A comparison of buckling and postbuckling behavior of FGM plates with piezoelectric fiber reinforced composite actuators

Compressive postbuckling under thermal environments and thermal postbuckling due to a uniform temperature rise are presented for a simply supported, shear deformable functionally graded plate with piezoelectric fiber reinforced composite (PFRC) actuators. The material properties of functionally graded materials (FGMs) are assumed to be graded in the thickness direction according to a simple power law distribution in terms of the volume fractions of the constituents, and the material properties of both FGM and PFRC layers are assumed to be temperature-dependent. The governing equations are based on a higher order shear deformation plate theory that includes thermo-piezoelectric effects. The initial geometric imperfection of the plate is taken into account. A two step perturbation technique is employed to determine buckling loads (temperature) and postbuckling equilibrium paths. The numerical illustrations concern the compressive and thermal postbuckling behaviors of perfect and imperfect, geometrically mid-plane symmetric FGM plates with fully covered or embedded PFRC actuators under different sets of thermal and electric loading conditions. The results for monolithic piezoelectric actuator, which is a special case in the present study, are compared with those of PFRC actuators. The results reveal that, in the compressive buckling case, the applied voltage usually has a small effect on the postbuckling load–deflection curves of the plate with PFRC actuators, whereas in the thermal buckling case, the effect of applied voltage is more pronounced for the plate with PFRC actuators, compared to the results of the same plate with monolithic piezoelectric actuators.     

压电元件驱动的功能梯度弹性薄板的屈曲

考虑功能梯度薄板,其上下表面嵌有压电执行元件.根据逆压电效应将电压转换成作用于板上的等效电载荷.假设梯度材料的弹性参数为板厚度方向坐标的幂函数,基于经典板理论,导出了功能梯度弹性薄板小挠度屈曲平衡微分方程.利用双三角级数展开法,得到了四边简支具有压电元件的功能梯度矩形板的临界屈曲载荷,在此基础上通过数值例子讨论了弹性板的几何尺寸、材料梯度指数的变化对临界电压(载荷)的影响.研究结果表明,材料的梯度指数对临界电压有重要影响,并且通过调整作用于执行元件上的电压的大小和方向,可实现对结构稳定性的有效控制.     

Thermo-electrical buckling of piezoelectric functionally graded material Timoshenko beams

In this article, buckling analysis of functionally graded material (FGM) beams with or without surface-bonded piezoelectric layers subjected to both thermal loading and constant voltage is studied. Thermal and mechanical properties of FGM layer is assumed to follow the power law distribution in thickness direction, except Poisson’s ratio which is considered constant. The Timoshenko beam theory and nonlinear strain-displacement relations are used to obtain the governing equations of piezoelectric FGM beam. Beam is assumed under three types of thermal loading and various types of boundary conditions. For each case of boundary conditions, existence of bifurcation-type buckling is examined and for each case of thermal loading and boundary conditions, closed-form solutions are obtained which are easily usable for engineers and designers. The effects of the applied actuator voltage, beam geometry, boundary conditions, and power law index of FGM beam on critical buckling temperature difference are examined.     

Thermal Buckling Analysis of Piezoelectric Functionally Graded Plates with Temperature-Dependent Properties

In this study, the thermal buckling analysis of hybrid laminated plates made of two-layered functionally graded materials (FGMs) that are integrated with surface-bonded piezoelectric actuators referred to as (P/FGM)_s are investigated. Material properties for both substrate FGM layers and piezoelectric layers are temperature-dependent. Uniform temperature rise as a thermal load and constant applied actuator voltage are considered for this analysis. By definition of four new analytic functions, the five coupled governing stability equations, which are derived based on the first-order shear deformation plate theory, are converted into fourth-order and second-order decoupled partial differential equations (PDEs). Considering a Levy-type solution, these two PDEs are reduced to two ordinary differential equations. One of these equations is solved using an accurate analytical solution, which is named as power series Frobenius method. The effects of parameters, such as the plate aspect ratio, ratio of piezoelectric layer thickness to thickness of FGM layer, gradient index, actuator voltage, and the temperature dependency on the critical buckling temperature difference, are illustrated and explained. The critical buckling temperatures of (P/FGM)_s with six various boundary conditions are reported for the first time and can be served as benchmark results for researchers to validate their numerical and analytical methods in the future.     

Thermal buckling and postbuckling behavior of functionally graded carbon nanotube-reinforced composite plates

Thermal buckling and postbuckling behavior is presented for functionally graded nanocomposite plates reinforced by single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) subjected to in-plane temperature variation. The material properties of SWCNTs are assumed to be temperature-dependent and are obtained from molecular dynamics simulations. The material properties of functionally graded carbon nanotube-reinforced composites (FG-CNTRCs) are assumed to be graded in the thickness direction, and are estimated through a micromechanical model. Based on the multi-scale approach, numerical illustrations are carried out for perfect and imperfect, geometrically mid-plane symmetric FG-CNTRC plates and uniformly distributed CNTRC plates under different values of the nanotube volume fractions. The results show that the buckling temperature as well as thermal postbuckling strength of the plate can be increased as a result of a functionally graded reinforcement. It is found that in some cases the CNTRC plate with intermediate nanotube volume fraction does not have intermediate buckling temperature and initial thermal postbuckling strength.     

Buckling and Postbuckling Behavior of Functionally Graded Nanotube-Reinforced Composite Plates in Thermal Environments

This paper investigates the buckling and postbuckling of simply supported, nanocomposite plates with functionally graded nanotube reinforcements subjected to uniaxial compression in thermal environments. The nanocomposite plates are assumed to be functionally graded in the thickness direction using single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) serving as reinforcements and the plates' effective material properties are estimated through a micromechanical model. The higher order shear deformation plate theory with a von Kármán-type of kinematic nonlinearity is used to model the composite plates and a two-step perturbation technique is performed to determine the buckling loads and postbuckling equilibrium paths. Numerical results for perfect and imperfect, geometrically mid-plane symmetric functionally graded carbon nanotube reinforced composite (FG-CNTRC) plates are obtained under different sets of thermal environmental conditions. The results for uniformly distributed CNTRC plate, which is a special case in the present study, are compared with those of the FG-CNTRC plate. The results show that the buckling loads as well as postbuckling strength of the plate can be significantly increased as a result of a functionally graded nanotube reinforcement. The results reveal that the carbon nanotube volume fraction has a significant effect on the buckling load and postbuckling behavior of CNTRC plates.     

四边简支功能梯度矩形板的热屈曲分析

基于经典板理论,假设材料性质为板厚度方向坐标的幂函数,推导了功能梯度材料矩形板在热荷载作用下的平衡方程和稳定方程。给出了四边简支的功能梯度板在均匀受热时临界屈曲温度变化的封闭解,讨论了板的几何外形尺寸、相对厚度、梯度指数以及中面变形等因素对临界屈曲温度变化的影响。     

Thermomechanical buckling of hybrid cross-ply laminated rectangular plates

A thermomechanical buckling analysis is presented for simply supported rectangular symmetric cross-ply laminated composite plates that are integrated with surface-mounted piezoelectric actuators and are subjected to the combined action of in-plane compressive edge loads, two types of thermal loads, and constant applied actuator voltage. The formulation of equations is based on the classical laminated plate theory and the von-Karman non-linear kinematic relations. The analysis uses an exact method to obtain closed-form solutions for the buckling load. The effects of applied actuator voltage, thermal and mechanical loads, plate geometry, and lay-up configuration of the laminated plates are investigated. The novelty of the present work is to obtain closed-form solutions for electro-thermomechanical buckling of hybrid composite plates, and to cover non-uniform temperature distribution loading. The results for various states are verified with known data in the literature.     

Thermal buckling of various types of FGM sandwich plates

The sinusoidal shear deformation plate theory is used to study the thermal buckling of functionally graded material (FGM) sandwich plates. This theory includes the shear deformation and contains the higher- and first-order shear deformation theories and classical plate theory as special cases. Material properties and thermal expansion coefficient of the sandwich plate faces are assumed to be graded in the thickness direction according to a simple power-law distribution in terms of the volume fractions of the constituents. The core layer is still homogeneous and made of an isotropic material. Several kinds of symmetric sandwich plates are presented. Stability equations of FGM sandwich plates include the thermal effects. The thermal loads are assumed to be uniform, linear and non-linear distribution through-the-thickness. Numerical examples cover the effects of the gradient index, plate aspect ratio, side-to-thickness ratio, loading type and sandwich plate type on the critical buckling for sandwich plates.     

Nonlinear free and forced vibration behavior of functionally graded plate with piezoelectric layers in thermal environment

In the present study, finite element formulation based on higher order shear deformation plate theory is developed to analyze nonlinear natural frequencies, time and frequency responses of functionally graded plate with surface-bonded piezoelectric layers under thermal, electrical and mechanical loads. The von Karman nonlinear strain–displacement relationship is used to account for the large deflection of the plate. The material properties of functionally graded material (FGM) are assumed temperature-dependent. The temperature field has uniform distribution over the plate surface and varies in the thickness direction. The considered electric field only has non-zero-valued component E_z. Numerical results are presented to study effects of FGM volume fraction exponent, applied voltage in piezoelectric layers, thermal load and vibration amplitude on nonlinear natural frequencies and time response of FGM plate with integrated piezoelectric layers. In addition, nonlinear frequency response diagrams of the plate are presented and effects of different parameters such as FGM volume fraction exponent, temperature gradient, and piezoelectric voltage are investigated.     

Thermal buckling analysis of moderately thick functionally graded annular sector plates

In this article, thermal buckling analysis of moderately thick functionally graded annular sector plate is studied. The equilibrium and stability equations are derived using first order shear deformation plate theory. These equations are five highly coupled partial differential equations. By using an analytical method, the coupled stability equations are replaced by four decoupled equations. Solving the decoupled equations and satisfying the boundary conditions, the critical buckling temperature is found analytically. To this end, it is assumed that the annular sector plate is simply supported in radial edges and it has arbitrary boundary conditions along the circular edges. Thermal buckling of functionally graded annular sector plate for two types of thermal loading, uniform temperature rise and gradient through the thickness, are investigated. Finally, the effects of boundary conditions, power law index, plate thickness, annularity and sector angle on the critical buckling temperature of functionally graded annular sector plates are discussed in details.     

Finite element analysis for geometrically nonlinear deformations of smart functionally graded plates using vertically reinforced 1-3 piezoelectric composite

In this paper, a finite element model has been developed for the geometrically nonlinear static analysis of simply supported functionally graded (FG) plates integrated with a patch of vertically reinforced 1-3 piezoelectric composite material acting as a distributed actuator. The material properties of the functionally graded substrate plate are assumed to be graded only in the thickness direction according to the power-law distribution in terms of the volume fractions of the constituents. The analysis of the electro-elastic coupled problem includes the transverse deformations of the overall plate to utilize the transverse normal actuation by the distributed actuator for counteracting the nonlinear deformations of smart functionally graded plates. The nonlinear governing equations of equilibrium are solved by using direct iteration method with under-relaxation. The numerical illustrations suggest the potential use of the distributed actuator made of vertically reinforced 1-3 piezoelectric composite material for active control of nonlinear deformations of smart functionally graded plates. The effect of variation of piezoelectric fiber orientation in the distributed actuator on its control authority for counteracting the nonlinear deformations of smart functionally graded plates has also been investigated.     

Semi-analytical mechanical and thermal buckling analyses of 2D-FGM circular plates based on the FSDT

In the present paper, mechanical and thermal buckling analyses of two-directional functionally graded material (2D-FGM) circular plate are investigated. The motion equations have been derived based on the first-order shear deformation theory (FSDT) and power series method has been employed to solve the motion equations. Two different kinds of boundary condition including simply supported and fixed are considered. The material properties are assumed to vary in both transverse and radial directions according to power and exponential laws, respectively. Comparisons with available studies in the literature confirm the high accuracy of the current approach. The effects of geometrical parameters and 2D-FG power indices on the critical buckling load have been studied. It is shown that increase of modulus of elasticity of outer layers of plate due to higher presence of hard phase of FGM, in radius and thickness directions of the plate makes it possible to attain a more solid structure against mechanical buckling loads, while increase of coefficient of thermal expansion and coefficient of thermal conduction of outer layers of plate results in less stability against thermal buckling loads.     

Electro-mechanical vibration of smart piezoelectric FG plates with porosities according to a refined four-variable theory

Here, free vibration analysis of functionally graded piezoelectric (FGP) plates with porosities is carried out based on refined four-unknown plate theory. The present plate theory captures shear deformation impacts needless of shear correction factor. A modified power-law model is adopted to describe the graded material properties of a functionally graded piezoelectric plate. Implementing an analytical approach, which satisfies different boundary conditions, governing equations derived from Hamilton's principle are solved. The obtained results are compared with those provided in the literature. The impacts of applied voltage, porosity distribution, material graduation, plate geometrical parameters, and boundary conditions on vibration of porous FGP plate are discussed.     

Thermo-Electro-Mechanical Buckling of Shear Deformable Hybrid Circular Functionally Graded Material Plates

Buckling analysis of perfect circular functionally graded plates with surface-bounded piezoelectric layers based on the first-order shear deformation theory is presented in this article. The material properties of the functionally graded (FG) layer are assumed to vary continuously through the plate thickness by distribution of power law of the volume fraction of the constituents. The plate is assumed to be under constant electrical field and two types of thermal loadings, namely, the uniform temperature rise and nonlinear temperature gradient through the thickness. Also, the stability of a plate under radial mechanical compressive force is examined. The equilibrium and stability equations are derived based on the first-order shear deformation plate theory using a variational approach. The boundary condition of the plate as an immovable type of the clamped edge is considered. Resulting equations are employed to obtain the closed-form solution for the critical buckling temperature for each loading case. The effects of electric field, piezo-to-host thickness ratio, and power law index of functionally graded plates subjected to thermo-mechanical-electrical loads are investigated. The results are compared with the classical plate theory and verified with the available data in the open literature.     

Nonlinear vibration of smart circular functionally graded plates coupled with piezoelectric layers

Nonlinear vibration analysis of thin circular pre-stressed functionally graded (FG) plate integrated with two uniformly distributed piezoelectric actuator layers with an initial nonlinear large deformation are presented in this paper. Nonlinear governing equations of motion are derived based on classical plate theory (CPT) with von-Karman type geometrical large nonlinear deformations. A nonlinear static problem is solved first to determine the initial stress state and pre-vibration deformations of the plate that is subjected to in-plane forces and applied actuator voltage. By adding an incremental dynamic state to the pre-vibration state, the differential equations that govern the nonlinear vibration behavior of pre-stressed piezoelectrically actuated circular FG plate are derived. An exact series expansion method is used to model the nonlinear electro-mechanical vibration behavior of the structure. Control of the FG plate’s nonlinear deflections and natural frequencies using high control voltages are studied and their nonlinear effects are evaluated. In a parametric study the emphasis is placed on investigating the effect of varying the applied actuator voltage as well as gradient index of FG plate on the dynamic characteristics of the structure.     

Thermal buckling and postbuckling analysis of functionally graded annular plates with temperature-dependent material properties

As a first endeavor, the thermal buckling and postbuckling analysis of functionally graded (FG) annular plates with material properties graded in the radial direction is presented. The formulation is derived based on the first-order shear deformation theory (FSDT) and the geometrical nonlinearity is modeled using Green’s strain in conjunction with von Karman’s assumptions. The material properties are temperature-dependent and graded according to the power law distribution. It is assumed that the temperature varies along the radial direction. Using the virtual work principle, the pre-buckling and postbuckling equilibrium equations and the related boundary conditions are derived. Differential quadrature method (DQM) as an efficient numerical technique is adopted to solve the governing equations. The presented formulation and the method of solution are validated by performing convergence and comparison studies with available results in the literature. Finally, the effects of volume fraction index, geometrical parameters, mechanical/thermal properties of the constituent materials and boundary conditions on the thermal buckling and postbuckling behavior of the radially graded annular plate are evaluated and discussed.     

Levy Solution for Buckling Analysis of Functionally Graded Rectangular Plates

In this article, an analytical method for buckling analysis of thin functionally graded (FG) rectangular plates is presented. It is assumed that the material properties of the plate vary through the thickness of the plate as a power function. Based on the classical plate theory (Kirchhoff theory), the governing equations are obtained for functionally graded rectangular plates using the principle of minimum total potential energy. The resulting equations are decoupled and solved for rectangular plate with different loading conditions. It is assumed that the plate is simply supported along two opposite edges and has arbitrary boundary conditions along the other edges. The critical buckling loads are presented for a rectangular plate with different boundary conditions, various powers of FGM and some aspect ratios.     

Mechanical and thermal postbuckling of higher order shear deformable functionally graded plates on elastic foundations

This paper presents an analytical investigation on the buckling and postbuckling behaviors of thick functionally graded plates resting on elastic foundations and subjected to in-plane compressive, thermal and thermomechanical 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. The formulations are based on higher order shear deformation plate theory taking into account Von Karman nonlinearity, initial geometrical imperfection and Pasternak type elastic foundation. By applying Galerkin method, closed-form relations of buckling loads and postbuckling equilibrium paths for simply supported plates are determined. Analysis is carried out to show the effects of material and geometrical properties, in-plane boundary restraint, foundation stiffness and imperfection on the buckling and postbuckling loading capacity of the plates.     

Postbuckling of pressure-loaded FGM hybrid cylindrical shells in thermal environments

A postbuckling analysis is presented for a functionally graded cylindrical shell with piezoelectric actuators subjected to lateral or hydrostatic pressure combined with electric loads in thermal environments. Heat conduction and temperature-dependent material properties are both taken into account. The temperature field considered is assumed to be a uniform distribution over the shell surface and varied in the thickness direction and the electric field considered only has non-zero-valued component E_Z. The material properties of functionally graded materials (FGMs) are assumed to be graded in the thickness direction according to a simple power law distribution in terms of the volume fractions of the constituents, and the material properties of both FGM and piezoelectric layers are assumed to be temperature-dependent. The governing equations are based on a higher order shear deformation theory with a von Kármán–Donnell-type of kinematic nonlinearity. A boundary layer theory of shell buckling is extended to the case of FGM hybrid laminated cylindrical shells of finite length. A singular perturbation technique is employed to determine the buckling pressure and postbuckling equilibrium paths. The numerical illustrations concern the postbuckling behavior of pressure-loaded, perfect and imperfect, FGM cylindrical shells with fully covered piezoelectric actuators under different sets of thermal and electric loading conditions. The results reveal that temperature dependency, temperature change and volume fraction distribution have a significant effect on the buckling pressure and postbuckling behavior of FGM hybrid cylindrical shells. In contrast, the control voltage only has a very small effect on the buckling pressure and postbuckling behavior of FGM hybrid cylindrical shells.