• Smart Structures and Systems
• /
• v.21 no.1
• /
• pp.75-97
• /
• 2018

In this paper, a novel higher-order shear deformation theory (HSDT) is proposed for the analysis of the hygro-thermo-mechanical behavior of functionally graded (FG) plates resting on elastic foundations. The developed model uses a novel kinematic by considering undetermined integral terms and only four variables are used in this model. The governing equations are deduced based on the principle of virtual work and the number of unknown functions involved is reduced to only four, which is less than the first shear deformation theory (FSDT) and others HSDTs. The Navier-type exact solutions for static analysis of simply supported FG plates subjected to hygro-thermo-mechanical loads are presented. The accuracy and efficiency of the present model is validated by comparing it with various available solutions in the literature. The influences of material properties, temperature, moisture, plate aspect ratio, side-to-thickness ratios and elastic coefficients parameters on deflections and stresses of FG plates are also investigated.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.38 no.5
• /
• pp.549-571
• /
• 2011

This paper presents analytical solutions for skewed thick plates under transverse loading that have previously been unreported in the literature. The thick plate solution is obtained in a framework of an oblique coordinate system. The governing equation is first derived in the oblique coordinate system, and the solution is obtained using deflection and rotation as partial derivatives of a potential function developed in this research. The solution technique is applied to three illustrative application examples, and the results are compared with numerical solutions in the literature and those derived from the commercial finite element analysis package ANSYS 11. These results are in excellent agreement. The present solution may also be used to model skewed structures such as skewed bridges, to facilitate efficient routine design or evaluation analyses, and to form special elements for finite element analysis. At the same time, the analytical solution developed in this research could be used to develop methods to address post-buckling and dynamic problems.

• Steel and Composite Structures
• /
• v.12 no.2
• /
• pp.129-147
• /
• 2012

In this paper, the thermal buckling analysis of rectangular composite laminated plates is investigated using the Differential Quadrature (DQ) method. The composite plate is subjected to a uniform temperature distribution and arbitrary boundary conditions. The analysis takes place in two stages. First, pre-buckling forces due to a temperature rise are determined by using a membrane solution. In the second stage, the critical temperature is predicted based on the first-order shear deformation theory. To verify the accuracy of the method, several case studies were used and the numerical results were compared with those of other published literatures. Moreover, the effects of several parameters such as aspect ratio, fiber orientation, modulus ratio, and various boundary conditions on the critical temperature were examined. The results confirm the efficiency and accuracy of the DQ method in dealing with this class of engineering problems.

• Steel and Composite Structures
• /
• v.52 no.1
• /
• pp.89-107
• /
• 2024

This article focuses on the static and dynamic analysis and optimization of an anisogrid lattice plate subjected to axial compressive load with simply supported boundary conditions. The lattice plate includes diagonal and transverse ribs and is modeled as an orthotropic plate with effective stiffness properties. The study employs the first-order shear deformation theory and the Ritz method with a Legendre approximation function. In the realm of optimization, the Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm-II is utilized as an evolutionary multi-objective algorithm to optimize. The research findings are validated through finite element analysis. Notably, this study addresses the less-explored areas of optimizing the geometric parameters of the plate by maximizing the buckling load and natural frequency while minimizing mass. Furthermore, this study attempts to fill the gap related to the analysis of the post-buckling behavior of lattice plates, which has been conspicuously overlooked in previous research. This has been accomplished by conducting nonlinear analyses and scrutinizing post-buckling diagrams of this type of lattice structure. The efficacy of the continuous methods for analyzing the natural frequency, buckling, and post-buckling of these lattice plates demonstrates that while a degree of accuracy is compromised, it provides a significant amount of computational efficiency.

• Wind and Structures
• /
• v.29 no.6
• /
• pp.457-469
• /
• 2019

In this paper, a numerical solution is presented for supersonic flutter analysis of cantilever non-symmetric functionally graded (FG) sandwich plates. The plate is considered to be composed of two different functionally graded face sheets and an isotropic homogeneous core made of ceramic. Based on the first order shear deformation theory (FSDT) and linear piston theory, the set of governing equations and boundary conditions are derived. Dimensionless form of the governing equations and boundary conditions are derived and solved numerically using generalized differential quadrature method (GDQM) and critical velocity and flutter frequencies are calculated. For various values of the yaw angle, effect of different parameters like aspect ratio, thickness of the plate, power law indices and thickness of the core on the flutter boundaries are investigated. Numerical examples show that wings and tail fins with larger length and shorter width are more stable in supersonic flights. It is concluded for FG sandwich plates made of Al-Al₂O₃ that increase in volume fraction of ceramic (Al₂O₃) increases aeroelastic stability of the plate. Presented study confirms that improvement of aeroelastic behavior and weight of wings and tail fins of aircrafts are not consistent items. It is shown that value of the critical yaw angle depends on aspect ratio of the plate and other parameters including thickness and variation of properties have no considerable effect on it. Results of this paper can be used in design and analysis of wing and tail fin of supersonic airplanes.

• Steel and Composite Structures
• /
• v.46 no.6
• /
• pp.839-856
• /
• 2023

This work presents a simple four-unknown refined integral plate theory for mechanical and thermal buckling behaviors of functionally graded (FG) plates resting on Visco-Pasternak foundations. The proposed refined high order shear deformation theory has a new displacement field which includes indeterminate integral variables and contains only four unknowns in which any shear correction factor not used, with even less than the conventional theory of first shear strain (FSDT). Governing equations are deduced from the principle of minimum total potential energy and a Navier type analytical solution is adopted for simply supported FG plates. The Visco-Pasternak foundations is considered by adding the impact of damping to the usual foundation model which characterized by the linear Winkler's modulus and Pasternak's foundation modulus. The accuracy of the present model is demonstrated by comparing the computed results with those available in the literature. Some numerical results are presented to show the impact of material index, elastic foundation type, and damping coefficient of the foundation, on the mechanical and thermal buckling behaviors of FG plates.

• Steel and Composite Structures
• /
• v.12 no.6
• /
• pp.541-548
• /
• 2012

This paper deals with the applicability of extended layerwise optimization method (ELOM) for frequency optimization of laminated composite plates. The design objective is the maximization of the fundamental frequency of the laminated plates. The fibre orientations in the layers are considered as design variables. The first order shear deformation theory (FSDT) is used for the finite element solution of the laminates. Finally, the numerical analysis is carried out to show the applicability of extended layerwise optimization algorithm of laminated plates for different parameters such as plate aspect ratios and boundary conditions.

• Steel and Composite Structures
• /
• v.32 no.3
• /
• pp.389-410
• /
• 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 nano research
• /
• v.12 no.2
• /
• pp.117-137
• /
• 2022

Effect of thickness stretching on free vibration, bending and buckling behavior of carbon nanotubes reinforced composite (CNTRC) laminated nanoplates rested on new variable elastic foundation is investigated in this paper using a developed four-unknown quasi-3D higher-order shear deformation theory (HSDT). The key feature of this theoretical formulation is that, in addition to considering the thickness stretching effect, the number of unknowns of the displacement field is reduced to four, and which is more than five in the other models. Two new forms of CNTs reinforcement distribution are proposed and analyzed based on cosine functions. By considering the higher-order nonlocal strain gradient theory, microstructure and length scale influences are included. Variational method is developed to derive the governing equation and Galerkin method is employed to derive an analytical solution of governing equilibrium equations. Two-dimensional variable Winkler elastic foundation is suggested in this study for the first time. A parametric study is executed to determine the impact of the reinforcement patterns, nonlocal parameter, length scale parameter, side-t-thickness ratio and aspect ratio, elastic foundation and various boundary conditions on bending, buckling and free vibration responses of the CNTRC plate.

• Steel and Composite Structures
• /
• v.50 no.5
• /
• pp.563-581
• /
• 2024

This paper presents a novel finite element model for the free vibration analysis of variable-thickness functionally graded porous (FGP) microplates resting on Pasternak's medium in the hygro-thermal environment. The governing equations are established according to refined higher-order shear deformation plate theory (RPT) in construction with the modified couple stress theory. For the first time, three-node triangular elements with twelve degrees of freedom for each node are developed based on Hermitian interpolation functions to describe the in-plane displacements and transverse displacements of microplates. Two laws of variable thickness of FGP microplates, including the linear law and the nonlinear law in the x-direction are investigated. Effects of thermal and moisture changes on microplates are assumed to vary continuously from the bottom surface to the top surface and only cause tension loads in the plane, which does not change the material's mechanical properties. The numerical results of this work are compared with those of published data to verify the accuracy and reliability of the proposed method. In addition, the parameter study is conducted to explore the effects of geometrical and material properties such as the changing law of the thickness, length-scale parameter, and the parameters of the porosity, temperature, and humidity on the free vibration response of variable thickness FGP microplates. These results can be applied to design of microelectromechanical structures in practice.