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.     

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.     

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.     

Nonlinear bending and postbuckling of FGM cylindrical panels subjected to combined loadings and resting on elastic foundations in thermal environments

A nonlinear analysis is presented for FGM cylindrical panels resting on elastic foundations subjected to the combined actions of uniform lateral pressure and compressive edge loads in thermal environments. The two cases of postbuckling of initially pressurized FGM cylindrical panels and of nonlinear bending of initially compressed cylindrical panels are considered. Heat conduction and temperature-dependent material properties are both taken into account. Material properties of functionally graded materials (FGMs) are assumed to be graded in the thickness direction based on Mori-Tanaka micromechanics model. The formulations are based on a higher order shear deformation theory and von Kármán strain displacement relationships. The panel-foundation interaction and thermal effects are also included. The governing equations are solved by a singular perturbation technique along with a two-step perturbation approach. The numerical illustrations concern the postbuckling behavior and the nonlinear bending response of FGM cylindrical panels with two constituent materials resting on Pasternak elastic foundations. The effects of volume fraction index, temperature variation, foundation stiffness as well as initial stress on the postbuckling behavior and the nonlinear bending response of FGM cylindrical panels are discussed in detail.     

Assessment of Voigt and Mori–Tanaka models for vibration analysis of functionally graded plates

The small- and large-amplitude vibrations are presented for a functionally graded rectangular plate resting on a two-parameter (Pasternak-type) elastic foundation in thermal environments. Two kinds of micromechanics models, namely, Voigt (V) model and Mori–Tanaka (M–T) model, are considered. The motion equations are based on a higher order shear deformation plate theory that includes plate-foundation interaction. The thermal effects are also included and the material properties of functionally graded materials (FGMs) are assumed to be temperature-dependent. Two cases of the in-plane boundary conditions are considered. Initial stresses caused by thermal loads or in-plane edge loads are introduced. The accuracy of Voigt and Mori–Tanaka models for the vibration analysis of FGM plates is investigated. The comparison studies reveal that the difference between these two models is much less compared to the difference caused by different solution methodologies and plate theories. The results show that the difference of the fundamental frequencies between M–T and V solutions is very small, and the difference of the nonlinear to linear frequency ratios between M–T and V solutions may be negligible.     

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.     

A closed-form solution for thermal buckling of piezoelectric FGM rectangular plates with temperature-dependent properties

A thermal buckling analysis is presented for functionally graded rectangular plates that are integrated with surface-bonded piezoelectric actuators and are subjected to the combined action of thermal load and constant applied actuator voltage. The temperature-dependent material properties of the functionally graded plate are assumed to vary as a power form of the thickness coordinate. Derivation of the equations is based on the third-order shear deformation plate theory. Results for the critical buckling temperatures are obtained in closed-form solution, which are convenient to be used in engineering design applications. The effects of the applied actuator voltage, plate geometry, and volume fraction exponent of the functionally graded material on the buckling temperature are investigated.     

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.     

Stochastic nonlinear bending response of functionally graded material plate with random system properties in thermal environment

This study deals with the stochastic nonlinear bending response of functionally graded materials (FGMs) plate with uncertain system properties subjected to transverse uniformly distributed load in thermal environments. The system properties such as material properties of each constituent’s material, volume fraction index and transverse load are taken as independent random input variables. The material properties are assumed to be temperature independent (TID) and temperature dependent (TD). The basic formulation is based on higher order shear deformation theory with von-Karman nonlinear strain kinematics using modified C ⁰ continuity. A direct iterative based nonlinear finite element method in conjunction with first-order perturbation technique developed by last two authors for the composite plate is extended for the FGM plate to compute the second order statistics (mean and standard deviation) of the nonlinear bending response of the FGM plates. Effects of TD, TID material properties, aspect ratios, volume fraction index and boundary conditions, uniform temperature and non-uniform temperature distribution on the nonlinear bending are presented in detail through parametric studies. The present outlined approach has been validated with the results available in the literature and independent Monte Carlo simulation.     

非保守力和热载荷作用下FGM梁的稳定性

研究了在热载荷和切向均布随从力作用下FGM梁的稳定性问题。假设材料常数(即弹性模量和密度)随温度及沿截面高度连续变化,且材料常数按各材料的体积分数以幂率变化,温度分布满足一维热传导方程,计算了不同梯度指标和不同温度下FGM梁的弹性模量随截面高度变化情况。基于Euler-Bernoulli梁理论,建立梁的控制微分方程,用小波微分求积法(WDQ法)求解,分析了梯度指标、温度、随从力等参数对简支FGM梁振动特性与稳定性的影响。     

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.     

On the shear stress distribution between a functionally graded piezoelectric actuator and an elastic substrate and the reduction of its concentration

Recent advances in material processing technologies allow the production of piezoelectric materials with functionally graded material properties. We investigate the implications of functionally graded piezoelectric materials when used as actuators for structural control by examining the distribution of the actuating shear stress under a piezoelectric actuator of a functionally graded material (FGM) on an isotropic elastic half-space. It is shown that FGM materials can be used to adjust the shear stress distribution. In particular, the concentration near the edges of a conventional homogeneous piezoelectric actuator can be significantly reduced in an FGM actuator.     

Three‐dimensional analysis of functionally graded plates

Based on the state‐space formalism, a three‐dimensional analysis is presented for orthotropic functionally graded rectangular plates with simply supported edges under static and dynamic loads. The material properties are assumed to be variable through the thickness. The governing equations for the functionally graded material (FGM) are developed on the state‐space approach in the Laplace transform domain. Assuming constant material properties, we derive the analytical solutions that can be used to validate any numerical methods. For FGM plates, the numerical solutions are obtained by the use of radial basis function method. Three examples are presented for the FGMs and laminated composite. The accuracy of the proposed numerical technique has been compared with the exact solutions. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Optimization of material composition to minimize the thermal stresses induced in FGM plates with temperature-dependent material properties

A hybrid genetic algorithm with the complex method is developed for the optimization of the material composition of a multi-layered functionally graded material plate with temperature-dependent material properties in order to minimize the thermal stresses induced in the plate when it is subjected to steady-state thermal loads. In the formulation, the plate is artificially divided into an n _l -layered plate, and a weak-form-based finite layer method is developed to obtain the displacement and stress components induced in the n _l -layered plate using the Reissner mixed variational theorem. Two thermal conditions, namely the specified temperature and heat convection conditions, imposed on the top and bottom surfaces of the plate are considered. The through-thickness distributions of the volume fractions of the constituents are assumed as certain specific/non-specific function distributions, such as power-law, sigmoid, layerwise step and layerwise linear function distributions, and the effective material properties of the plate are estimated using the Mori–Tanaka scheme. Comparisons with regard to the minimization for the peak values of the stress ratios induced in the FGM plates with various optimal material compositions are conducted.     

Thermoelastic bending analysis of functionally graded sandwich plates

The thermoelastic bending analysis of functionally graded ceramic–metal sandwich plates is studied. The governing equations of equilibrium are solved for a functionally graded sandwich plates under the effect of thermal loads. The sandwich plate faces are assumed to have isotropic, two-constituent material distribution through the thickness, and the modulus of elasticity, Poisson’s ratio of the faces, and thermal expansion coefficients are assumed to vary according to a power law distribution in terms of the volume fractions of the constituents. The core layer is still homogeneous and made of an isotropic ceramic material. Several kinds of sandwich plates are used taking into account the symmetry of the plate and the thickness of each layer. Field equations for functionally graded sandwich plates whose deformations are governed by either the shear deformation theories or the classical theory are derived. Displacement functions that identically satisfy boundary conditions are used to reduce the governing equations to a set of coupled ordinary differential equations with variable coefficients. The influences played by the transverse normal strain, shear deformation, thermal load, plate aspect ratio, side-to-thickness ratio, and volume fraction distribution are studied. Numerical results for deflections and stresses of functionally graded metal–ceramic plates are investigated.     

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.     

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.     

Hygro-thermo-mechanical effects on FGM plates resting on elastic foundations

A hygrothermal bending analysis is presented for a functionally graded material (FGM) plate resting on elastic foundations. The elastic coefficients, thermal coefficient and moisture expansion coefficient of the plate are assumed to be graded in the thickness direction. The equilibrium equations are given and a number of examples are solved to illustrate bending response of Titanium/Zirconia plates subjected to hygro-thermo-mechanical effects and resting on elastic foundations. The influences played by many parameters are investigated.     

热环境下功能梯度材料板的自由振动和动力响应

基于Reddy高阶剪切变形理论和广义Kármán型方程,用双重Fourier级数展开法求得了四边简支功能梯度材料板的自由振动及动力响应的解析解,分析中考虑了热传导以及组分材料热物参数对温度变化的依赖性,讨论了材料组分指数和热环境对固有频率及动力响应的影响。     

Dynamic characteristics of fluid-conveying functionally graded cylindrical shells under mechanical and thermal loads

Considering rotary, in-plane inertias, and fluid velocity potential, the dynamic characteristics of fluid-conveying functionally graded materials (FGMs) cylindrical shells subjected to dynamic mechanical and thermal loads are investigated, where material properties of FGM shells are considered as graded distribution across the shell thickness according to a power-law, and dynamic thermal loads applied on the shell is considered as non-linear distribution across the thickness of the shell. The linear response characteristics of fluid-conveying FGM cylindrical shells are obtained by using modal superposition and Newmark’s direct time integration method.