Vibration analysis of piezoelectrically actuated curved nanosize FG beams via a nonlocal strain-electric field gradient theory

In this article, nonlocal free vibration analysis of curved functionally graded piezoelectric (FGP) nanobeams is conducted using a Navier-type solution method. The model contains a nonlocal stress field parameter and also a nonlocal strain-electric field gradient parameter to capture the size effects. Inclusion of these nonlocal parameters introduces both stiffness-softening and stiffness-hardening effects in the analysis of curved nanobeams. Nonlocal governing equations of curved FGP nanobeam are obtained from Hamilton's principle based on the Euler–Bernoulli beam model. The results are validated with those of curved FG nanobeams available in the literature. Finally, the influences of electric voltage, length scale parameter, nonlocal parameter, opening angle, material composition, and slenderness ratio on vibrational characteristics of nanosize curved FG piezoelectric beams are explored. These results may be useful in accurate analysis and design of smart nanostructures constructed from piezoelectric materials.     

Nonlocal static analysis of a functionally graded material curved nanobeam

This article is concerned with the analytical solution for a curved nanobeam based on nonlocal elasticity. The structure is made of functionally graded (FG) material, and its property varies in accordance with a power law function through the thickness. To obtain the displacement function, the static differential equations for a curved FG beam are combined with the nonlocal Eringen stress equations. By using the direct method for solving the nonlocal force–strain and moment–curvature relations covering the distributed loads, the explicit expressions of nonlocal strains are achieved. The strain-displacement relations are also employed to find displacement field. Numerical examples with different types of boundary conditions are carried out in order to investigate the effects of nonlocal parameters, the nonhomogeneity index, and geometric characteristics.     

Analysis of flexoelectric response in nanobeams using nonlocal theory of elasticity

This paper is concerned with the derivation of exact solutions for the static responses of simply supported nonlocal flexoelectric nanobeams. Considering both the direct and the converse flexoelectric effects, and employing the nonlocal theory of elasticity, the governing equations and the associated boundary conditions of the beams are derived to obtain the exact solutions for the displacements, nonlocal stresses and the electric potential in the beams. Both the direct and the converse flexoelectric effects are influenced by the nonlocal parameter. Active beams significantly counteract the applied mechanical load by virtue of the converse flexoelectric effect. The normal and the transverse shear deformations in the beams are affected by the converse flexoelectric effect resulting in the coupling of bending and stretching deformations in the beams even if the beams are homogeneous. Because of the consideration of the nonlocal theory of elasticity, the nonlocal stiffness of the beam appears to be less than the classical stiffness of the beam. The nonlocal elasticity does not influence the stresses of the passive beam while the nonlocal stresses in the active beam due to converse flexoeletric effect are less than the local or classical stresses in the active beam. The benchmark results presented here may be useful for verifying the numerical model and experimental results for nonlocal flexoelectric nanobeams. The present study suggests that the flexoelectric nanobeams may be effectively exploited for developing advanced smart nanosensors and nanoactuators. The research work carried out here also conveys that the nonlocal theory of elasticity must be employed for accurate analysis of flexoelectric solids.     

Effect of nonlocal elasticity on the performance of a flexoelectric layer as a distributed actuator of nanobeams

The paper is concerned with the development of finite element model for the static analysis of smart nanobeams integrated with a flexoelectric layer on its top surface, using nonlocal elastic theory. The flexoelectric layer acts as a distributed actuator of the nanobeam. A layerwise displacement theory has been used to derive the element stiffness matrices from variational principles incorporating nonlocal effects. The finite element model for nonlocal response of the beams has been validated with the exact solution for the case of a simply supported standalone flexoelectric layer. Also, the finite element model of the simply supported smart beam has been validated with exact solutions and numerical models for the local elastic case. The performance of the flexoelectric actuator has been compared for different values of nonlocal parameters and different combinations of nonlocal and local elastic substrate and flexoelectric layer. Further, the model developed has been utlized for investigating the performance of the active flexoelectric layer in case of cantilever beam, for which the exact solutions are not available.     

A unified nonlocal formulation for bending,buckling and free vibration analysis of nanobeams

Abstract

A unified nonlocal formulation is developed for the bending, buckling, and vibration analysis of nanobeams. Theoretical formulations of eighteen nonlocal beam theories are presented by using unified formulation. Small scale effect is considered based on the nonlocal differential constitutive relations of Eringen. The governing equations of motion and associated boundary conditions of the nanobeam are derived using Hamilton's principle. Closed form solutions are presented for a simply supported boundary condition using Navier's solution technique. Numerical results for axial and transverse shear stress are first time presented in this study which will serve as a benchmark for the future research.     

Geometrically non-linear formulation for three dimensional curved beam elements with large rotations

This paper presents a geometrically non-linear formulation (GNL) for the three dimensional curved beam elements using the total Lagrangian approach. The element geometry is constructed using co-ordinates of the nodes on the centroidal or reference axis and the orthogonal nodal vectors representing the principal bending directions. The element displacement field is described using three translations at the element nodes and three rotations about the local axes

1 The element displacement field has also been described in the literature using Euler parameters, Milenkovic parameters, or Rodriges parameters representing the effects of large rotations.

. The GNL three dimensional beam element formulations based on these element approximations are restricted to small nodal rotations between two successive load increments. The element formulation presented here removes such restrictions. This is accomplished by retaining non-linear nodal terms in the definition of the element displacement field, and the consistent derivation of the element properties. The formulation presented here is very general and yet can be made specific by selecting proper non-linear functions representing the effects of nodal rotations. The details of the element properties are presented and discussed. Numerical examples are also presented to demonstrate the behaviour and the accuracy of the elements. A comparison of the results obtained from the present formulation with those available in the literature using a linearized element approximation clearly demonstrate the superiority of the formulation in terms of large load steps, large rotations between two load steps and extremely good convergence characteristics during equilibrium iterations. The displacement approximation of these elements is fully compatible with the isoparametric curved shell elements (with large rotations), and since the elements possess offset capability, these elements can also serve as stiffeners for the curved shells.     

Locking-free curved beam element based on curvature

The formulation of a curved beam element with 3 nodes for curvature to eliminate the shear/membrane locking phenomenon is presented. The element is based on curvature so that it may represent the bending energy fully, and the shear/membrane strain energy is incorporated into the formulation by the equilibrium equations. To deal with general boundary conditions, a transformation matrix between nodal curvature and nodal displacement vector is introduced. Several examples are presented in order to verify the element formulation and its analytical capability. The solutions obtained reveal that the element describes the curved beam behaviour quite correctly and efficiently, showing no locking phenomena, and that it is also applicable to the analysis of both thin and thick curved beams.     

In-plane and out-of-plane dynamics and buckling of functionally graded circular curved beams

In this paper the dynamic and buckling features of slender structures with curved axis are addressed. A survey on the literature concerning mechanics of beams constructed with non-homogeneous materials or with functionally graded materials reveals only a few papers devoted to the dynamics and buckling of curved beams constructed with such materials. This problem was tackled mainly through 2D or 3D numerical formulations, but comprehensive beam theories on the matter are scarce. In the present paper a model of non-homogeneous and/or FGM curved beams is developed. The model is deduced by adopting a consistent displacement field which incorporates second order rotational terms based on the semi-tangential rule. The model also incorporates the shear flexibility due to bending and warping due to twisting effects. Arbitrary initial stresses and initial off-axis loads are taken into account in the linearized principle of virtual works. The finite element method is employed to discretize the motion equations with the objective to solve problems of dynamics, statics and buckling. The model contains, as particular cases, several straight beam theories as well as curved beam theories. Some comparisons with the available experimental data of the open literature are performed in order to illustrate the predictive features of the model, and comparisons with 2D and 3D finite element approaches are also performed.     

Evaluation of nonlocal higher order shear deformation models for the vibrational analysis of functionally graded nanostructures

Small scale effects in the functionally graded beam are investigated by using various nonlocal higher-order shear deformation beam theories. The material properties of a beam are supposed to vary according to power law distribution of the volume fraction of the constituents. The nonlocal equilibrium equations are obtained and an exact solution is presented for vibration analysis of functionally graded (FG) nanobeams. The accuracy of the present model is discussed by comparing the results with previous studies and a parametric investigation is presented to study the effects of power law index, small-scale parameter, and aspect ratio on the vibrational behavior of FG nanostructures.     

A modified nonlocal couple stress-based beam model for vibration analysis of higher-order FG nanobeams

In the present paper, nonlocal couple stress theory is developed to investigate free vibration characteristics of functionally graded (FG) nanobeams considering exact position of neutral axis. The theory introduces two parameters based on nonlocal elasticity theory and modified couple stress theory to capture the size effects much accurately. Therefore, a nonlocal stress field parameter and a material length scale parameter are used to involve both stiffness-softening and stiffness-hardening effects on responses of FG nanobeams. The FG nanobeam is modeled via a higher-order refined beam theory in which shear deformation effect is verified needless of shear correction factor. A power-law distribution is used to describe the graded material properties. The governing equations and the related boundary conditions are derived by Hamilton's principle and they are solved applying Galerkin's method, which satisfies various boundary conditions. A comparison study is performed to verify the present formulation with the provided data in the literature and a good agreement is observed. The parametric study covered in this paper includes several parameters, such as nonlocal and length scale parameters, power-law exponent, slenderness ratio, shear deformation, and various boundary conditions on natural frequencies of FG nanobeams in detail.     

Size-dependent free flexural vibrational behavior of functionally graded nanobeams using semi-analytical differential transform method

In this paper nonlocal Euler–Bernoulli beam theory is employed for vibration analysis of functionally graded (FG) size-dependent nanobeams by using Navier-based analytical method and a semi analytical differential transform method. Two kinds of mathematical models, namely, power law and Mori-Tanaka models are considered. The nonlocal Eringen theory takes into account the effect of small size, which enables the present model to become effective in the analysis and design of nanosensors and nanoactuators. Governing equations are derived through Hamilton's principle and they are solved applying semi analytical differential transform method (DTM). It is demonstrated that the DTM has high precision and computational efficiency in the vibration analysis of FG nanobeams. The good agreement between the results of this article and those available in literature validated the presented approach. The detailed mathematical derivations are presented and numerical investigations are performed while the emphasis is placed on investigating the effect of the several parameters such as small scale effects, different material compositions, mode number and thickness ratio on the normalized natural frequencies of the FG nanobeams in detail. It is explicitly shown that the vibration of a FG nanobeams is significantly influenced by these effects. Numerical results are presented to serve as benchmarks for future analyses of FG nanobeams.     

A new nonlocal elasticity theory with graded nonlocality for thermo-mechanical vibration of FG nanobeams via a nonlocal third-order shear deformation theory

In the present research, free vibration study of functionally graded (FG) nanobeams with graded nonlocality in thermal environments is performed according to the third-order shear deformation beam theory. The present nanobeam is subjected to uniform and nonlinear temperature distributions. Thermo-elastic coefficients and nonlocal parameter of the FG nanobeam are graded in the thickness direction according to power-law form. The scale coefficient is taken into consideration implementing nonlocal elasticity of Eringen. The governing equations are derived through Hamilton's principle and are solved analytically. The frequency response is compared with those of nonlocal Euler–Bernoulli and Timoshenko beam models, and it is revealed that the proposed modeling can accurately predict the vibration frequencies of the FG nanobeams. The obtained results are presented for the thermo-mechanical vibrations of the FG nanobeams to investigate the effects of material graduation, nonlocal parameter, mode number, slenderness ratio, and thermal loading in detail. The present study is associated to aerospace, mechanical, and nuclear engineering structures that are under thermal loads.     

Surface and nonlocal effects on the nonlinear free vibration of non-uniform nanobeams

The surface and nonlocal effects on the nonlinear flexural free vibrations of elastically supported non-uniform cross section nanobeams are studied simultaneously. The formulations are derived based on both Euler–Bernoulli beam theory (EBT) and Timoshenko beam theory (TBT) independently using Hamilton’s principle in conjunction with Eringen’s nonlocal elasticity theory. Green’s strain tensor together with von Kármán assumptions are employed to model the geometrical nonlinearity. The differential quadrature method (DQM) as an efficient and accurate numerical tool in conjunction with a direct iterative method is adopted to obtain the nonlinear vibration frequencies of nanobeams subjected to different boundary conditions. After demonstrating the fast rate of convergence of the method, it is shown that the results are in excellent agreement with the previous studies in the limit cases. The influences of surface free energy, nonlocal parameter, length of non-uniform nanobeams, variation of nanobeam width and elastic medium parameters on the nonlinear free vibrations are investigated.     

State space finite element analysis for piezoelectric laminated curved beam with variable curvature

ABSTRACT

A six-variable state vector formulation for static deformation of the laminated curved beam bonded with piezoelectric actuators is deduced. The 2D numerical solution for the piezoelectric laminated curved beams (PLCB) is explored. Then the distributions of the electrical and mechanical fields along the beam thickness direction are investigated analytically. The static shape control is researched for a laminated half circular beam covered with piezoelectric actuators. Comparisons with the available results show the reliability of the proposed method. At the end a spiral laminated piezoelectric structure is analyzed and the parameter study is carried out using the presented method.     

Numerical transfer-method with boundary conditions for arbitrary curved beam elements

A novel numerical transfer-method is presented to solve a system of linear ordinary differential equations with boundary conditions. It is applied to determine the structural behaviour of the classical problem of an arbitrary curved beam element. The approach of this boundary value problem yields a unique system of differential equations. A Runge–Kutta scheme is chosen to obtain the incremental transfer expression. The use of a recurrence strategy in this equation permits to relate both ends in the domain where boundary conditions are defined. Semicircular arch, semicircular balcony and elliptic–helical beam examples are provided for validation.     

An isoparametric quadratic thick curved beam element

A three-noded curved beam element with transverse shear deformation, based on independent isoparametric quadratic interpolations, is designed from field-consistency principles. It is shown that a quadratic element that is field-inconsistent in membrane strain suffers from ‘membrane locking’—i.e. an error of the second kind propagates indefinitely as the element length to thickness ratio and/or the element length to radius of curvature ratio increase, in nearly inextensional bending. However, field-inconsistency in shear strain does not lead to ‘shear locking’ but degrades its performance to exactly that of a field-consistent linear element. It is also seen that field-inconsistency leads to severe axial force and shear force oscillations. Error estimates for locking are derived, wherever possible, and confirmed by numerical experiments. The field-consistent element offered here is the most efficient quadratic curved beam element possible.     

Vibration analysis of parabolic shear-deformable piezoelectrically actuated nanoscale beams incorporating thermal effects

Thermoelectric-mechanical vibration behavior of functionally graded piezoelectric (FGP) nanobeams is first investigated in this article, based on the nonlocal theory and third-order parabolic beam theory by presenting a Navier-type solution. Electro-thermo-mechanical properties of a nanobeam are supposed to change continuously throughout the thickness based on the power-law model. To capture the small-size effects, Eringen's nonlocal elasticity theory is adopted. Using Hamilton's principle, the nonlocal governing equations for the third-order, shear deformable, piezoelectric, FG nanobeams are obtained and they are solved applying an analytical solution. By presenting some numerical results, it is demonstrated that the suggested model presents accurate frequency results of FGP nanobeams. The influences of several parameters, including external electric voltage, power-law exponent, nonlocal parameter, and mode number on the natural frequencies of the size-dependent FGP nanobeams are discussed in detail. The results should be relevant to the design and application of the piezoelectric nanodevices.     

Geometrically nonlinear formulation for the curved shell elements

This paper presents a geometrically nonlinear formulation using total lagrangian approach for the three-dimensional curved shell elements. The basic element geometry is constructed using the coordinates of the middle surface nodes and the mid-surface nodal point normals. The element displacement field is described using three translations of the mid-surface nodes and the two rotations about the local axes. The existing shell element formulations are restricted to small nodal rotations between two successive load increments. The element formulation presented here removes such restrictions. This is accomplished by retaining nonlinear nodal rotation terms in the definition of the displacement field and the consistent derivation of the element properties. The formulation presented here is very general and yet can be made specific by selecting proper nonlinear functions representing the effects of nodal rotations. The element properties are derived and presented in detail. Numerical examples are also presented to demonstrate the behaviour and the accuracy of the elements.