Finite element piezothermoelasticity analysis and the active control of FGM plates with integrated piezoelectric sensors and actuators

 An efficient finite element model is presented for the static and dynamic piezothermoelastic analysis and control of FGM plates under temperature gradient environments using integrated piezoelectric sensor/actuator layers. The properties of an FGM plate are functionally graded in the thickness direction according to a volume fraction power law distribution. A constant displacement-cum-velocity feedback control algorithm that couples the direct and inverse piezoelectric effects is applied to provide active feedback control of the integrated FGM plate in a closed loop system. Numerical results for the static and dynamic control are presented for the FGM plate, which consists of zirconia and aluminum. The effects of the constituent volume fractions and the influence of feedback control gain on the static and dynamic responses of the FGM plates are examined. Received: 13 March 2002 / Accepted: 5 March 2003 The work described in this paper was supported by a grant awarded by the Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China (Project No. CityU 1024/01E).     

Finite element modeling of active control of functionally graded shells in frequency domain via piezoelectric sensors and actuators

 A flat-shell element is presented for the active control of functionally graded material (FGM) shells through integrated piezoelectric sensor/actuator layers. The finite element formulation based on first-order shear deformation theory (FSDT) can be applied to shells ranging from relatively thin to moderately thick dimensions. A constant gain displacement and velocity feedback control algorithm coupling the direct and inverse piezoelectric effects is applied to provide active control of the integrated FGM shell in a self-monitoring and self-controlling system. Frequency response characteristics of the FGM shell containing the piezoelectric sensors/actuators are analyzed in the frequency domain. The effects of constituent volume fraction and the influence of feedback control gain values on the dynamic responses of the FGM shell system are examined in detail. Received 13 November 2000     

Active control of FGM plates subjected to a temperature gradient: Modelling via finite element method based on FSDT

An efficient finite element formulation based on a first‐order shear deformation theory (FSDT) is presented for the active control of functionally gradient material (FGM) plates with integrated piezoelectric sensor/actuator layers subjected to a thermal gradient; this is accomplished using both static and dynamic piezothermoelastic analyses. The formulation based on FSDT can be applied to a range of relatively thin‐to‐moderately thick plates. A constant displacement‐cum‐velocity feedback control algorithm coupling the direct and inverse piezoelectric effects is applied to provide active feedback control of the integrated FGM plate in a self‐monitoring and self‐controlling system. Numerical results for the control of bending and torsional deflections and/or vibrations are presented for a FGM plate comprising zirconia and aluminium. The effects of constituent volume fraction and the influence of feedback control gain on the static and dynamic responses of the FGM plates are examined in detail. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A FEM model for the active control of curved FGM shells using piezoelectric sensor/actuator layers

In this paper, a generic finite element formulation is developed for the static and dynamic control of FGM (functionally graded material) shells with piezoelectric sensor and actuator layers. The properties of the FGM shell are graded in the thickness direction according to a volume fraction power‐law distribution. The proposed finite element model is based on variational principle and linear piezoelectricity theory. A constant displacement and velocity feedback control algorithm coupling the direct and inverse piezoelectric effects is applied in a closed‐loop system to provide feedback control of the integrated FGM shell structure. Both static and dynamic control of FGM shells are simulated to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed active control scheme within a framework of finite element discretization and piezoelectric integration. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

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.     

Thermomechanical bending analysis of functionally graded sandwich plates with both functionally graded face sheets and functionally graded cores

The bending response of functionally graded material (FGM) sandwich plates subjected to thermomechanical loads is investigated using a four-variable refined plate theory. A new type of FGM sandwich plate, namely, both FGM face sheets and an FGM hard core, is considered. Containing only four unknown functions, the governing equations are deduced based on the principle of virtual work and then these equations are solved via the Navier approach. Analytical solutions are obtained to predict the deflections and stresses of simply supported FGM sandwich plates. Benchmark comparisons of the solutions obtained for a degradation model (functionally graded face sheets and homogeneous cores) with ones computed by several other theories are conducted to verify the accuracy and efficiency of the present approach. The influences of volume fraction distribution, geometrical parameters, and thermal load on dimensionless deflections and normal and shear stresses of the FGM sandwich plates are studied.     

An RMVT-based third-order shear deformation theory of multilayered functionally graded material plates

A Reissner mixed variational theorem (RMVT)-based third-order shear deformation theory (TSDT) is developed for the static analysis of simply-supported, multilayered functionally graded material (FGM) plates under mechanical loads. The material properties of the FGM layers are assumed to obey either the exponent-law distributions through the thickness coordinate or the power-law distributions of the volume fractions of the constituents. In this theory, Reddy’s third-order displacement model and the layerwise parabolic function distributions of transverse shear stresses are assumed in the kinematic and kinetic fields, respectively, a priori, where the effect of transverse normal stress is regarded as minor and thus ignored. The continuity conditions of both transverse shear stresses and elastic displacements at the interfaces between adjacent layers are then exactly satisfied in this RMVT-based TSDT. On the basis of RMVT, a set of Euler–Lagrange equations associated with the possible boundary conditions is derived. In conjunction with the method of variable separation and Fourier series expansion, this theory is successfully applied to the static analysis of simply-supported, multilayered FGM plates under mechanical loads. A parametric study of the effects of the material-property gradient index and the span-thickness ratio on the displacement and stress components induced in the plates is undertaken.     

基于样条无网格法的厚/薄压电功能梯度板动力分析

在将板的挠度和剪切应变作为场变量的基础上增加考虑面内位移,采用样条无网格法建立了热环境下厚/薄压电功能梯度板动力分析新的计算格式。考虑功能梯度材料的物性参数随温度改变以及温度变化引起的面内力,讨论了压电FGM板在不同边界约束下材料梯度指数变化时,面内位移及面内力对热环境下压电功能梯度板的动力特性和动力响应的影响。分析结果表明,新建立的模型对厚/薄压电功能梯度板动力分析具有通用性和有效性,没有剪切闭锁现象,且计算效率和计算精度较高。     

Bending,Free Vibration and Buckling Analysis of Functionally Graded Plates via Wavelet Finite Element Method

Following previous work, a wavelet finite element method is developed for bending, free vibration and buckling analysis of functionally graded (FG) plates based on Mindlin plate theory. The functionally graded material (FGM) properties are assumed to vary smoothly and continuously throughout the thickness of plate according to power law distribution of volume fraction of constituents. This article adopts scaling functions of two-dimensional tensor product BSWI to form shape functions. Then two-dimensional FGM BSWI element is constructed based on Mindlin plate theory by means of two-dimensional tensor product BSWI. The proposed two-dimensional FGM BSWI element possesses the advantages of high convergence, high accuracy and reliability with fewer degrees of freedoms on account of the excellent approximation property of BSWI. Numerical examples concerning various length-to-thickness ratios, volume fraction indexes, aspect ratios and boundary conditions are carried out for bending, free vibration and buckling problems of FG plates. These comparison examples demonstrate the accuracy and reliability of the proposed WFEM method comparing with the exact and referential solutions available in literatures.     

Static and free vibration analysis of multilayered functionally graded shells and plates using an efficient zigzag theory

Accurate zigzag theory is presented for static and free vibration analysis of multilayered functionally graded material (FGM) cylindrical shells and rectangular plates by approximating inplane displacements as a combination of linear layerwise and cubic global terms. Governing equations of motion are derived using Hamilton’s principle. The theory yields accurate results for displacements, stresses and natural frequencies in simply-supported functionally graded multilayered cylindrical shell panels and rectangular plates. Effect of changing the volume fraction ratio, aspect ratio and thickness of FGM layer between two homogeneous layers are investigated for a number of multilayered shell and plate laminates.     

Three-dimensional elastodynamic solution for an arbitrary thick FGM rectangular plate resting on a two parameter viscoelastic foundation

A three-dimensional semi-analytic analysis based on the linear elasticity theory is offered to study the transient vibration characteristics of an arbitrarily thick, simply supported, functionally graded (FGM) rectangular plate, resting on a linear Winkler–Pasternak viscoelastic foundation, and subjected to general distributed driving forces of arbitrary temporal and spatial variations. The problem solution is obtained by adopting a laminate model in conjunction with the powerful state space solution technique involving a global transfer matrix and Durbin’s numerical Laplace inversion algorithm. Numerical calculations are carried out for the transient displacement and stress responses of aluminum-zirconia FGM square plates of selected thickness parameters and compositional gradients, resting on “soft” or “stiff” elastic foundations, under the action of moving transverse forces as well as uniformly distributed blast loads. Also, the response curves for the FGM plates are compared with those of equivalent bilaminate plates containing comparable total volume fractions of constituent materials. It is observed that the material gradient variation is substantially more influential on the dynamic stress concentrations induced across the plate thickness than on the displacement response of the inhomogeneous plates. In particular, the displacement response of the equivalent bilaminate plates can provide an accurate estimate for prediction of the dynamic response of the corresponding FGM plates, especially for thick plates resting on a stiff foundation. Limiting cases are considered and good agreements with the data available in the literature as well as with the computations made by using a commercial finite element package are obtained.     

A novel five-variable refined plate theory for vibration analysis of functionally graded sandwich plates

In this article, a new five-variable refined plate theory for the free vibration analysis of functionally graded sandwich plates is developed. By dividing the transverse displacement into bending, shear, and thickness stretching parts, the number of unknowns and governing equations of the present theory is reduced, and hence, makes it simple to use. Indeed, the number of unknown functions involved in the present theory is only five, as opposed to six or more in the case of other shear and normal deformation theories. The theory accounts for hyperbolic distribution of the transverse shear strains, and satisfies the zero traction boundary conditions on the surfaces of the plate without using a shear correction factor. Two common types of functionally graded material (FGM) sandwich plates, namely, the sandwich with FGM facesheet and homogeneous core and the sandwich with homogeneous facesheet and FGM core, are considered. The equations of motion are obtained using Hamilton's principle. Numerical results of the present theory are compared with three-dimensional elasticity solutions and other higher-order theories reported in the literature. It can be concluded that the proposed theory is accurate and efficient in predicting the free-vibration response of functionally graded sandwich plates.     

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.     

SiCP/Al功能梯度装甲板抗侵彻性能的试验与数值模拟

采用粉末冶金方法制备碳化硅陶瓷颗粒(SiC_P)增强金属铝基复合材料板(MMCs), 并采用热压扩散法制备功能梯度装甲板(FGM)。利用高速冲击空气炮系统, 对纯铝靶板和两种不同铺层结构的功能梯度装甲靶板进行侵彻试验, 并利用LS-DYNA软件对侵彻试验过程进行数值模拟分析, 同时考察等厚、 等面密度下SiC颗粒分布对抗侵彻性能的影响。研究结果表明, 功能梯度板的抗侵彻性能比纯铝板好, 而两种不同铺层结构功能梯度板的抗侵彻性能相差不大。数值计算结果与现有试验结果取得了较好的一致, 说明了数值模拟的有效性。从数值计算结果可以看出, 层状功能梯度板比等厚、 等面密度均质复合材料靶板的抗侵彻能力好, 并可近似地认为等厚、 等面密度下多层功能梯度板的抗侵彻性能对颗粒分布不敏感。     

Transient waves in plates of functionally graded materials

A numerical method is proposed for analysing transient waves in plates of functionally graded material (FGM) excited by impact loads. The material properties of the FGM plate have a gradient in the thickness direction and are anisotropic in the plane of the plate. In the present method, the FGM plate is divided into layer elements in the thickness direction. For an accurate modelling of the variation of the material property of FGM plates, it is expressed by second‐order polynomials in the thickness direction within an element. This can further reduce the number of elements to obtain more accurate results effectively. The principle of virtual work is used to develop approximate dynamic equilibrium equations. The displacement response is determined by employing the Fourier transformation and the modal analysis. As examples, the displacement response of FGM plates excited by line, point and distributed loads is calculated. The computations have shown the efficiency of the present method. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

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.     

Minimizing Thermal Residual Stress in Ni/Al₂O₃ Functionally Graded Material Plate by Volume Fraction Optimization

The thermal residual stress in the fabrication of functionally graded material (FGM) systems can give rise to various mechanical failures. For a FGM system under a given fabrication environment, the thermal residual stresses are determined by the spatial distribution of its constituent components. In this study, we optimize a Ni/Al₂O₃ FGM plate aiming at minimizing the thermal residual stresses through controlling its compositional distribution. Material properties are graded in the thickness direction following a power law distribution in terms of the volume fractions of constituents (P-FGM). An analytical model and a hybrid genetic algorithm with the pattern search are employed to predict and to minimize the thermal residual stresses, respectively. Simulation results show that an optimal design of the FGM plate could help fulfill its potential in reducing the thermal residual stresses.     

Dynamic characteristics of functionally graded material sandwich plates in thermal environments

The dynamic instability of functionally graded material (FGM) sandwich plates under an arbitrary periodic load in a thermal environment is studied. The sandwich plate is made up of two layers of FGM face sheets and one layer of homogeneous metal core. The properties of a FGM layer vary continuously across the thickness according to a simple power law. A set of differential equations of Mathieu type is formed to determine the dynamic instability regions based on Bolotin's method. The dynamic stability of the FGM sandwich plates is sensitive to the temperature rise, volume fraction index, thickness ratio, and static and dynamic load factor.     

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.     

功能梯度板壳的力学研究进展

功能梯度材料(FGM)是一种材料组分或微观结构沿一个或几个方向连续变化的新型复合材料。FGM中基本消除了宏观界面,同时具有很好的可设计性,设计人员可以有目的地改变材料组成,以获得所期望的性能。由FGM构成的功能梯度板壳结构在许多工程领域中有着广阔的应用前景,评述了FGM板壳结构的弯曲、屈曲和后屈曲、振动和动力稳定性等力学问题研究的发展现状,阐述了常用方法和理论的优缺点,并提出了未来的发展趋势和需要研究的方向。