• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.43 no.5
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• pp.581-601
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• 2022

The main objective of this research work is to investigate the free vibration behavior of annular sandwich plates resting on the Kerr foundation at thermal conditions. This sandwich configuration is composed of two FGM face sheets as coating layer and a porous GPLRC (GPL reinforced composite) core. It is supposed that the GPL nanofillers and the porosity coefficient vary continuously along the core thickness direction. To model closed-cell FG porous material reinforced with GPLs, Halpin-Tsai micromechanical modeling in conjunction with Gaussian-Random field scheme is used, while the Poisson's ratio and density are computed by the rule of mixtures. Besides, the material properties of two FGM face sheets change continuously through the thickness according to the power-law distribution. To capture fundamental frequencies of the annular sandwich plate resting on the Kerr foundation in a thermal environment, the analysis procedure is with the aid of Reddy's shear-deformation plate theory based high-order shear deformation plate theory (HSDT) to derive and solve the equations of motion and boundary conditions. The governing equations together with related boundary conditions are discretized using the generalized differential quadrature (GDQ) method in the spatial domain. Numerical results are compared with those published in the literature to examine the accuracy and validity of the present approach. A parametric solution for temperature variation across the thickness of the sandwich plate is employed taking into account the thermal conductivity, the inhomogeneity parameter, and the sandwich schemes. The numerical results indicate the influence of volume fraction index, GPLs volume fraction, porosity coefficient, three independent coefficients of Kerr elastic foundation, and temperature difference on the free vibration behavior of annular sandwich plate. This study provides essential information to engineers seeking innovative ways to promote composite structures in a practical way.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.361-376
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• 2020

This paper presents a free vibration analysis of shell panels made of functionally graded material (FGM) in the form of the ordinary and sandwich FGM and laminated shells using the isogeometric B3-spline finite strip method (IG-SFSM). B3-spline and Lagrangian interpolation are employed along the longitudinal and transverse directions respectively in this type of finite strip. The introduced finite strip formulation is based on the degenerated shell method, which provides variable thickness, arbitrary geometries, and analysis of thin or thick shells. Validity of the obtained natural frequencies by IG-SFSM is checked by comparison with results extracted from references for similar cases in different examples. These examples incorporate several geometries, materials, boundary conditions, and continuous thickness variation. A comparison of these two kinds of results and their proximity showed that the introduced IG-SFSM is a reliable tool which can be used in analysis of shells with the aforementioned properties.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.85 no.5
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• pp.593-605
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• 2023

This work presents a comparison between analytical and finite element analysis for bending of porous sandwich functionally graded material (FGM) plates. The plate is rectangular and simply supported under static sinusoidal loading. Material properties of FGM are assumed to vary continuously across the face sheets thickness according to a power-law function in terms of the volume fractions of the constituents while the core is homogeneous. Four types of porosity are considered. A refined higher-order shear with normal deformation theory is used. The number of unknowns in this theory is five, as against six or more in other shear and normal deformation theories. This theory assumes the nonlinear variation of transverse shear stresses and satisfies its nullity in the top and bottom surfaces of the plate without the use of a shear correction factor. The governing equations of equilibrium are derived from the virtual work principle. The Navier approach is used to solve equilibrium equations. The constitutive law of the porous FGM sandwich plate is implemented for a 3D finite element through a subroutine in FORTRAN (UMAT) in Abaqus software. Results show good agreement between the finite element model and the analytical method for some results, but the analytical method keeps giving symmetric results even with the thickness stretching effect and load applied to the top surface of the sandwich.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.71 no.5
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• pp.469-483
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• 2019

In this paper, an improved mathematical model is presented for the bending analysis of doubly curved functionally graded material (FGM) sandwich rhombic conoids. The mathematical model includes expansion of Taylor's series up to the third degree in thickness coordinate and normal curvatures in in-plane displacement fields. The condition of zero-transverse shear strain at upper and lower surface of rhombic conoids is implemented in the present model. The newly introduced feature in the present mathematical model is the simultaneous inclusion of normal curvatures in deformation field and twist curvature in strain-displacement equations. This unique introduction permits the new 2D mathematical model to solve problems of moderately thick and deep doubly curved FGM sandwich rhombic conoids. The distinguishing feature of present shell from the other shells is that maximum transverse deflection does not occur at its center. The proposed new mathematical model is implemented in finite element code written in FORTRAN. The obtained numerical results are compared with the results available in the literature. Once validated, the current model was employed to solve numerous bending problems by varying different parameters like volume fraction indices, skew angles, boundary conditions, thickness scheme, and several geometric parameters.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.263-277
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• 2023

Free vibration analysis of multi-directional porous functionally graded (FG) sandwich plate has been performed for two cases namely: FG skin with homogeneous core and FG core with homogeneous skin. Hamilton's principle was employed and the solution was obtained using Navier's technique. This theory imposes traction-free boundary conditions on the surfaces and does not require shear correction factors. The results obtained are validated with those available in the literature. The composition of metal-ceramic-based functionally graded material (FGM) changes in longitudinal and transverse directions according to the power law. Imperfections in the functionally graded material introduced during the fabrication process were modeled with different porosity laws such as evenly, unevenly distributed, and logarithmic uneven distributions. The effect of porosity laws and geometry parameters on the natural frequency was investigated. On comparing the natural frequency of two cases for perfect and imperfect sandwich plates a reverse trend in natural frequency result was seen. The finding shows a multidirectional functionally graded structures perform better compared to uni-directional gradation. Hence, critical grading parameters and imperfection types have been identified which will guide experimentalists and researchers in selecting fabrication routes for improving the performance of such structures.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.121-133
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• 2022

An analytical approach for the free vibration behavior of a sandwich cylindrical shell with a functionally graded (FG) core is presented. It is considered that the FG distribution is in the direction of thickness. The material properties are temperature-dependent. The sandwich cylindrical shell with a FG core is considered with two cases. In the first model, i.e., Ceramic-FGM-Metal (CFM), the interior layer of the cylindrical shell is rich metal while the exterior layer is rich ceramic and the FG material is located between two layers and for the second model i.e., Metal-FGM-Ceramic (MFC), the material distribution is in reverse order. This study develops Carrera's Unified Formulation (CUF) to analyze sandwich cylindrical shell with an FG core for the first time. Considering the Principle of Virtual Displacements (PVDs) according to the CUF, the dependent boundary conditions and governing equations are obtained. The coupled governing equations are derived using Galerkin's method. In order to validate the present results, comparisons are made with the available solutions in the previous researches. The effects of different geometrical and material parameters on the free vibration behavior of a sandwich cylindrical shell with an FG core are examined.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.111-135
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• 2014

Based on the Reissner mixed variational theorem (RMVT), finite rectangular layer methods (FRLMs) are developed for the three-dimensional (3D) linear buckling analysis of simply-supported, fiber-reinforced composite material (FRCM) and functionally graded material (FGM) sandwich plates subjected to bi-axial compressive loads. In this work, the material properties of the FGM layers are assumed to obey the power-law distributions of the volume fractions of the constituents through the thickness, and the plate is divided into a number of finite rectangular layers, in which the trigonometric functions and Lagrange polynomials are used to interpolate the in- and out-of-plane variations of the field variables of each individual layer, respectively, and an h-refinement process is adopted to yield the convergent solutions. The accuracy and convergence of the RMVT-based FRLMs with various orders used for expansions of each field variables through the thickness are assessed by comparing their solutions with the exact 3D and accurate two-dimensional ones available in the literature.

• Advances in nano research
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.9-18
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• 2024

This paper presents the development of an educational management model for analyzing the dynamic instability of nanocomposite sandwich beams. The model aims to provide a comprehensive framework for understanding the behavior of sandwich micro beams with foam cores, featuring top and bottom layers made of smart and porous functionally graded materials (FGM) nanocomposites. The bottom layer is influenced by an external electric field, and the entire beam is supported by a visco-Pasternak foundation, accounting for spring, shear, and damping constants. Using the Kelvin-Voigt theory to model structural damping and incorporating size effects based on strain gradient theory, the model employs the parabolic shear deformation beam theory (PSDBT) to derive motion equations through Hamilton's principle. The differential quadrature method (DQM) is applied to solve these equations, accurately identifying the improvement in student understanding (ISU) of the beams. The impact of various parameters, including FGM properties, external voltage, geometric constants, and structural damping, on the DIR is thoroughly examined. The educational model is validated by comparing its outcomes with existing studies, highlighting the increase in ISU with the application of negative external voltage to the smart layer. This model serves as a valuable educational tool for engineering students and researchers studying the dynamic stability of advanced nanocomposite structures.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.389-410
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• 2019

In this article, a simple quasi-3D shear deformation theory is employed for thermo-mechanical bending analysis of functionally graded material (FGM) sandwich plates. The displacement field is defined using only 5 variables as the first order shear deformation theory (FSDT). Unlike the other high order shear deformation theories (HSDTs), the present formulation considers a new kinematic which includes undetermined integral variables. The governing equations are determined based on the principle of virtual work and then they are solved via Navier method. Analytical solutions are proposed to provide the deflections and stresses of simply supported FGM sandwich structures. Comparative examples are presented to demonstrate the accuracy of the present theory. The effects of gradient index, geometrical parameters and thermal load on thermo-mechanical bending response of the FG sandwich plates are examined.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.70 no.5
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• pp.601-621
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• 2019

This study presents a comprehensive nonlinear dynamic approach to investigate the linear and nonlinear vibration of sandwich plates fabricated from functionally graded materials (FGMs) resting on an elastic foundation. Higher-order shear deformation theory and Hamilton's principle are employed to obtain governing equations. The Runge-Kutta method is employed together with the commercially available mathematical software MAPLE 14 to solve the set of nonlinear dynamic governing equations. Method validity is evaluated by comparing the results of this study and those of previous research. Good agreement is achieved. The effects of temperature change on frequencies are investigated considering various temperatures and various volume fraction index values, N. As the temperature increased, the plate frequency decreased, whereas with increasing N, the plate frequency increased. The effects of the side-to-thickness ratio, c/h, on natural frequencies were investigated. With increasing c/h, the frequencies increased nonlinearly. The effects of foundation stiffness on nonlinear vibration of the sandwich plate were also studied. Backbone curves presenting the variation of maximum displacement with respect to plate frequency are presented to provide insight into the nonlinear vibration and dynamic behavior of FGM sandwich plates.