• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.127-139
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• 2017

In this paper, an exact analytical solution for simply supported sandwich plate which considers the permeation effect of adhesives is presented. The permeation layer is described as functionally graded material (FGM), the elastic modulus of which is assumed to be graded along the thickness following the exponential law. Based on the exact three-dimensional (3-D) elasticity theory, the solution of stresses and displacements for each layer is derived. By means of the recursive matrix method, the solution can be efficiently obtained for plates with many layers. The present solution obtained can be used as a benchmark to access other simplified solutions. The comparison study indicates that the finite element (FE) solution is close to the present one when the FGM layer in the FE model is divided into a series of homogeneous layers. However, the present method is more efficient than the FE method, with which the mesh division and computation are time-consuming. Moreover, the solution based on Kirchhoff-Love plate theory is greatly different from the present solution for thick plates. The influence of the thickness of the permeation layer on the stress and displacement fields of the sandwich plate is discussed in detail. It is indicated that the permeation layer can effectively relieve the discontinuity stress at the interface.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.70 no.5
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• pp.601-621
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• 2019

This study presents a comprehensive nonlinear dynamic approach to investigate the linear and nonlinear vibration of sandwich plates fabricated from functionally graded materials (FGMs) resting on an elastic foundation. Higher-order shear deformation theory and Hamilton's principle are employed to obtain governing equations. The Runge-Kutta method is employed together with the commercially available mathematical software MAPLE 14 to solve the set of nonlinear dynamic governing equations. Method validity is evaluated by comparing the results of this study and those of previous research. Good agreement is achieved. The effects of temperature change on frequencies are investigated considering various temperatures and various volume fraction index values, N. As the temperature increased, the plate frequency decreased, whereas with increasing N, the plate frequency increased. The effects of the side-to-thickness ratio, c/h, on natural frequencies were investigated. With increasing c/h, the frequencies increased nonlinearly. The effects of foundation stiffness on nonlinear vibration of the sandwich plate were also studied. Backbone curves presenting the variation of maximum displacement with respect to plate frequency are presented to provide insight into the nonlinear vibration and dynamic behavior of FGM sandwich plates.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.85 no.2
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• pp.233-246
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• 2023

Bending and buckling analysis of multi-directional porous functionally graded sandwich plate has been performed for two cases namely: FG skin with homogeneous core and FG core with homogeneous skin. The principle of virtual displacements was employed and the solution was obtained using Navier's technique. This theory imposes traction-free boundary conditions on the surfaces and does not require shear correction factors. The validation of the present study has been performed with those available in the literature. The composition of metal-ceramic-based FGM changes in longitudinal and transverse directions according to the power law. Different porosity laws, such as uniform distribution, unevenly and logarithmically uneven distributions were used to mimic the imperfections in the functionally graded material that were introduced during the fabrication process. Several sandwich plates schemes were studied based on the plate's symmetry and the thickness of each layer. The effects of grading parameters and porosity laws on the bending and buckling of sandwich plates were examined.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.85 no.5
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• pp.593-605
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• 2023

This work presents a comparison between analytical and finite element analysis for bending of porous sandwich functionally graded material (FGM) plates. The plate is rectangular and simply supported under static sinusoidal loading. Material properties of FGM are assumed to vary continuously across the face sheets thickness according to a power-law function in terms of the volume fractions of the constituents while the core is homogeneous. Four types of porosity are considered. A refined higher-order shear with normal deformation theory is used. The number of unknowns in this theory is five, as against six or more in other shear and normal deformation theories. This theory assumes the nonlinear variation of transverse shear stresses and satisfies its nullity in the top and bottom surfaces of the plate without the use of a shear correction factor. The governing equations of equilibrium are derived from the virtual work principle. The Navier approach is used to solve equilibrium equations. The constitutive law of the porous FGM sandwich plate is implemented for a 3D finite element through a subroutine in FORTRAN (UMAT) in Abaqus software. Results show good agreement between the finite element model and the analytical method for some results, but the analytical method keeps giving symmetric results even with the thickness stretching effect and load applied to the top surface of the sandwich.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.267-291
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• 2016

In this research work, an exact analytical solution for thermal buckling analysis of functionally graded material (FGM) sandwich plates with clamped boundary condition subjected to uniform, linear, and non-linear temperature rises across the thickness direction is developed. 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 accounts for parabolic distribution of the transverse shear strains, and satisfies the zero traction boundary conditions on the surfaces of the plate without using shear correction factor. A power law distribution is used to describe the variation of volume fraction of material compositions. Equilibrium and stability equations are derived based on the present refined theory. The non-linear governing equations are solved for plates subjected to simply supported and clamped boundary conditions. The thermal loads are assumed to be uniform, linear and non-linear distribution through-the-thickness. The effects of aspect and thickness ratios, gradient index, on the critical buckling are all discussed.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.32 no.3
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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.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.633-642
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• 2019

In this work, lightweight sandwich plates consisting of a functionally graded porous (FGP) core and two laminated composite face sheets resting on elastic foundation have been proposed. Three different profiles are considered for the distributions of porosities along core thickness. The main aim of this paper is the investigation of the buckling behavior of the proposed porous sandwich plates (PSPs) by reporting their critical mechanical loads and their corresponding mode shapes. A finite element method (FEM) based on first order shear deformation theories (FSDT) is developed to discretize governing equations for the buckling behavior of the proposed sandwich plates. The effects of porosity dispersion and volume, the numbers and angles of laminated layers, sandwich plate geometrical dimensions, elastic foundation coefficients, loading and boundary conditions are studied. The results show that the use of FGP core can offer a PSP with half weight core and only 5% reduction in critical buckling loads. Moreover, stacking sequences with only ${\pm}45$ orientation fibers offer the highest values of buckling loads.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.91-112
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• 2016

In this paper, post-buckling behavior of sandwich plates with functionally graded (FG) face sheets under uniform temperature rise loading is examined based on both sinusoidal shear deformation theory and stress function. It is supposed that the sandwich plate is in contact with an elastic foundation during deformation, which acts in both compression and tension. Thermo-elastic non-homogeneous properties of FG layers change smoothly by the variation of power law within the thickness, and temperature dependency of material constituents is considered in the formulation. In the present development, Von Karman nonlinearity and initial geometrical imperfection of sandwich plate are also taken into account. By employing Galerkin method, analytical solutions of thermal buckling and post-buckling equilibrium paths for simply supported plates are determined. Numerical examples presented in the present study discuss the effects of gradient index, sandwich plate geometry, geometrical imperfection, temperature dependency, and the elastic foundation parameters.

• Advances in materials Research
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.43-65
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• 2023

Free vibration analysis of power law and sigmoidal sandwich plates made up of functionally graded materials (FGMs) has been carried out using finite element based higher-order zigzag theory. The present model satisfies all-important conditions such as transverse shear stress-free conditions at the plate's top and bottom surface along with continuity condition for transverse stresses at the interface. A Nine-noded C0 finite element having eleven degrees of freedom per node is used during the study. The present model is free from the requirement of any penalty function or post-processing technique and hence is computationally efficient. The present model's effectiveness is demonstrated by comparing the present results with available results in the literature. Several new results have been proposed in the present work, which will serve as a benchmark for future works. It has been observed that the material variation law, power-law exponent, skew angle, and boundary condition of the plate widely determines the free vibration behavior of sandwich functionally graded (FG) plate.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.85 no.1
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• pp.1-14
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• 2023

The use of functionally graded materials in applications involving severe thermal gradients is quickly gaining acceptance in the composite mechanics community, the aerospace and aircraft industry. In the present study, a refined sandwich plate model is applied to study the free vibration analysis of porous functionally graded material (FGM) sandwich plates with various distribution rate of porosity. Two types of common FG sandwich plates are considered. The first sandwich plate is composed of two FG material (FGM) face sheets and a homogeneous ceramic or metal core. The second one consists of two homogeneous fully metal and ceramic face sheets at the top and bottom, respectively, and a FGM core. The displacement field of the present theory is chosen based on nonlinear variations in the in-plane displacements through the thickness of the sandwich plate. The number of unknowns and equations of motion of the present theory is reduced and hence makes them simple to use. In the analysis, the equation of motion for simply supported sandwich plates is obtained using Hamilton's principle. In order to present the effect of the variation of the porosity distribution on the dynamic behavior of the FGM sandwich plates, new mixtures are proposed which take into account different rate of porosity distribution between the ceramic and the metal. The present method is applicable to study the dynamic behavior of FGM plates and sandwich plates. The frequencies of two kinds of FGM sandwich structures are analyzed and discussed. Several numerical results have been compared with the ones available in the literature.