with temperature effects

This paper presents an analytical approach to investigate nonlinear response of functionally graded cylindrical panels under uniform lateral pressure with temperature effects are incorporated. Material properties are assumed to be temperature-independent, and graded in the thickness direction according to a simple power law distribution in terms of the volume fractions of constituents. Equilibrium and compatibility equations for cylindrical panels are derived by using the classical shell theory with both geometrical nonlinearity in von Karman–Donnell sense and initial geometrical imperfection are taken into consideration. The resulting equations are solved by Galerkin method to determine explicit expressions of nonlinear load-deflection curves. Stability analysis for a simply supported panel shows the effects of material and geometric parameters, in-plane restraint and temperature conditions, and imperfection on the nonlinear response of the panel.     

Three-dimensional thermomechanical buckling analysis for functionally graded composite plates

Three-dimensional thermomechanical buckling analysis is investigated for functionally graded composite structures that composed of ceramic, functionally graded material (FGM), and metal layers. Material properties are assumed to be temperature dependent, and in FGM layer, they are varied continuously in the thickness direction according to a simple power law distribution in terms of the ceramic and metal volume fractions. The finite element model is adopted by using an 18-node solid element to analyze more accurately the variation of material properties and temperature field in the thickness direction. Temperature at each node is obtained by solving the thermomechanical equations. For a time discretization, Crank–Nicolson method is used. In numerical results, the thermal buckling behavior of FGM composite structures due to FGM thickness ratios, volume fraction distributions, and system geometric parameters are analyzed.     

Nonlinear dynamical analysis of eccentrically stiffened functionally graded cylindrical panels

Based on the classical shell theory with the geometrical nonlinearity in von Karman–Donnell sense and the smeared stiffeners technique, the governing equations of motion of eccentrically stiffened functionally graded cylindrical panels with geometrically imperfections are derived in this paper. The characteristics of free vibration and nonlinear responses are investigated. The nonlinear dynamic buckling of cylindrical panel acted on by axial loading is considered. The nonlinear dynamic critical buckling loads are found according to the criterion suggested by Budiansky–Roth. Some numerical results are given and compared with the ones of other authors.     

Higher-order theory for functionally graded materials

This paper presents the full generalization of the Cartesian coordinate-based higher-order theory for functionally graded materials developed by the authors during the past several years. This theory circumvents the problematic use of the standard micromechanical approach, based on the concept of a representative volume element, commonly employed in the analysis of functionally graded composites by explicitly coupling the local (microstructural) and global (macrostructural) responses. The theoretical framework is based on volumetric averaging of the various field quantities, together with imposition of boundary and interfacial conditions in an average sense between the subvolumes used to characterize the composite's functionally graded microstructure. The generalization outlined herein involves extension of the theoretical framework to enable the analysis of materials characterized by spatially variable microstructures in three directions. Specialization of the generalized theoretical framework to previously published versions of the higher-order theory for materials functionally graded in one and two directions is demonstrated. In the applications part of the paper we summarize the major findings obtained with the one-directional and two-directional versions of the higher-order theory. The results illustrate both the fundamental issues related to the influence of microstructure on microscopic and macroscopic quantities governing the response of composites and the technologically important applications. A major issue addressed herein is the applicability of the classical homogenization schemes in the analysis of functionally graded materials. The technologically important applications illustrate the utility of functionally graded microstructures in tailoring the response of structural components in a variety of applications involving uniform and gradient thermomechanical loading.     

Supersonic flutter prediction of functionally graded cylindrical shells

The supersonic flutter analysis of simply supported FG cylindrical shell for different sets of in-plane boundary conditions is performed. The aeroelastic equations of motion are constructed using Love’s shell theory and von Karman–Donnell-type of kinematic nonlinearity coupled with linearized first-order potential (piston) theory. The material properties are assumed to be temperature-dependant and graded across the thickness of the shell according to a simple power law. The temperature distribution is assumed to vary in the thickness direction and is obtained by solving the steady-state heat conduction equation. The pre-stresses due to the thermal and mechanical loadings are obtained by exact solution of the equilibrium equations. The Galerkin method is used to solve the aeroelastic equations of motion employing appropriate displacement functions. The effects of internal pressure and temperature rise on the flutter boundaries of the simply supported FG cylinder with different values of power-law index are investigated.     

A three-dimensional elasticity solution for functionally graded rotating disks

A semi-analytical three-dimensional elasticity solution for rotating functionally graded disks for both of hollow and solid disks is presented. The aim is to generalize an available two-dimensional plane-stress solution to a three-dimensional one. Although for the thin disks problems the two-dimensional solution provides appropriate results, for the thick disks, a three-dimensional elasticity solution should be considered to avoid poor results. It is shown that although the plane-stress solution satisfies all the governing three-dimensional equations of motion and boundary conditions, it fails to give a compatible three-dimensional strain field. A valid three-dimensional solution has been introduced by modifying the plane-stress solution.     

Nonlinear static and dynamic buckling analysis of functionally graded shallow spherical shells including temperature effects

This paper presents an analytical approach to investigate the nonlinear static and dynamic unsymmetrical responses of functionally graded shallow spherical shells under external pressure incorporating the effects of temperature. Governing equations for thin FGM spherical shells are derived by using the classical shell theory taking into account von Karman–Donnell geometrical nonlinearity. Approximate solutions are assumed and Galerkin procedure is applied to determine explicit expressions of static critical buckling loads of the shells. For the dynamical response, motion equations are numerically solved by using Runge–Kutta method and the criterion suggested by Budiansky–Roth. A detailed analysis is carried out to show the effects of material and geometrical parameters, boundary conditions and temperature on the stability and dynamical characteristics of FGM shallow spherical shells.     

Thermo-acoustic random response of temperature-dependent functionally graded material panels

A nonlinear finite element model is provided for the nonlinear random response of functionally graded material panels subject to combined thermal and random acoustic loads. Material properties are assumed to be temperature-dependent, and graded in the thickness direction according to a simple power law distribution in terms of the volume fractions of the constituents. The governing equations are derived using the first-order shear-deformable plate theory with von Karman geometric nonlinearity and the principle of virtual work. The thermal load is assumed to be steady state constant temperature distribution, and the acoustic excitation is considered to be a stationary white-Gaussian random pressure with zero mean and uniform magnitude over the plate surface. The governing equations are transformed to modal coordinates to reduce the computational efforts. Newton–Raphson iteration method is employed to obtain the dynamic response at each time step of the Newmark implicit scheme for numerical integration. Finally, numerical results are provided to study the effects of volume fraction exponent, temperature rise, and the sound pressure level on the panel response.     

Stress analysis and material tailoring in isotropic linear thermoelastic incompressible functionally graded rotating disks of variable thickness

We analyze axisymmetric deformations of a rotating disk with its thickness, mass density, thermal expansion coefficient and shear modulus varying in the radial direction. The disk is made of a rubberlike material that is modeled as isotropic, linear thermoelastic and incompressible. We note that the hydrostatic pressure in the constitutive relation of the material is to be determined as a part of the solution of the problem since it cannot be determined from the strain field. The problem is analyzed by using an Airy stress function φ. The non-homogeneous ordinary differential equation with variable coefficients for φ is solved either analytically or numerically by the differential quadrature method. We have also analyzed the challenging problem of tailoring the variation of either the shear modulus or the thermal expansion coefficient in the radial direction so that a linear combination of the hoop stress and the radial stress is constant in the disk. For a rotating annular disk we present the explicit expression of the thermal expansion coefficient for the hoop stress to be uniform within the disk. For a rotating solid disk we give the exact expressions for the shear modulus and the thermal expansion coefficient as functions of the radial coordinate so as to achieve constant hoop stress. Numerical results for a few typical problems are presented to illuminate effects of material inhomogeneities on deformations of a hollow and a solid rotating disk.     

Thermo elastic analysis of functionally graded rotating disks with temperature-dependent material properties: uniform and variable thickness

A thermo elastic analysis is presented for axisymmetric rotating disks made of functionally graded material (FGM) with variable thickness. Material properties are assumed to be temperature-dependent and graded in the radial direction according to a grading index power law distribution. The temperature field considered is assumed to be uniformly distributed over the disk surface and varied in the radial direction. Semi-analytical solutions for the displacement field are given for solid disk and annular disk under free-free and fixed-free boundary conditions. The effects of the thermal field, the material grading index and the geometry of the disk on the displacement and stress fields are investigated. Results of this study emphasize on the crucial role of the temperature-dependent properties in a high temperature environment. A comparison of these results with the reported ones in the literature that is temperature-dependent versus temperature-independent suggests that a functionally graded rotating disk with concave thickness profile can work more efficiently than the one with uniform thickness irrespective of whether the material properties are assumed to be temperature-dependent or temperature-independent.     

Thermoelastic analysis of a functionally graded rotating disk

A semi-analytical thermoelasticity solution for hollow and solid rotating axisymmetric disks made of functionally graded materials is presented. The radial domain is divided into some virtual sub-domains in which the power-law distribution is used for the thermomechanical properties of the constituent components. Imposing the necessary continuity conditions between adjacent sub-domains, together with the global boundary conditions, a set of linear algebraic equations are obtained. Solution of the linear algebraic equations yields the thermoelastic responses for each sub-domain as exponential functions of the radial coordinate. Some results for the stress, strain and displacement components along the radius are presented due to centrifugal force and thermal loading. Results obtained within this solution are compared with those of a finite element analysis in the literature. Based on the results, it is shown that the property gradation correlates with thermomechanical responses of FG disks.     

Bending analysis of moderately thick functionally graded conical panels

Considering the application of functionally graded (FG) materials in various industries, the present study aims to investigate bending of moderately thick clamped FG conical panels subjected to uniform and non-uniform distributed loadings. Effective mechanical properties which are vary from one surface of the panel to the other assumed to be defined by a power law distribution. Three different ceramic–metal sets of materials are studied. First-order shear deformation theory (FSDT) is applied to drive the governing equations of the problem which consists of five highly coupled second order partial differential equations (PDEs). The governing equations are then solved by the Extended Kantorovich Method (EKM). It is also shown that the presented formulation and solution technique can be used to obtain accurate predictions for other types of structures such as circular cylinders and rectangular plates. Predictions for cylindrical panels and plates show very good agreement with published data in the literature. Due to lack of data for FG conical panels in the literature, finite element code ANSYS is used to validate results of the presented method for FG conical panels which show very good agreement.     

An extension to classical lamination theory for use with functionally graded plates

An extension to classical lamination theory is presented for the improved analysis of thin to moderately thick functionally graded plates. The method results in an explicit formulation that accommodates any through-thickness variation in the elastic, hygrothermal and piezoelectric properties of each layer. Additionally, variations in the material rotation angle, temperature, moisture content and electric field strength through each layer are taken into account. The method relies on representing with polynomial series the variation in both the properties of each ply and the hygrothermal and piezoelectric loading. Validation problems are presented that demonstrate the application and accuracy of the method.     

Free vibration analysis of functionally graded conical shell panels by a meshless method

A free vibration analysis of metal and ceramic functionally graded conical shell panels is presented using the element-free kp-Ritz method. The first-order shear deformation shell theory is used to account for the transverse shear strains and rotary inertia, and mesh-free kernel particle functions are employed to approximate the two-dimensional displacement fields. The material properties of the conical shell panels are assumed to vary continuously through their thickness in accordance with a power-law distribution of the volume fractions of their constituents. Convergence studies are performed in terms of the number of nodes, and comparisons of the current solutions and those reported in literature are provided to verify the accuracy of the proposed method. Two types of functionally graded conical shell panels, including Al/ZrO₂ and Ti–6Al–4V/aluminum oxide, are chosen in the study, and the effects of the volume fraction, boundary condition, semi-vertex angle, and length-to-thickness ratio on their frequency characteristics are discussed in detail.