• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.53 no.2
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• pp.337-354
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• 2015

In this article, free vibration of functionally graded (FG) elliptic plates subjected to various classical boundary conditions has been investigated. Literature review reveals no study has been performed based on functionally graded elliptic plates till date. The mechanical kinematic relations are considered based on classical plate theory. Rayleigh-Ritz technique is used to obtain the generalized eigenvalue problem. The material properties of the FG plate are assumed to vary along thickness direction of the constituents according to power-law form. Trial functions denoting the displacement components are expressed in simple algebraic polynomial forms which can handle any edge support. The objective is to study the effect of geometric configurations and gradation of constituent volume fractions on the natural frequencies. New results for frequency parameters are incorporated after performing a test of convergence. A comparison study is carried out with existing literature for validation in special cases. Three-dimensional mode shapes for circular and elliptic FG plates are also presented with various boundary conditions at the edges.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.195-211
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• 2015

This paper presents nonlinear analysis of a functionally graded square plate integrated with two functionally graded piezoelectric layers resting on the Winkler-Pasternak foundation. Geometric nonlinearity was considered in the strain-displacement relation based on the Von-Karman assumption. All the mechanical and electrical properties except Poisson's ratio can vary continuously along the thickness of the plate based on a power function. Electric potential was assumed as a quadratic function along the thickness direction and trigonometric function along the planar coordinate. The effect of non homogeneous index was investigated on the responses of the system. Furthermore, a comprehensive investigation has been performed for studying the effect of two parameters of assumed foundation on the mechanical and electrical components. A comparison between linear and nonlinear responses of the system presents necessity of this study.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.60 no.4
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• pp.547-565
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• 2016

In this work a new 3-unknown non-polynomial shear deformation theory for the buckling and vibration analyses of functionally graded material (FGM) sandwich plates is presented. The present theory accounts for non-linear in plane displacement and constant transverse displacement through the plate thickness, complies with plate surface boundary conditions, and in this manner a shear correction factor is not required. The main advantage of this theory is that, in addition to including the shear deformation effect, the displacement field is modelled with only 3 unknowns as the case of the classical plate theory (CPT) and which is even less than the first order shear deformation theory (FSDT). The plate properties are assumed to vary according to a power law distribution of the volume fraction of the constituents. Equations of motion are derived from the Hamilton's principle. Analytical solutions of natural frequency and critical buckling load for functionally graded sandwich plates are obtained using the Navier solution. The results obtained for plate with various thickness ratios using the present non-polynomial plate theory are not only substantially more accurate than those obtained using the classical plate theory, but are almost comparable to those obtained using higher order theories with more number of unknown functions.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.47 no.5
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• pp.569-585
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• 2023

This paper proposes an efficient approach for the structural topology optimization of bi-directional functionally graded structures by incorporating popular radial basis functions (RBFs) into an implicit level set (ILS) method. Compared to traditional element density-based methods, a level set (LS) description of material boundaries produces a smoother boundary description of the design. The paper develops RBF implicit modeling with multiquadric (MQ) splines, thin-plate spline (TPS), exponential spline (ES), and Gaussians (GS) to define the ILS function with high accuracy and smoothness. The optimization problem is formulated by considering RBF-based nodal densities as design variables and minimizing the compliance objective function. A LS-RBF optimization method is proposed to transform a Hamilton-Jacobi partial differential equation (PDE) into a system of coupled non-linear ordinary differential equations (ODEs) over the entire design domain using a collocation formulation of the method of lines design variables. The paper presents detailed mathematical expressions for BiDFG beams topology optimization with two different material models: continuum functionally graded (CFG) and mechanical functionally graded (MFG). Several numerical examples are presented to verify the method's efficiency, reliability, and success in accuracy, convergence speed, and insensitivity to initial designs in the topology optimization of two-dimensional (2D) structures. Overall, the paper presents a novel and efficient approach to topology optimization that can handle bi-directional functionally graded structures with complex geometries.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.443-465
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• 2015

In this paper, an efficient and simple trigonometric shear deformation theory is presented for thermal buckling analysis of functionally graded plates. It is assumed that the plate is in contact with elastic foundation during deformation. The theory accounts for sinusoidal distribution of transverse shear stress, and 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 proposed sinusoidal shear deformation theory contains only four unknowns. It is assumed that the mechanical and thermal non-homogeneous properties of functionally graded plate vary smoothly by distribution of power law across the plate thickness. Using the non-linear strain-displacement relations, the equilibrium and stability equations of plates made of functionally graded materials are derived. The boundary conditions for the plate are assumed to be simply supported on all edges. The elastic foundation is modelled by two-parameters Pasternak model, which is obtained by adding a shear layer to the Winkler model. The effects of thermal loading types and variations of power of functionally graded material, aspect ratio, and thickness ratio on the critical buckling temperature of functionally graded plates are investigated and discussed.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.399-423
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• 2013

In the present study, the thermal buckling behavior of functionally graded sandwich plates is studied using a new hyperbolic displacement model. Unlike any other theory, the theory is variationally consistent and gives four governing equations. Number of unknown functions involved in displacement field is only four, as against five in case of other shear deformation theories. This present model takes into account the parabolic distribution of transverse shear stresses and satisfies the condition of zero shear stresses on the top and bottom surfaces without using shear correction factor. Material properties and thermal expansion coefficient of the sandwich plate faces are assumed 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 assumed as uniform, linear and non-linear temperature rises across the thickness direction. The results reveal that the volume fraction index, loading type and functionally graded layers thickness have significant influence on the thermal buckling of functionally graded sandwich plates.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.109-122
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• 2018

In This work an analysis of the propagation of waves of functionally graduated plates is presented by using a high order hyperbolic (HSDT) shear deformation theory. This theory has only four variables, which is less than the theory of first order shear deformation (FSDT). Therefore, a shear correction coefficient is not required. Unlike other conventional shear deformation theories, the present work includes a new field of displacement which introduces indeterminate integral variables. The properties of materials are supposed classified in the direction of the thickness according to two simple distributions of a power law in terms of volume fractions of constituents. The governing equations of the wave propagation in the functionally graded plate are derived by employing the Hamilton's principle. The analytical dispersion relation of the functionally graded plate is obtained by solving an eigenvalue problem. The convergence and the validation of the proposed theoretical numerical model are performed to demonstrate the efficacy of the model.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.50 no.1
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• pp.53-71
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• 2014

A semi-analytical method is developed to consider free vibrations of a functionally graded elastic plate resting on Winkler elastic foundation and in contact with a quiescent fluid. Material properties are assumed to be graded distribution along the thickness direction according to a power-law in terms of the volume fractions of the constituents. The fluid is considered to be incompressible and inviscid. In the analysis, the effect of an in-plane force in the plate due to the weight of the fluid is taken into account. By satisfying the compatibility conditions along the interface of fluid and plate, the fluid-structure interaction is taken into account and natural frequencies and mode shapes of the coupled system are acquired by employing energy methods. The results obtained from the present approach are verified by those from a finite element analysis. Besides, the effects of volume fractions of functionally graded materials, Winkler foundation stiffness and in-plane forces on the dynamic of plate are elucidated.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.269-282
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• 2021

A dynamic analytical solution for a simply supported, rectangular functionally graded plate with a porous middle layer under time-dependent load based on a refined third-order shear deformation theory with a cubic variation of in-plane displacements according to the thickness and linear/quadratic transverse displacement is presented. The solution achieved in the trigonometric series form and rests on the Green's function method. Two porosity types and their influence on material properties, and mechanical behavior are considered. The network of pores is assumed to be empty or filled with low-pressure air, and the material properties are calculated using the power-law distribution idealization. Numerical calculations have been carried out to demonstrate the accuracy of the kinematic model for the dynamic problem, the effect of porosity, thickness of porous layers, power-law index, and type of loading on the dynamic response of an imperfect functionally graded material plate.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.77 no.6
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• pp.797-807
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• 2021

A new simple solution for critical buckling of FG sandwich plates under axial and biaxial loads is presented using new modified power-law formulations. Both even and uneven distributions of porosity are taken into account in this study. Material properties of the sandwich plate faces are assumed to be graded in the thickness direction according to a modified power-law distribution in terms of the volume fractions of the constituents. Equilibrium and stability equations of FG sandwich plate with various boundary conditions are derived using the higher-order shear deformation plate theory. The results reveal that the distribution shape of the porosity, the gradient index, loading type and functionally graded layers thickness have significant influence on the buckling response of functionally graded sandwich plates.