• Wind and Structures
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.291-305
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• 2016

In this paper, a refined shear deformation plate theory which eliminates the use of a shear correction factor was presented for FG sandwich plates composed of FG face sheets and an isotropic homogeneous core. The theory accounts for parabolic distribution of the transverse shear strains and satisfies the zero traction boundary conditions on the surfaces of the plate. The mechanical properties of the plate are assumed to vary continuously in the thickness direction by a simple power-law distribution in terms of the volume fractions of the constituents. Based on the present refined shear deformation plate theory, the governing equations of equilibrium are derived from the principle of virtual displacements. Numerical illustrations concern buckling behavior of FG sandwiches plates with Metal-Ceramic composition. Parametric studies are performed for varying ceramic volume fraction, volume fraction profiles, Boundary condition, and length to thickness ratios. The accuracy of the present solutions is verified by comparing the obtained results with the existing solutions.

• Advances in nano research
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.237-250
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• 2020

An accurate plate theory for assessing sandwich structures is of interest in order to provide precise results. Hence, this paper develops Layer-Wise (LW) theory for reaching precise results in terms of buckling and vibration behavior of Functionally Graded Carbon Nanotube-Reinforced Composite (FG-CNTRC) annular nanoplates. Furthermore, for simulating the structure much more realistic, its edges are elastically restrained against in-plane and transverse displacement. The nano structure is integrated with piezoelectric layers. Four distributions of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes (SWCNTs) along the thickness direction of the core layer are investigated. The Differential Quadrature Method (DQM) is utilized to solve the motion equations of nano structure subjected to the electric field. The influence of various parameters is depicted on both critical buckling load and frequency of the structure. The accuracy of solution procedure is demonstrated by comparing results with classical edge conditions. The results ascertain that the effects of different distributions of CNTs and their volume fraction are significant on the behavior of the system. Furthermore, the amount of in-plane and transverse spring coefficients plays an important role in the buckling and vibration behavior of the nano-structure and optimization of nano-structure design.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.389-415
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• 2014

This study deals with dynamic model of composite sandwich panels with functionally graded flexible cores under low velocity impacts of multiple large or small masses using a new improved higher order sandwich panel theory (IHSAPT). In-plane stresses were considered for the functionally graded core and face sheets. The formulation was based on the first order shear deformation theory for the composite face sheets and polynomial description of the displacement fields in the core that was based on the second Frostig's model. Fully dynamic effects of the functionally graded core and face-sheets were considered in this study. Impacts were assumed to occur simultaneously and normally over the top and/or bottom of the face-sheets with arbitrary different masses and initial velocities. The contact forces between the panel and impactors were treated as internal forces of the system. Nonlinear contact stiffness was linearized with a newly presented improved analytical method in this paper. The results were validated by comparing the analytical, numerical and experimental results published in the latest literature.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.37 no.6
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• pp.711-731
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• 2020

This paper deals with free vibration of FG sandwich annular sector plates on Pasternak elastic foundation with different boundary conditions, based on the three-dimensional theory of elasticity. The plates with simply supported radial edges and arbitrary boundary conditions on their circular edges are considered. The influence of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) waviness, aspect ratio, internal pores and graphene platelets (GPLs) on the vibrational behavior of functionally graded nanocomposite sandwich plates is investigated in this research work. The distributions of CNTs are considered functionally graded (FG) or uniform along the thickness of upper and bottom layers of the sandwich sectorial plates and their mechanical properties are estimated by an extended rule of mixture. In this study, the classical theory concerning the mechanical efficiency of a matrix embedding finite length fibers has been modified by introducing the tube-to-tube random contact, which explicitly accounts for the progressive reduction of the tubes' effective aspect ratio as the filler content increases. The core of structure is porous and the internal pores and graphene platelets (GPLs) are distributed in the matrix of core either uniformly or non-uniformly according to three different patterns. The elastic properties of the nanocomposite are obtained by employing Halpin-Tsai micromechanics model. A semi-analytic approach composed of 2D-Generalized Differential Quadrature Method (2D-GDQM) and series solution is adopted to solve the equations of motion. The fast rate of convergence and accuracy of the method are investigated through the different solved examples. Some new results for the natural frequencies of the plate are prepared, which include the effects of elastic coefficients of foundation, boundary conditions, material and geometrical parameters. The new results can be used as benchmark solutions for future researches.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.225-237
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• 2019

In this research, the dynamic stability and nonlinear vibration behavior of a smart rotating sandwich cylindrical shell is studied. The core of the structure is a functionally graded material (FGM) which is integrated by functionally graded piezoelectric material (FGPM) layers subjected to electric field. The piezoelectric layers at the inner and outer surfaces used as actuator and sensor, respectively. By applying the energy method and Hamilton's principle, the governing equations of sandwich cylindrical shell derived based on first-order shear deformation theory (FSDT). The Galerkin method is used to discriminate the motion equations and the equations are converted to the form of the ordinary differential equations in terms of time. The perturbation method is employed to find the relation between nonlinear frequency and the amplitude of vibration. The main objective of this research is to determine the nonlinear frequencies and nonlinear vibration control by using sensor and actuator layers. The effects of geometrical parameters, power law index of core, sensor and actuator layers, angular velocity and scale transformation parameter on nonlinear frequency-amplitude response diagram and dynamic stability of sandwich cylindrical shell are investigated. The results of this research can be used to design and vibration control of rotating systems in various industries such as aircraft, biomechanics and automobile manufacturing.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.649-662
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• 2018

In this study, based on the three-dimensional theory of elasticity, free vibration characteristics of sandwich sectorial plates with multiwalled carbon nanotube-(MWCNT)-reinforced composite core are considered. Modified Halpin-Tsai equation is used to evaluate the Young's modulus of the MWCNT/epoxy composite samples by the incorporation of an orientation as well as an exponential shape factor in the equation. The exponential shape factor modifies the Halpin-Tsai equation from expressing a straight line to a nonlinear one in the MWCNTs wt% range considered. In this paper, free vibration of thick functionally graded sandwich annular sectorial plates with simply supported radial edges and different circular edge conditions including simply supported-clamped, clamped-clamped, and free-clamped is investigated. A semi-analytical approach composed of two-dimensional differential quadrature method and series solution are adopted to solve the equations of motion. The material properties change continuously through the core thickness of the plate, which can vary according to a power-law, exponentially, or any other formulations in this direction. This study serves as a benchmark for assessing the validity of numerical methods or two-dimensional theories used to analysis of laminated sectorial plates.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.85 no.1
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• pp.1-14
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• 2023

The use of functionally graded materials in applications involving severe thermal gradients is quickly gaining acceptance in the composite mechanics community, the aerospace and aircraft industry. In the present study, a refined sandwich plate model is applied to study the free vibration analysis of porous functionally graded material (FGM) sandwich plates with various distribution rate of porosity. Two types of common FG sandwich plates are considered. The first sandwich plate is composed of two FG material (FGM) face sheets and a homogeneous ceramic or metal core. The second one consists of two homogeneous fully metal and ceramic face sheets at the top and bottom, respectively, and a FGM core. The displacement field of the present theory is chosen based on nonlinear variations in the in-plane displacements through the thickness of the sandwich plate. The number of unknowns and equations of motion of the present theory is reduced and hence makes them simple to use. In the analysis, the equation of motion for simply supported sandwich plates is obtained using Hamilton's principle. In order to present the effect of the variation of the porosity distribution on the dynamic behavior of the FGM sandwich plates, new mixtures are proposed which take into account different rate of porosity distribution between the ceramic and the metal. The present method is applicable to study the dynamic behavior of FGM plates and sandwich plates. The frequencies of two kinds of FGM sandwich structures are analyzed and discussed. Several numerical results have been compared with the ones available in the literature.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.44 no.5
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• pp.721-740
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• 2022

In this paper, an accurate kinematic model has been developed to study the mechanical response of functionally graded (FG) sandwich beams, mainly covering the bending, buckling and free vibration problems. The studied structure with homogeneous hardcore and softcore is considered to be simply supported in the edges. The present model uses a new refined shear deformation beam theory (RSDBT) in which the displacement field is improved over the other existing high-order shear deformation beam theories (HSDBTs). The present model provides good accuracy and considers a nonlinear transverse shear deformation shape function, since it is constructed with only two unknown variables as the Euler-Bernoulli beam theory but complies with the shear stress-free boundary conditions on the upper and lower surfaces of the beam without employing shear correction factors. The sandwich beams are composed of two FG skins and a homogeneous core wherein the material properties of the skins are assumed to vary gradually and continuously in the thickness direction according to the power-law distribution of volume fraction of the constituents. The governing equations are drawn by implementing Hamilton's principle and solved by means of the Navier's technique. Numerical computations in the non-dimensional terms of transverse displacement, stresses, critical buckling load and natural frequencies obtained by using the proposed model are compared with those predicted by other beam theories to confirm the performance of the proposed theory and to verify the accuracy of the kinematic model.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.273-287
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• 2018

Buckling and free vibration analysis of sandwich micro plate (SMP) integrated with piezoelectric layers embedded in orthotropic Pasternak are investigated in this paper. The refined Zigzag theory (RZT) is taken into consideration to model the SMP. Four different types of functionally graded (FG) distribution through the thickness of the SMP core layer which is reinforced with single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) are considered. The modified couple stress theory (MCST) is employed to capture the effects of small scale effects. The sandwich structure is exposed to a two dimensional magnetic field and also, piezoelectric layers are subjected to external applied voltages. In order to obtain governing equation, energy method as well as Hamilton's principle is applied. Based on an analytical solution the critical buckling loads and natural frequency are obtained. The effects of volume fraction of carbon nanotubes (CNTs), different distributions of CNTs, foundation stiffness parameters, magnetic and electric fields, small scale parameter and the thickness of piezoelectric layers on the both critical buckling loads and natural frequency of the SMP are examined. The obtained results demonstrate that the effects of volume fraction of CNTs play an important role in analyzing buckling and free vibration behavior of the SMP. Furthermore, the effects of magnetic and electric fields are remarkable on the mechanical responses of the system and cannot be neglected.

• Advances in materials Research
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.155-177
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• 2019

In this paper, a new displacement based high-order shear deformation theory is introduced for the static response of functionally graded sandwich plate with new definition of porosity distribution taking into account composition and the scheme of the sandwich plate. Unlike any other theory, the number of unknown functions involved is only four, as against five in case of other shear deformation theories. The theory presented is variationally consistent, has strong similarity with classical plate theory in many aspects, does not require shear correction factor, and gives rise to transverse shear stress variation such that the transverse shear stresses vary parabolically across the thickness satisfying shear stress free surface conditions. Material properties of FGM layers are assumed to vary continuously across the plate thickness according to either power-law or sigmoid function in terms of the volume fractions of the constituents. The face layers are considered to be FG across each face thickness while the core is made of a ceramic homogeneous layer. Governing equations are derived from the principle of virtual displacements. The closed-form solution of a simply supported rectangular plate subjected to sinusoidal loading has been obtained by using the Navier method. Numerical results are presented to show the effect of the material distribution, the sandwich plate geometry and the porosity on the deflections and stresses of FG sandwich plates. The validity of the present theory is investigated by comparing some of the present results with other published results.