Nonlinear thermoelastic analysis of thick-walled functionally graded piezoelectric cylinder

This research addresses the nonlinear behavior of a functionally graded piezoelectric (FGP) cylinder under thermal, mechanical and electrical loads. Except the Poisson ratio, the other thermal, mechanical and electrical properties vary continuously along the thickness direction. The geometric nonlinearity was considered in strain–displacement relation. The present paper proposes a novel analytical method for estimating the response of the systems of nonlinear differential equations. The proposed method is modification and combination of Adomian’s decomposition and successive approximation methods. The governing nonlinear differential equations were solved using the proposed analytical method. The nonlinear solutions were presented for different values of nonhomogenous index. For validation of the results and justifying the necessity of the present study, the present results were compared with results obtained using the linear analysis. Due to using the functionally graded cylinder in serious environments such as chemical and weapon equipments or adjustable and precise condition, a nonlinear analysis for these materials is necessary. A nonlinear analysis improves the results significantly. A maximum of 5% improvement for electric potential and 9% for radial displacement were attained employing this nonlinear analysis rather than a linear analysis. These considerable improvements can present a confidence and adjustable tool for manufacturing and design of sensors and actuators with better accuracy.