• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• 제62권4호
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• pp.401-415
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• 2017

A new higher shear deformation theory (HSDT) is presented for the thermal buckling behavior of functionally graded (FG) sandwich plates. It uses only four unknowns, which is even less than the first shear deformation theory (FSDT) and the conventional HSDTs. The theory considers a hyperbolic variation of transverse shear stress, respects the traction free boundary conditions and contrary to the conventional HSDTs, the present one presents a new displacement field which includes undetermined integral terms. Material characteristics and thermal expansion coefficient of the sandwich plate faces are considered to be graded in the thickness direction according to a simple power-law distribution in terms of the volume fractions of the constituents. The core layer is still homogeneous and made of an isotropic material. The thermal loads are supposed as uniform, linear and non-linear temperature rises within the thickness direction. An energy based variational principle is used to derive the governing equations as an eigenvalue problem. The validation of the present work is carried out with the available results in the literature. Numerical results are presented to demonstrate the influences of variations of volume fraction index, length-thickness ratio, loading type and functionally graded layers thickness on nondimensional thermal buckling loads.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• 제26권4호
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• pp.387-405
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• 2018

A novel higher shear deformation theory (HSDT) is proposed for the bending, buckling and free vibration investigations of isotropic and functionally graded (FG) sandwich plates. It contains only four variables, which is even less than the first shear deformation theory (FSDT) and the conventional HSDTs. The model accounts for a parabolic variation of transverse shear stress, respects the traction free boundary conditions and contrary to the conventional HSDTs, the present one presents a novel displacement field which incorporates undetermined integral terms. Equations of motion determined in this work are applied for three types of FG structures: FG plates, sandwich plates with FG core and sandwich plates with FG faces. Analytical solutions are given to predict the transverse displacements, stresses, critical buckling forces and natural frequencies of simply supported plates and a comparison study is carried out to demonstrate the accuracy of the proposed model.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• 제25권4호
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• pp.389-401
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• 2017

In this work, a new higher shear deformation theory (HSDT) is developed for the free vibration and buckling of functionally graded (FG) sandwich plates. The proposed theory presents a new displacement field by using undetermined integral terms. Only four unknowns are employed in this theory, which is less than the classical first shear deformation theory (FSDT) and others HSDTs. Equations of motion are obtained via Hamilton's principle. The analytical solutions of FG sandwich plates are determined by employing the Navier method. A good agreement between the computed results and the available solutions of existing HSDTs is found to prove the accuracy of the developed theory.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• 제91권2호
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• pp.197-209
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• 2024

The vibration of elastically supported bidirectional functionally graded (BDFG) sandwich beams on an elastic foundation is investigated. The sandwich structure is composed of upper and lower layers of BDFG material and the core layer of isotropic material. Material properties of upper and lower layers are assumed to vary continuously along the length and thickness of the beam with a power-law function. Hamilton's principle is used to deduce the vibration equations of motion of the sandwich Timoshenko beam. Then, the partial differential equation of motion is spatially discretized into a time-varying ordinary differential equation in terms of Chebyshev differential matrices. The eigenvalue equation associated with the free vibration is formulated to study the influence of various slenderness ratios, material gradient indexes, thickness ratios, foundation and support spring constants on the vibration frequency of BDFG sandwich beams. The present method can provide researchers with deep insight into the impact of various geometric, material, foundation and support parameters on the vibration behavior of BDFG sandwich beam structures.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• 제32권3호
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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.

• Advances in materials Research
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• 제8권3호
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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.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• 제84권6호
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• pp.813-822
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• 2022

In this article, the buckling and free vibration of multi-directional FGM sandwich plates are investigated. The material properties of FGM sandwich plates are assumed to be varying continuously in the in the longitudinal, transverse and thickness directions. The material properties are evaluated based on Voigt's micro-mechanical model considering power law distribution method with arbitrary power index. Equations of motion for the buckling and vibration analysis of multi-directional FGM sandwich plate are obtained based on refined shear deformation theory. Analytical solution for simply supported multidirectional FGM sandwich plate is carried out using Navier's solution technique. The FGM sandwich plate considered in this work has a homogeneous ceramic core and two functionally graded face sheets. Influence of volume fraction index in the longitudinal, transverse and thickness direction, layer thickness, and geometrical parameter over natural frequency and critical buckling load of multi-directional FGM sandwich plate is investigated. The finding shows a multi-directional functionally graded structures perform better compared to uni-directional gradation. Hence, critical grading parameters have been identified which will guide researchers in selecting fabrication routes for improving the performance of such structures.

• Computers and Concrete
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• 제33권1호
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• pp.27-39
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• 2024

In this study, the authors investigate the free vibration behavior of three-phases functionally graded sandwich plates using a novel nth-order shear deformation theory. These plates are composed of a homogeneous core and two face-sheet layers made of different functionally graded materials. This is the novel type of the sandwich structures that can be applied in many fields of mechanical engineering and industrial. The proposed theory only requires four unknown displacement functions, and the transverse displacement does not need to be separated into bending and shear parts, simplifying the theory. One noteworthy feature of the proposed theory is its ability to capture the parabolic distribution of transverse shear strains and stresses throughout the plate's thickness while ensuring zero values on the two free surfaces. By eliminating the need for shear correction factors, the theory further enhances computational efficiency. Equations of motion are established using Hamilton's principle and solved via Navier's solution. The accuracy and efficiency of the proposed theory are verified by comparing results with available solutions. The authors then use the proposed theory to investigate the free vibration characteristics of three-phases functionally graded sandwich plates, considering the effects of parameters such as aspect ratio, side-to-thickness ratio, skin-core-skin thicknesses, and power-law indexes. Through careful analysis of the free vibration behavior of three-phases functionally graded sandwich plates, the work highlighted the significant roles played by individual material ingredients in influencing their frequencies.

• Coupled systems mechanics
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• 제6권2호
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• pp.207-227
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• 2017

In this paper Timoshenko beam theory is employed to investigate the vibration characteristics of functionally graded carbon nanotube-reinforced composite (FG-CNTRC) Beams with a stiff core in thermal environment. The material characteristic of carbon nanotubes (CNT) are supposed to change in the thickness direction in a functionally graded form. They can also be calculated through a micromechanical model where the CNT efficiency parameter is determined by matching the elastic modulus of CNTRCs calculated from the rule of mixture with those gained from the molecular dynamics simulations. The differential transform method (DTM) which is established upon the Taylor series expansion is one of the effective mathematical techniques employed to the differential governing equations of sandwich beams. Effects of carbon nanotube volume fraction, slenderness ratio, core-to-face sheet thickness ratio, different thermal environment and various boundary conditions on the free vibration characteristics of FG-CNTRC sandwich beams are studied. It is observed that vibration response of FG-CNTRC sandwich beams is prominently influenced by these parameters.

• Advances in aircraft and spacecraft science
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• 제9권6호
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• pp.507-523
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• 2022

This study is aimed to accurately predict the vibration response of two types of functionally graded sandwich plates, one with FGM core and another with FGM face sheets. The gradation in FGM layer is quantified by exponential method. An efficient zig-zag theory is used and the zigzag impacts are established via a linear unit Heaviside step function. The present theory fulfills interlaminar transverse stress continuity at the interface and zero condition at the top and bottom surfaces of the plate for transverse shear stresses. Nine-noded C-0 FE having 8DOF/node is utilized throughout analysis. The present model is free from the obligation of any penalty function or post-processing technique and hence is computationally efficient. Numerical results have been presented on the free vibration behavior of sandwich FGM for different end conditions, lamination schemes and layer orientations. The applicability of present model is confirmed by comparing with published results. Several new results are also specified, which will serve as the benchmark for future studies.