Novel quasi-3D and 2D shear deformation theories for bending and free vibration analysis of FGM plates

In this work, two dimensional (2D) and quasi three-dimensional (quasi-3D) HSDTs are proposed for bending and free vibration investigation of functionally graded (FG) plates using hyperbolic shape function. Unlike the existing HSDT, the proposed theories have a novel displacement field which include undetermined integral terms and contains fewer unknowns. The material properties of the plate is inhomogeneous and are considered to vary continuously in the thickness direction by three different distributions; power-law, exponential and Mori-Tanaka model, in terms of the volume fractions of the constituents. The governing equations which consider the effects of both transverse shear and thickness stretching are determined through the Hamilton's principle. The closed form solutions are deduced by employing Navier method and then fundamental frequencies are obtained by solving the results of eigenvalue problems. In-plane stress components have been determined by the constitutive equations of composite plates. The transverse stress components have been determined by integrating the 3D stress equilibrium equations in the thickness direction of the FG plate. The accuracy of the present formulation is demonstrated by comparisons with the different 2D, 3D and quasi-3D solutions available in the literature.