• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.57 no.4
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• pp.603-616
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• 2016

In this study, a convenient formulation for the bending of laminated composite plates that hold non-homogeneous properties is examined. The constitutive equations of first order shear deformation plate theory are obtained using Hamilton Principle. The effect of non-homogeneity, lamination schemes and aspect ratio on the deflections and stresses is analysed. It is understood from the study that economical and optimum designs for laminated composite plates can be achieved by changing lamination scheme and by considering non-homogeneity response of composite plate.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.61 no.2
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• pp.295-316
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• 2017

Element based differential quadrature method (EDQM) has been applied to analyze static, stability and free vibration of non-homogeneous orthotropic rectangular plates of variable or stepped thickness. The Young's modulus and the density are assumed to vary in exponential form in X-direction whereas the thickness is assumed to vary linear, parabolic or exponential variation in one or two directions. In-plane loading is assumed to vary linearly. Various combinations of clamped, simply supported and free edge conditions (regular and irregular boundary) have been considered. Continuous plates could also be handled with ease. In this paper, formulation for equilibrium, buckling and free vibration problems is discussed and several numerical examples are solved using EDQM and compared with the published results.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.56 no.1
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• pp.85-106
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• 2015

Postbuckling of thick plates made of functionally graded material (FGM) subjected to in-plane compressive, thermal and thermomechanical loads is investigated in this work. It is assumed that the plate is in contact with a Pasternak-type elastic foundation during deformation. Thermomechanical non-homogeneous properties are considered to be temperature independent, and graded smoothly by the distribution of power law across the thickness in the thickness in terms of the volume fractions of constituents. By employing the higher order shear deformation plate theory together the non-linear von-Karman strain-displacement relations, the equilibrium and compatibility equations of imperfect FGM plates are derived. The Galerkin technique is used to determine the buckling loads and postbuckling equilibrium paths for simply supported plates. Numerical examples are presented to show the influences of power law index, foundation stiffness and imperfection on the buckling and postbuckling loading capacity of the plates.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.559-576
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• 2014

A new mathematical model and its finite element formulation for the non-linear stress-strain analysis of a planar beam strengthened with plates bolted or adhesively bonded to its lateral sides is presented. The connection between the layers is considered to be flexible in both the longitudinal and the transversal direction. The following assumptions are also adopted in the model: for each layer (i.e., the beam and the side plates) the geometrically linear and materially non-linear Bernoulli's beam theory is assumed, all of the layers are made of different homogeneous non-linear materials, the debonding of the beam from the side-plates due to, for example, a local buckling of the side plate, is prevented. The suitability of the theory is verified by the comparison of the present numerical results with experimental and numerical results from literature. The mechanical response arising from the theoretical model and its numerical formulation has been found realistic and the numerical model has been proven to be reliable and computationally effective. Finally, the present formulation is employed in the analysis of the effects of two different realizations of strengthening of a characteristic simply supported flexural beam (plates on the sides of the beam versus the tension-face plates). The analysis reveals that side plates efficiently enhance the bearing capacity of the flexural beam and can, in some cases, outperform the tensile-face plates in a lower loss of ductility, especially, if the connection between the beam and the side plates is sufficiently stiff.

• Advances in aircraft and spacecraft science
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.83-106
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• 2023

In this work, the static behavior of FGM macro and nano-plates under thermomechanical loading. Equilibrium equations are determined by using virtual work principle and local and non-local theory. The novelty of the current model is using a new displacement field with four variables and a warping function considering the effect of shear. Through this analysis, the considered sandwich FGM macro and nanoplates are a homogeneous core and P-FGM faces, homogeneous faces and an E-FGM core and finally P-FGM faces and an E-FGM core. The analytical solution is obtained by using Navier method. The model is verified with previous published works by other models and very close results are obtained within maximum 1% deviation. The numerical results are performed to present the influence of the various parameters such as, geometric ratios, material index as well as the scale parameters are investigated. The present model can be applicable for sandwich FG plates used in nuclear, aero-space, marine, civil and mechanical applications.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.1345-1362
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• 2015

The present paper deals with the free vibration analysis of the functionally graded solid and annular circular plates with two functionally graded piezoelectric layers at top and bottom subjected to an electric field. Classical plate theory (CPT) is used for description of the all deformation components based on a symmetric distribution. All the mechanical and electrical properties except Poisson's ratio can vary continuously along the thickness direction of the plate. The properties of plate core can vary from metal at bottom to ceramic at top. The effect of non homogeneous index of functionally graded and functionally graded piezoelectric sections can be considered on the results of the system. $1^{st}$ and $2^{nd}$ modes of natural frequencies of the system have been evaluated for both solid and annular circular plates, individually.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.259-274
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• 2003

In this paper, a novel numerical solution technique, the differential cubature method is employed to study the buckling problems of thick plates with arbitrary quadrilateral planforms and non-uniform boundary constraints based on the first order shear deformation theory. By using this method, the governing differential equations at each discrete point are transformed into sets of linear homogeneous algebraic equations. Boundary conditions are implemented through discrete grid points by constraining displacements, bending moments and rotations of the plate. Detailed formulation and implementation of this method are presented. The buckling parameters are calculated through solving a standard eigenvalue problem by subspace iterative method. Convergence and comparison studies are carried out to verify the reliability and accuracy of the numerical solutions. The applicability, efficiency, and simplicity of the present method are demonstrated through solving several sample plate buckling problems with various mixed boundary constraints. It is shown that the differential cubature method yields comparable numerical solutions with 2.77-times less degrees of freedom than the differential quadrature element method and 2-times less degrees of freedom than the energy method. Due to the lack of published solutions for buckling of thick rectangular plates with mixed edge conditions, the present solutions may serve as benchmark values for further studies in the future.

• 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.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.58 no.3
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• pp.397-422
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• 2016

In the present work, a simple first-order shear deformation theory is developed and validated for a variety of numerical examples of the thermal buckling response of functionally graded sandwich plates with various boundary conditions. Contrary to the conventional first-order shear deformation theory, the present first-order shear deformation theory involves only four unknowns and has strong similarities with the classical plate theory in many aspects such as governing equations of motion, and stress resultant expressions. 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 considered as uniform, linear and non-linear temperature rises within 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. Moreover, numerical results prove that the present simple first-order shear deformation theory can achieve the same accuracy of the existing conventional first-order shear deformation theory which has more number of unknowns.

• 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.