• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.62 no.4
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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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• 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.5
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• pp.595-610
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• 2019

This paper deals with the static and dynamic behavior of Functionally Graded Carbon Nanotubes (FG-CNT)-reinforced porous sandwich (PMPV) polymer plate. The model of nanocomposite plate is investigated within the first order shear deformation theory (FSDT). Two types of porous sandwich plates are supposed (sandwich with face sheets reinforced / homogeneous core and sandwich with homogeneous face sheets / reinforced core). Functionally graded Carbon Nanotubes (FG-CNT) and uniformly Carbon Nanotubes (UD-CNT) distributions of face sheets or core porous plates with uniaxially aligned single-walled carbon nanotubes are considered. The governing equations are derived by using Hamilton's principle. The solution for bending and vibration of such type's porous plates are obtained. The detailed mathematical derivations are provided and the solutions are compared to some cases in the literature. The effect of the several parameters of reinforced sandwich porous plates such as aspect ratios, volume fraction, types of reinforcement, number of modes and thickness of plate on the bending and vibration analyses are studied and discussed. On the question of porosity, this study found that there is a great influence of their variation on the static and vibration of porous sandwich plate.

• Advances in aircraft and spacecraft science
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• v.9 no.6
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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.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.641-656
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• 2020

The finite element solutions of thermal buckling load values of the graded sandwich curved shell structure are reported in this research using a higher-order kinematic model including the shear deformation effect. The numerical buckling temperature has been computed using an in-house specialized code (MATLAB environment) prepared in the framework of the current mathematical formulation. In addition, the mathematical model includes the excess structural distortion under the influence of elevated environment via Green-Lagrange nonlinear strain. The corresponding eigenvalue equation has been solved to predict the critical buckling temperature of the graded sandwich structure. The numerical stability and the accuracy of the current solution have been confirmed by comparing with the available published results. Thereafter, the model is extended to bring out the influences of structural parameters i.e. the curvature ratio, core-face thickness ratio, support conditions, power-law indices and sandwich types on the thermal buckling behavior of graded sandwich curved shell panels.

• Advances in Computational Design
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.165-190
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• 2018

In this article, the static behavior of non-prismatic sandwich beams composed of functionally graded (FG) materials is investigated for the first time. Two types of beams in which the variation of elastic modulus follows a power-law form are studied. The principle of minimum total potential energy is applied along with the Ritz method to derive and solve the governing equations. Considering conventional boundary conditions, Chebyshev polynomials of the first kind are used as auxiliary shape functions. The formulation is developed within the framework of well-known Timoshenko and Reddy beam theories (TBT, RBT). Since the beams are simultaneously tapered and functionally graded, bending and shear stress pushover curves are presented to get a profound insight into the variation of stresses along the beam. The proposed formulations and solution scheme are verified through benchmark problems. In this context, excellent agreement is observed. Numerical results are included considering beams with various cross sectional types to inspect the effects of taper ratio and gradient index on deflections and stresses. It is observed that the boundary conditions, taper ratio, gradient index value and core to the thickness ratio significantly influence the stress and deflection responses.

• Advances in nano research
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.19-32
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• 2024

Functionally graded-carbon nanotube (FG-CNT) is expected to be a new generation of materials with a wide range of potential applications in technological fields such as aerospace, defense, energy, and structural industries. In this paper, an exact finite strip method for functionally graded-carbon nanotube sandwich plates is developed using first-order shear deformation theory to get the exact natural frequencies of the plates. The face sheets of the plates are made of FG-CNT with continuous and smooth grading based on the power law index. The equations of motion have been generated based on the Hamilton principle. By extracting the exact stiffness matrix for any strip of the sandwich plate as a non-algebraic function of natural frequencies, it is possible to calculate the exact free vibration frequencies. The accuracy and efficiency of the current method is established by comparing its findings to the results of the literature works. Examples are presented to prove the efficiency of the generated method to deal with various problems, such as the influence of the length-to-height ratio, the power law index, and a core-to-face sheet thickness of the single and multi-span sandwich plates with various boundary conditions on the natural frequencies. The exact results obtained from this analysis can check the validity and accuracy of other numerical methods.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.185-193
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• 2020

Nonlinear vibration of sandwich plate with functionally graded material (FGM) core and carbon nano tubes reinforced (CNTs) nano-composite layers by considering temperature-dependent material properties are studied in this paper. Base on Classical plate theory (CPT), the governing partial differential equations of motion for sandwich plate are derived using Hamilton principle. The Galerkin procedure and multiple scales perturbation method are used to find relation between nonlinear frequency and amplitude of vibration response. The dynamic responses of the sandwich plate are also investigated in both time and frequency domains. Then, the effects of nonlinearity, excitation, power law index of FG core, volume fraction of carbon nanotube, the function of material variations of FG core, temperature changes, scale transformation parameter and damping factor on the frequency responses are investigated.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.213-226
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• 2020

The present study covenants with the static and free vibration behavior of nanocomposite sandwich plates reinforced by carbon nanotubes resting on Pasternak elastic foundation. Uniformly distributed (UD-CNT) and functionally graded (FG-CNT) distributions of aligned carbon nanotube are considered for two types of sandwich plates such as, the face sheet reinforced and homogeneous core and the homogeneous face sheet and reinforced core. Based on the first shear deformation theory (FSDT), the Hamilton's principle is employed to derive the mathematical models. The obtained solutions are numerically validated by comparison with some available cases in the literature. The elastic foundation model is assumed as one parameter Winkler - Pasternak foundation. A parametric study is conducted to study the effects of aspect ratios, foundation parameters, carbon nanotube volume fraction, types of reinforcement, core-to-face sheet thickness ratio and types of loads acting on the bending and free vibration analyses. It is explicitly shown that the (FG-CNT) face sheet reinforced sandwich plate has a high resistance against deflections compared to other types of reinforcement. It is also revealed that the reduction in the dimensionless natural frequency is most pronounced in core reinforced sandwich plate.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.47-62
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• 2020

In this study, free vibration behavior of trapezoidal sandwich plates with porous core and two graphene platelets (GPLs) reinforced nanocomposite outer layers are presented. The distribution of pores and GPLs are supposed to be functionally graded (FG) along the thickness of core and nanocomposite layers, respectively. The effective Young's modulus of the GPL-reinforced (GPLR) nanocomposite layers is determined using the modified Halpin-Tsai micromechanics model, while the Poisson's ratio and density are computed by the rule of mixtures. The FSDT plate theory is utilized to establish governing partial differential equations and boundary conditions (B.C.s) for trapezoidal plate. The governing equations together with related B.C.s are discretized using a mapping- generalized differential quadrature (GDQ) method in the spatial domain. Then natural frequencies of the trapezoidal sandwich plates are obtained by GDQ method. Validity of current study is evaluated by comparing its numerical results with those available in the literature. A special attention is drawn to the role of GPLs weight fraction, GPLs patterns of two faces through the thickness, porosity coefficient and distribution of porosity on natural frequencies characteristics. New results show the importance of this permeates on vibrational characteristics of porous/GPLR nanocomposite plates. Finally, the influences of B.C.s and dimension as well as the plate geometry such as face to core thickness ratio on the vibration behaviors of the trapezoidal plates are discussed.