Bending response of functionally graded plates by using a new higher order shear deformation theory

This paper presents an analytical solution to the static analysis of functionally graded plates, using a recently developed higher order shear deformation theory (HSDT) and provides detailed comparisons with other HSDT’s available in the literature. These theories account for adequate distribution of the transverse shear strains through the plate thickness and tangential stress-free boundary conditions on the plate boundary surfaces, thus a shear correction factor is not required. The mechanical properties of the plates are assumed to vary in the thickness direction according to a power-law distribution in terms of the volume fractions of the constituents. The governing equations of a functionally graded (FG) plate and boundary conditions are derived by employing the principle of virtual work. Navier-type analytical solution is obtained for FG plates subjected to transverse bi-sinusoidal and distributed loads for simply supported boundary conditions. Results are provided for thick to thin FG plates and for different volume fraction distributions. The accuracy of the present code is verified by comparing it with known results in the literature.     

Nonlinear analysis of stability for functionally graded plates under mechanical and thermal loads

This paper presents a simple analytical approach to investigate the stability of functionally graded plates under in-plane compressive, thermal and combined 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 compatibility equations for functionally graded plates are derived by using the classical plate theory taking into account both geometrical nonlinearity in von Karman sense and initial geometrical imperfection. The resulting equations are solved by Galerkin procedure to obtain explicit expressions of postbuckling load–deflection curves. Stability analysis of a simply supported rectangular functionally graded plate shows the effects of the volume fraction index, plate geometry, in-plane boundary conditions, and imperfection on postbuckling behavior of the plate.     

Non-linear buckling and postbuckling of shear deformable anisotropic laminated cylindrical shell subjected to varying external pressure loads

Non-linear buckling and postbuckling of a moderately thick anisotropic laminated cylindrical shell of finite length subjected to lateral pressure, hydrostatic pressure and external liquid pressure has been presented in the paper. The material of each layer of the shell is assumed to be linearly elastic, anisotropic and fiber-reinforced. The governing equations are based on a higher order shear deformation shell theory with von Kármán–Donnell-type of kinematic non-linearity and including the extension/twist, extension/flexural and flexural/twist couplings. The non-linear prebuckling deformations and initial geometric imperfections of the shell are both taken into account. A singular perturbation technique is employed to determine the buckling pressure and postbuckling equilibrium paths. The numerical illustrations concern the postbuckling response of perfect and imperfect, moderately thick, anisotropic laminated cylindrical shells with different values of shell parameters and stacking sequence. The results confirm that there exists a circumferential stress along with an associate shear stress when the shell is subjected to external pressure.     

Dynamic behaviour of edge-cracked shear deformable functionally graded beams on an elastic foundation under a moving load

This paper studies the dynamic response of functionally graded beams with an open edge crack resting on an elastic foundation subjected to a transverse load moving at a constant speed. It is assumed that the material properties follow an exponential variation through the thickness direction. Theoretical formulations are based on Timoshenko beam theory to account for the transverse shear deformation. The cracked beam is modeled as an assembly of two sub-beams connected through a linear rotational spring. The governing equations of motion are derived by using Hamilton’s principle and transformed into a set of dynamic equations through Galerkin’s procedure. The natural frequencies and dynamic response with different end supports are obtained. Numerical results are presented to investigate the influences of crack location, crack depth, material property gradient, slenderness ratio, foundation stiffness parameters, velocity of the moving load and boundary conditions on both free vibration and dynamic response of cracked functionally graded beams.     

Torsional buckling and postbuckling of double-walled carbon nanotubes by nonlocal shear deformable shell model

This paper presents an investigation on the buckling and postbuckling of double-walled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) subjected to torsion in thermal environments. The double-walled carbon nanotube is modeled as a nonlocal shear deformable cylindrical shell which contains small scale effects and van der Waals interaction forces. The governing equations are based on higher order shear deformation shell theory with a von Kármán–Donnell-type of kinematic nonlinearity and include the extension-twist and flexural-twist couplings. The thermal effects are also included and the material properties are assumed to be temperature-dependent and are obtained from molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The small scale parameter _e0a$e_{0}a$ is estimated by matching the buckling torque of CNTs observed from the MD simulation results with the numerical results obtained from the nonlocal shear deformable shell model. The results show that buckling torque and postbuckling behavior of CNTs are very sensitive to the small scale parameter _e0a$e_{0}a$. The results reveal that the size-dependent and temperature-dependent material properties have a significant effect on the torsional buckling and postbuckling behavior of both single-walled and double-walled CNTs.     

Thermal effects on nonlinear vibrations of functionally graded doubly curved shells using higher order shear deformation theory

Geometrically nonlinear vibrations of functionally graded (FG) doubly curved shells subjected to thermal variations and harmonic excitation are investigated via multi-modal energy approach. Two different nonlinear higher-order shear deformation theories are considered and it is assumed that the shell is simply supported with movable edges. Using Lagrange equations of motion, the energy functional is reduced to a system of infinite nonlinear ordinary differential equations with quadratic and cubic nonlinearities which is truncated based on solution convergence. A pseudo-arclength continuation and collocation scheme is employed to obtain numerical solutions for shells subjected to static and harmonic loads. The effects of FGM power law index, thickness ratio and temperature variations on the frequency–amplitude nonlinear response are fully discussed and it is revealed that, for relatively thick and deep shells, the Amabili–Reddy theory which retains all the nonlinear terms in the in-plane displacements gives different and more accurate results.     

Exact solution for stability analysis of moderately thick functionally graded sector plates on elastic foundation

In this article, an exact analytical solution for buckling analysis of moderately thick functionally graded (FG) sector plates resting on Winkler elastic foundation is presented. The equilibrium equations are derived according to the first order shear deformation plate theory. Because of the coupling between the bending and stretching equilibrium equations of FG plates, these plates have deflection under in-plane loads lower than the critical buckling load acting on the mid-plane. The conditions under which FG plates remain flat in the pre-buckling configuration are investigated and the stability equations are obtained based on the flat plate assumption in the pre-buckling state. The stability equations are simplified into decoupled equations and solved analytically for plates having simply supported boundary condition on the straight edges. The critical buckling load is obtained and the effects of geometrical parameters and power law index on the stability of functionally graded sector plates are studded. The results for the critical buckling load of moderately thick functionally graded sector plates resting on elastic foundation are reported for the first time.     

Nonlinear bending of FGM plates subjected to combined loading and resting on elastic foundations

A nonlinear bending analysis is presented for a simply supported, functionally graded plate resting on an elastic foundation of Pasternak-type. The plate is exposed to elevated temperature and is subjected to a transverse uniform or sinusoidal load combined with initial compressive edge 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 formulations are based on a higher-order shear deformation plate theory and general von Kármán-type equation that includes the plate-foundation interaction and thermal effects. A two step perturbation technique is employed to determine the load–deflection and load–bending moment curves. The numerical illustrations concern nonlinear bending response of functional graded plates with two constituent materials resting on Pasternak elastic foundations from which results for Winkler elastic foundations are obtained as a limiting case. The results reveal that the characteristics of nonlinear bending are significantly influenced by foundation stiffness, temperature rise, transverse shear deformation, the character of in-plane boundary conditions and the amount of initial compressive load. In contrast, the effect of volume fraction index N becomes weaker when the plate is supported by an elastic foundation.     

Post-buckling analysis of composite plates containing embedded delaminations with arbitrary shape by using higher order shear deformation theory

The compressive post-buckling behavior of composite laminates containing embedded delamination with arbitrary shape is investigated analytically. For modeling the embedded delamination, the laminate is divided into three smaller regions. The higher order shear deformation theory is implemented and the formulation is based on the Rayleigh-Ritz approximation technique by the application of the simple/complete polynomial series for each region. The nonlinear equilibrium equations, which are achieved through the application of the principle of Minimum Potential Energy, are solved by employing the Newton-Raphson iterative procedure. Some interesting results are obtained and compared with those achieved by the finite element method of analysis using ANSYS commercial software. A good agreement is seen to exist between the results. This is while for a given level of accuracy in the results, ANSYS requires a markedly larger number of degrees of freedom compared to that needed by the developed method. Moreover, a considerable reduction in the load carrying capacity of laminate is noticed due to the presence of delamination.     

Nonlinear dynamic response and vibration of imperfect shear deformable functionally graded plates subjected to blast and thermal loads

Based on Reddy's higher-order shear deformation plate theory, this article presents an analysis of the nonlinear dynamic response and vibration of imperfect functionally graded material (FGM) thick plates subjected to blast and thermal loads resting on elastic foundations. The 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. Numerical results for the dynamic response and vibration of the FGM plates with two cases of boundary conditions are obtained by the Galerkin method and fourth-order Runge–Kutta method. The results show the effects of geometrical parameters, material properties, imperfections, temperature increment, elastic foundations, and boundary conditions on the nonlinear dynamic response and vibration of FGM plates.     

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.     

Benchmark solutions for functionally graded thick plates resting on Winkler–Pasternak elastic foundations

Exact solutions for functionally graded thick plates are presented based on the three-dimensional theory of elasticity. The plate is assumed isotropic at any point, while material properties to vary exponentially through the thickness. The system of governing partial differential equations is reduced to an ordinary one about the thickness coordinate by expanding the state variables into infinite dual series of trigonometric functions. Interactions between the Winkler–Pasternak elastic foundation and the plate are treated as boundary conditions. The problem is finally solved using the state space method. Effects of stiffness of the foundation, loading cases, and gradient index on mechanical responses of the plates are discussed. It is established that elastic foundations affects significantly the mechanical behavior of functionally graded thick plates. Numerical results presented in the paper can serve as benchmarks for future analyses of functionally graded thick plates on elastic foundations.     

Accurate solution for free vibration analysis of functionally graded thick rectangular plates resting on elastic foundation

Vibration analysis of a functionally graded rectangular plate resting on two parameter elastic foundation is presented here. The displacement filed based on the third order shear deformation plate theory is used. By considering the in-plane displacement components of an arbitrary material point on the mid-plane of the plate and using Hamilton’s principle, the governing equations of motion are obtained which are five highly coupled partial differential equations. An analytical approach is employed to decouple these partial differential equations. The decoupled equations of functionally graded rectangular plate resting on elastic foundation are solved analytically for levy type of boundary conditions. The numerical results are presented and discussed for a wide range of plate and foundation parameters. The results show that the Pasternak (shear) elastic foundation drastically changes the natural frequency. It is also observed that in some boundary conditions, the in-plane displacements have significant effects on natural frequency of thick functionally graded plates and they cannot be ignored.     

Bending analysis of thick exponentially graded plates using a new trigonometric higher order shear deformation theory

An analytical solution of the static governing equations of exponentially graded plates obtained by using a recently developed higher order shear deformation theory (HSDT) is presented. The mechanical properties of the plates are assumed to vary exponentially in the thickness direction. The governing equations of exponentially graded plates and boundary conditions are derived by employing the principle of virtual work. A Navier-type analytical solution is obtained for such plates subjected to transverse bi-sinusoidal loads for simply supported boundary conditions. Results are provided for thick to thin plates and for different values of the parameter n, which dictates the material variation profile through the plate thickness. The accuracy of the present code is verified by comparing it with 3D elasticity solution and with other well-known trigonometric shear deformation theory. From the obtained results, it can be concluded that the present HSDT theory predict with good accuracy inplane displacements, normal and shear stresses for thick exponentially graded plates.     

A nonlinear modified couple stress-based third-order theory of functionally graded plates

In this paper a general nonlinear third-order plate theory that accounts for (a) geometric nonlinearity, (b) microstructure-dependent size effects, and (c) two-constituent material variation through the plate thickness (i.e., functionally graded material plates) is presented using the principle of virtual displacements. A detailed derivation of the equations of motion, using Hamilton’s principle, is presented, and it is based on a modified couple stress theory, power-law variation of the material through the thickness, and the von Kármán nonlinear strains. The modified couple stress theory includes a material length scale parameter that can capture the size effect in a functionally graded material. The governing equations of motion derived herein for a general third-order theory with geometric nonlinearity, microstructure dependent size effect, and material gradation through the thickness are specialized to classical and shear deformation plate theories available in the literature. The theory presented herein also can be used to develop finite element models and determine the effect of the geometric nonlinearity, microstructure-dependent size effects, and material grading through the thickness on bending and postbuckling response of elastic plates.     

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.     

Nonlinear analysis of sandwich plates with FGM face sheets resting on elastic foundations

Nonlinear vibration, nonlinear bending and postbuckling analyses are presented for a sandwich plate with FGM face sheets resting on an elastic foundation in thermal environments. The material properties of FGM face sheets 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 governing equation of the plate that includes plate-foundation interaction is solved by a two-step perturbation technique. The thermal effects are also included and the material properties of both FGM face sheets and homogeneous core layer are assumed to be temperature-dependent. The numerical results reveal that the foundation stiffness and temperature rise have a significant effect on the natural frequency, buckling load, postbuckling and nonlinear bending behaviors of sandwich plates. The results also reveal that the core-to-face sheet thickness ratio and the volume fraction distribution of FGM face sheets have a significant effect on the natural frequency, buckling load and postbuckling behavior of the sandwich plate, whereas this effect is less pronounced for the nonlinear bending, and is marginal for the nonlinear to linear frequency ratios of the same sandwich plate.     

Analysis of thick functionally graded plates by using higher-order shear and normal deformable plate theory and MLPG method with radial basis functions

Infinitesimal deformations of a functionally graded thick elastic plate are analyzed by using a meshless local Petrov–Galerkin (MLPG) method, and a higher-order shear and normal deformable plate theory (HOSNDPT). Two types of Radial basis functions RBFs, i.e. Multiquadrics and Thin Plate Splines, are employed for constructing the trial solutions, while a fourth-order Spline function is used as the weight/test function over a local subdomain. Effective material moduli of the plate, made of two isotropic constituents with volume contents varying only in the thickness direction, are computed using the Mori–Tanaka homogenization technique. Computed results for a simply supported aluminum/ceramic plate are found to agree well with those obtained analytically. Results for a plate with two opposite edges free and the other two simply supported agree very well with those obtained by analyzing three-dimensional deformations of the plate by the finite element method. The distributions of the deflection and stresses through the plate thickness are also presented for different boundary conditions. It is found that both types of basis functions give accurate values of plate deflection, but the multiquadrics give better values of stresses than the thin plate splines.     

Surface effects on nonlinear vibration of embedded functionally graded nanoplates via higher order shear deformation plate theory

In this paper, free vibration behavior of functionally nanoplate resting on a Pasternak linear elastic foundation is investigated. The study is based on third-order shear deformation plate theory with small scale effects and von Karman nonlinearity, in conjunction with Gurtin–Murdoch surface continuum theory. It is assumed that functionally graded (FG) material distribution varies continuously in the thickness direction as a power law function and the effective material properties are calculated by the use of Mori–Tanaka homogenization scheme. The governing and boundary equations, derived using Hamilton's principle are solved through extending the generalized differential quadrature method. Finally, the effects of power-law distribution, nonlocal parameter, nondimensional thickness, aspect of the plate, and surface parameters on the natural frequencies of FG rectangular nanoplates for different boundary conditions are investigated.     

A study on the modeling of sandwich functionally graded particulate composites

Dual-phase functionally graded materials are a particular type of composite materials whose properties are tailored to vary continuously, depending on its two constituent’s composition distribution, and which use is increasing on the most diverse application fields. These materials are known to provide superior thermal and mechanical performances when compared to the traditional laminated composites, exactly because of this continuous properties variation characteristic, which enables among other advantages smoother stresses distribution profile. In this paper we study the influence of different homogenization schemes, namely the schemes due to Voigt, Hashin–Shtrikman and Mori–Tanaka, which can be used to obtain bounds estimates for the material properties of particulate composite structures. To achieve this goal we also use a set of finite element models based on higher order shear deformation theories and also on first order theory. From the studies carried out, on linear static analyses and on free vibration analyses, it is shown that the bounds estimates are as important as the deformation kinematics basis assumed to analyse these types of multifunctional structures. Concerning to the homogenization schemes studied, it is shown that Mori–Tanaka and Hashin–Shtrikman estimates lead to less conservative results when compared to Voigt rule of mixtures.