• Advances in materials Research
• /
• v.3 no.2
• /
• pp.77-89
• /
• 2014

In the present article, the thermal buckling of zigzag single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) is studied using a nonlocal refined shear deformation beam theory and Von-Karman geometric nonlinearity. The model developed simulates both small scale effects and higher-order variation of transverse shear strain through the depth of the nanobeam. Furthermore the present formulation also accommodates stress-free boundary conditions on the top and bottom surfaces of the nanobeam. A shear correction factor, therefore, is not required. The equivalent Young's modulus and shear modulus for zigzag SWCNTs are derived using an energy-equivalent model. The present study illustrates that the thermal buckling properties of SWCNTs are strongly dependent on the scale effect and additionally on the chirality of zigzag carbon nanotube. Some illustrative examples are also presented to verify the present formulation and solutions. Good agreement is observed.

• Steel and Composite Structures
• /
• v.22 no.2
• /
• pp.257-276
• /
• 2016

In this paper, a new simple higher-order shear deformation theory for bending and free vibration analysis of functionally graded (FG) plates is developed. The significant feature of this formulation is that, in addition to including a sinusoidal variation of transverse shear strains through the thickness of the plate, it deals with only three unknowns as the classical plate theory (CPT), instead of five as in the well-known first shear deformation theory (FSDT) and higher-order shear deformation theory (HSDT). A shear correction factor is, therefore, not required. Equations of motion are derived from Hamilton's principle. Analytical solutions for the bending and free vibration analysis are obtained for simply supported plates. The accuracy of the present solutions is verified by comparing the obtained results with those predicted by classical theory, first-order shear deformation theory, and higher-order shear deformation theory. Verification studies show that the proposed theory is not only accurate and simple in solving the bending and free vibration behaviours of FG plates, but also comparable with the other higher-order shear deformation theories which contain more number of unknowns.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.28 no.5
• /
• pp.603-633
• /
• 2008

A four-node plate finite element for the analysis of laminated composites which is developed using strain gradient notation is presented. The element is based on a first-order shear deformation theory and on the equivalent lamina assumption. Strains and stresses can be calculated at different points through the thickness of the plate. They are averaged values due to the equivalent lamina assumption. A shear correction factor is used as the transverse shear strain is taken to be constant over the plate thickness while its actual variation is parabolic. Strain gradient notation, which is physically interpretable, allows for the detailed a-priori analysis of the finite element model. The polynomial expansions are inspected and spurious terms responsible for modeling errors are identified in the shear strains polynomial expansions. The element is corrected by simply removing the spurious terms from the shear strains expansions. The element is implemented into a FORTRAN finite element code in two versions; namely, with and without spurious terms. Results are compared to show the effects of the spurious terms on the solutions. It is also shown that a refined mesh composed of corrected elements provides solutions which approximate very well the analytical solutions, validating the procedure.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
• /
• v.16 no.1
• /
• pp.1-9
• /
• 2018

In this paper an efficient and simple refined shear deformation theory is presented for the free vibration of Functionally Graded Plates Under Various Boundary Conditions. The theory accounts for a quadratic variation of the transverse shear strains across the thickness, and satisfies the zero traction boundary conditions on the top and bottom surfaces of the plate without using shear correction factors. The number of independent unknowns of present theory is four, as against five in other shear deformation theories. The plates are considered of the type having two opposite sides simply-supported, and the two other sides having combinations of simply-supported, clamped, and free boundary conditions. The mechanical properties of functionally graded material are assumed to vary according to power law distribution of the volume fraction of the constituents. Equations of motion are derived using Hamilton's principle. The results of this theory are compared with those of other shear deformation theories. Various numerical results including the effect of boundary conditions, power-law index, plate aspect ratio, and side-to-thickness ratio on the free vibration of FGM plates are presented.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.72 no.5
• /
• pp.653-673
• /
• 2019

This work investigates a novel quasi-3D hyperbolic shear deformation theory is presented to discuss the buckling of new type of sandwich plates. This theory accounts for both shear deformation and thickness stretching effects by a hyperbolic variation of all displacements through the thickness. The enhancement of this formulation is due to the use of only five unknowns by including undetermined integral terms, contrary to other theories where we find six or more unknowns. It does not require shear correction factors and transverse shear stresses vary parabolically across the thickness. A new type of FGM sandwich plates, namely, both FGM face sheets and FGM hard core are considered. The governing equations and boundary conditions are derived using the principle of virtual displacements. Analytical solutions are obtained for a simply supported plate. The accuracy of the present theory is verified by comparing the obtained results with quasi-3D solutions and those predicted by higher-order shear deformation theories. The comparison studies show that the obtained results are not only more accurate than those obtained by higher-order shear deformation theories, but also comparable with those predicted by quasi-3D theories with a greater number of unknowns.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.18 no.6
• /
• pp.807-829
• /
• 2004

The Element-Based Lagrangian Formulation of a 9-node resultant-stress shell element is presented for the isotropic and anisotropic composite material. The effect of the coupling term between the bending strain and displacement has been investigated in the warping problem. The strains, stresses and constitutive equations based on the natural co-ordinate have been used throughout the Element-Based Lagrangian Formulation of the present shell element which offers an advantage of easy implementation compared with the traditional Lagrangian Formulation. The element is free of both membrane and shear locking behavior by using the assumed natural strain method such that the element performs very well in thin shell problems. In composite plates and shells, the transverse shear stiffness is defined by an equilibrium approach instead of using the shear correction factor. The arc-length control method is used to trace complex equilibrium paths in thin shell applications. Several numerical analyses are presented and discussed in order to investigate the capabilities of the present shell element. The results showed very good agreement compared with well-established formulations in the literature.

• Wind and Structures
• /
• v.22 no.3
• /
• pp.329-348
• /
• 2016

This work presents a simple hyperbolic shear deformation theory for analysis of functionally graded plates resting on elastic foundation. The proposed model contains fewer number of unknowns and equations of motion than the first-order shear deformation model, but the transverse shear stresses account for a hyperbolic variation and respect the tangential stress-free boundary conditions on the plate boundary surface without introducing shear correction factors. Equations of motion are obtained from Hamilton's principle. The Navier-type analytical solutions for simply-supported plates are compared with the existing solutions to demonstrate the accuracy of the proposed theory.

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

• Smart Structures and Systems
• /
• v.18 no.4
• /
• pp.755-786
• /
• 2016

The hygro-thermo-mechanical bending behavior of sigmoid functionally graded material (S-FGM) plate resting on variable two-parameter elastic foundations is discussed using a four-variable refined plate theory. The material characteristics are distributed within the thickness direction according to the two power law variation in terms of volume fractions of the constituents of the material. By employing a four variable refined plate model, both a trigonometric distribution of the transverse shear strains within the thickness and the zero traction boundary conditions on the top and bottom surfaces of the plate are respected without utilizing shear correction factors. The number of independent variables of the current formulation is four, as against five in other shear deformation models. The governing equations are deduced based on the four-variable refined plate theory incorporating the external load and hygro-thermal influences. The results of this work are compared with those of other shear deformation models. Various numerical examples introducing the influence of power-law index, plate aspect ratio, temperature difference, elastic foundation parameters, and side-to-thickness ratio on the static behavior of S-FGM plates are investigated.

• Steel and Composite Structures
• /
• v.27 no.3
• /
• pp.311-325
• /
• 2018

This article presents the bending analysis of FGM rectangular plates resting on non-uniform elastic foundations in thermal environment. Theoretical formulations are based on a recently developed refined shear deformation theory. The displacement field of the present theory is chosen based on nonlinear variations in the in-plane displacements through the thickness of the plate. The present theory satisfies the free transverse shear stress conditions on the top and bottom surfaces of the plate without using shear correction factor. Unlike the conventional trigonometric shear deformation theory, the present refined shear deformation theory contains only four unknowns as against five in case of other shear deformation theories. The material properties of the functionally graded plates are assumed to vary continuously through the thickness, according to a simple power law distribution of the volume fraction of the constituents. The elastic foundation is modeled as non-uniform foundation. The results of the shear deformation theories are compared together. Numerical examples cover the effects of the gradient index, plate aspect ratio, side-to-thickness ratio and elastic foundation parameters on the thermo-mechanical behavior of functionally graded plates. Numerical results show that the present theory can archive accuracy comparable to the existing higher order shear deformation theories that contain more number of unknowns.