• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.755-786
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• 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
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.69-81
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• 2014

The novelty of this paper is the use of trigonometric four variable plate theory for free vibration analysis of laminated rectangular plate supporting a localized patch mass. By dividing the transverse displacement into bending and shear parts, the number of unknowns and governing equations of the present theory is reduced, and hence, makes it simple to use. The Hamilton's Principle, using trigonometric shear deformation theory, is applied to simply support rectangular plates. Numerical examples are presented to show the effects of geometrical parameters such as aspect ratio of the plate, size and location of the patch mass on natural frequencies of laminated composite plates. It can be concluded that the proposed theory is accurate and simple in solving the free vibration behavior of laminated rectangular plate supporting a localized patch mass.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.1287-1306
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• 2016

The current research presents a buckling analysis of isotropic and orthotropic plates by proposing a new four variable refined plate theory. Contrary to the existing higher order shear deformation theories (HSDT) and the first shear deformation theory (FSDT), the proposed model uses a new displacement field which incorporates undetermined integral terms and involves only four variables. The governing equations for buckling analysis are deduced by utilizing the principle of virtual works. The analytical solution of a simply supported rectangular plate under the axial loading has been determined via the Navier method. Numerical investigations are performed by using the proposed model and the obtained results are compared with CPT solutions, FSDT solutions, and the existing exact solutions in the literature. It can be concluded that the developed four variable refined plate theory, which does not use shear correction coefficient, is not only simple but also comparable to the FSDT.

• Advances in aircraft and spacecraft science
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.115-134
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• 2020

This paper proposes a bending analysis for a functionally graded piezoelectric (FGP) plate through utilizing a two-variable shear deformation plate theory under simply-supported edge conditions. The number of unknown functions used in this theory is only four. The electric potential distribution is assumed to be a combination of a cosine function along the cartesian coordinate. Applying the analytical solutions of FGP plate by using Navier's approach and the principle of virtual work, the equilibrium equations are derived. The paper also discusses thoroughly the impact of applied electric voltage, plate's aspect ratio, thickness ratio and inhomogeneity parameter. Results are compared with the analytical solution obtained by classical plate theory, first-order-shear deformation theory, higher-order shear deformation plate theories and quasi-three-dimensional sinusoidal shear deformation plate theory.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.713-732
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• 2016

A novel four variable refined plate theory is proposed in this work for laminated composite plates. The theory considers a parabolic distribution of the transverse shear strains, and respects the zero traction boundary conditions on the surfaces of the plate without employing shear correction coefficient. The displacement field is based on a novel kinematic in which the undetermined integral terms are used, and only four unknowns are involved. The analytical solutions of antisymmetric cross-ply and angle-ply laminates are determined via Navier technique. The obtained results from the present model are compared with three-dimensional elasticity solutions and results of the first-order and the other higher-order theories reported in the literature. It can be concluded that the developed theory is accurate and simple in investigating the bending and buckling responses of laminated composite plates.

• Composite Materials and Engineering
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• v.3 no.3
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• pp.179-199
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• 2021

A simple solution for free vibration of cross-ply and angle-ply laminated composite plates in a thermal environment is investigated using a basic trigonometric shear deformation theory. By application of trigonometric four variable plate theory, the transverse displacement is subdivided into bending and shear components, the present theory's number of unknowns and governing equations is reduced, making it easier to use. Hamilton's Principle is extended to derive the equations of motion of the plates using Navier's double trigonometric series, a closed-form solution is obtained; the primary conclusion is that simple solution is obtained with good results accuracy when compared with previously published results, and the natural frequency will differ depending on, environment temperature, thickness ratio, and lamination angle, as well as the aspect ratio of the plate.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.60 no.4
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• pp.707-727
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• 2016

In this paper, thermal vibration of a nonlocal functionally graded (FG) plates with arbitrary boundary conditions under linear and non-linear temperature fields is explored by developing a refined shear deformation plate theory with an inverse cotangential function in which shear deformation effect was involved without the need for shear correction factors. The material properties of FG nanoplate are considered to be temperature-dependent and graded in the thickness direction according to the Mori-Tanaka model. On the basis of non-classical higher order plate model and Eringen's nonlocal elasticity theory, the small size influence was captured. Numerical examples show the importance of non-uniform thermal loadings, boundary conditions, gradient index, nonlocal parameter and aspect and side-to-thickness ratio on vibrational responses of size-dependent FG nanoplates.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.91-107
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• 2012

In this research, mechanical buckling of hybrid functionally graded plates is considered using a new four variable refined plate theory. 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, 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. The plate properties are assumed to be varied through the thickness following a simple power law distribution in terms of volume fraction of material constituents. Governing equations are derived from the principle of minimum total potential energy. The closed-form solution of a simply supported rectangular plate subjected to in-plane loading has been obtained by using the Navier method. The effectiveness of the theories is brought out through illustrative examples.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.511-524
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• 2020

In this research, a simple four-variable trigonometric integral shear deformation model is proposed for the static behavior of advanced functionally graded (AFG) ceramic-metal plates supported by a two-parameter elastic foundation and subjected to a nonlinear hygro-thermo-mechanical load. The elastic properties, including both the thermal expansion and moisture coefficients of the plate, are also supposed to be varied within thickness direction by following a power law distribution in terms of volume fractions of the components of the material. The interest of the current theory is seen in its kinematics that use only four independent unknowns, while first-order plate theory and other higher-order plate theories require at least five unknowns. The "in-plane displacement field" of the proposed theory utilizes cosine functions in terms of thickness coordinates to calculate out-of-plane shear deformations. The vertical displacement includes flexural and shear components. The elastic foundation is introduced in mathematical modeling as a two-parameter Winkler-Pasternak foundation. The virtual displacement principle is applied to obtain the basic equations and a Navier solution technique is used to determine an analytical solution. The numerical results predicted by the proposed formulation are compared with results already published in the literature to demonstrate the accuracy and efficiency of the proposed theory. The influences of "moisture concentration", temperature, stiffness of foundation, shear deformation, geometric ratios and volume fraction variation on the mechanical behavior of AFG plates are examined and discussed in detail.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.317-330
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• 2017

This paper presents a free vibration analysis of plates made of functionally graded materials and resting on two-layer elastic foundations by proposing a non-polynomial four variable refined plate theory. Undetermined integral terms are introduced in the proposed displacement field and unlike the conventional higher shear deformation theory (HSDT), the present one contains only four unknowns. Equations of motion are derived via the Hamilton's principles and solved using Navier's procedure. Accuracy of the present theory is demonstrated by comparing the results of numerical examples with the ones available in literature.