Free vibration analysis of third-order shear deformable composite beams using dynamic stiffness method

The dynamic stiffness method is introduced to investigate the free vibration of laminated composite beams based on a third-order shear deformation theory which accounts for parabolic distribution of the transverse shear strain through the thickness of the beam. The exact dynamic stiffness matrix is found directly from the analytical solutions of the basic governing differential equations of motion. The Poisson effect, shear deformation, rotary inertia, in-plane deformation are considered in the analysis. Application of the derived dynamic stiffness matrix to several particular laminated beams is discussed. The influences of Poisson effect, material anisotropy, slenderness and end condition on the natural frequencies of the beams are investigated. The numerical results are compared with the existing solutions in literature whenever possible to demonstrate and validate the present method.     

An exact symplectic solution for the dynamic analysis of shear deformable antisymmetric angle-ply laminated plates

From the mixed variational principle, by the selection of the state variables and its dual variables, the Hamiltonian canonical equation for the dynamic analysis of shear deformable antisymmetric angle-ply laminated plates is derived, leading to the mathematical frame of symplectic geometry and algorithms, and the exact solution for the arbitrary boundary conditions is also derived by the adjoint orthonormalized symplectic expansion method. Numerical results are presented with the emphasis on the effects of length/thickness ratio, arbitrary boundary conditions, degrees of anisotropy, number of layers, ply-angles and the corrected coefficients of transverse shear.     

Variational analysis of gradient elastic flexural plates under static loading

Gradient elastic flexural Kirchhoff plates under static loading are considered. Their governing equation of equilibrium in terms of their lateral deflection is a sixth order partial differential equation instead of the fourth order one for the classical case. A variational formulation of the problem is established with the aid of the principle of virtual work and used to determine all possible boundary conditions, classical and non-classical ones. Two circular gradient elastic plates, clamped or simply supported at their boundaries, are analyzed analytically and the gradient effect on their static response is assessed in detail. A rectangular gradient elastic plate, simply supported at its boundaries, is also analyzed analytically and its rationally obtained boundary conditions are compared with the heuristically obtained ones in a previous publication of the authors. Finally, a plate with two opposite sides clamped experiencing cylindrical bending is also analyzed and its response compared against that for the cases of micropolar and couple-stress elasticity theories.     

Mechanically-based approach to non-local elasticity: Variational principles

The mechanically-based approach to non-local elastic continuum, will be captured through variational calculus, based on the assumptions that non-adjacent elements of the solid may exchange central body forces, monotonically decreasing with their interdistance, depending on the relative displacement, and on the volume products. Such a mechanical model is investigated introducing primarily the dual state variables by means of the virtual work principle. The constitutive relations between dual variables are introduced defining a proper, convex, potential energy. It is proved that the solution of the elastic problem corresponds to a global minimum of the potential energy functional. Moreover, the Euler–Lagrange equations together with the natural boundary conditions associated to the total potential energy functional are established with variational calculus and they coincide with analogous relations already obtained by means of mechanical considerations. Numerical analysis of a tensile specimen has been introduced to show the capabilities of the proposed approach.     

A new simple third-order shear deformation theory of plates

An improved simple third-order shear deformation theory for the analysis of shear flexible plates is presented in this paper. This new plate theory is composed of three parts: the simple third-order kinematics of displacements reduced from the higher-order displacement field derived previously by the author; a system of 10th-order differential equilibrium equations in terms of the three generalized displacements of bending plates; five boundary conditions at each edge of plate boundaries. Although the resulting displacement field is the same as that proposed by Murthy, the variational consistent governing equations and the associated proper boundary conditions are derived and identified in this work for the first time in the literature. The applications and accuracy of the present shear deformation theory of plates are demonstrated by analytically solving the differential governing equations of a twisting plate, a bending beam and two bending plates to which the 3-D elasticity solutions are available, and excellent agreements are achieved even for the torsion of a plate with square cross-section as well the local effects of stresses at plate boundaries can be characterized accurately. These analytical solutions clearly show that the simple third-order shear deformation theory developed in this work indeed gives better results than the first-order shear deformation theories and other simple higher-order shear deformation theories, since the present third-order shear flexible theory is based on a more rigorous kinematics of displacements and consists of not only a system of variational consistent differential equations, but also a group of consistent boundary conditions associated with the differential equations. The present simple third-order shear deformation theory can easily be applied to the static and dynamic finite element analysis of laminated plates just like the applications of other popular shear flexible plate theories, and improved results could be obtained from the present simple third-order shear deformable theories of plates.     

Stress gradient versus strain gradient constitutive models within elasticity

A stress gradient elasticity theory is developed which is based on the Eringen method to address nonlocal elasticity by means of differential equations. By suitable thermodynamics arguments (involving the free enthalpy instead of the free internal energy), the restrictions on the related constitutive equations are determined, which include the well-known Eringen stress gradient constitutive equations, as well as the associated (so far uncertain) boundary conditions. The proposed theory exhibits complementary characters with respect to the analogous strain gradient elasticity theory. The associated boundary-value problem is shown to admit a unique solution characterized by a Hellinger–Reissner type variational principle. The main differences between the Eringen stress gradient model and the concomitant Aifantis strain gradient model are pointed out. A rigorous formulation of the stress gradient Euler–Bernoulli beam is provided; the response of this beam model is discussed as for its sensitivity to the stress gradient effects and compared with the analogous strain gradient beam model.     

Static, stability and dynamic analysis of gradient elastic flexural Kirchhoff plates

The governing equation of motion of gradient elastic flexural Kirchhoff plates, including the effect of in-plane constant forces on bending, is explicitly derived. This is accomplished by appropriately combining the equations of flexural motion in terms of moments, shear and in-plane forces, the moment–stress relations and the stress–strain equations of a simple strain gradient elastic theory with just one constant (the internal length squared), in addition to the two classical elastic moduli. The resulting partial differential equation in terms of the lateral deflection of the plate is of the sixth order instead of the fourth, which is the case for the classical elastic case. Three boundary value problems dealing with static, stability and dynamic analysis of a rectangular simply supported all-around gradient elastic flexural plate are solved analytically. Non-classical boundary conditions, in additional to the classical ones, have to be utilized. An assessment of the effect of the gradient coefficient on the static or dynamic response of the plate, its buckling load and natural frequencies is also made by comparing the gradient type of solutions against the classical ones.     

Thermomechanical postbuckling of unilaterally constrained shear deformable laminated plates with temperature-dependent properties

This paper presents a study on the postbuckling responses of shear deformable laminated plates resting on a tensionless foundation of the Pasternak-type and subjected to combined axial and thermal loads. Two different postbuckling cases are considered, namely (1) the compressive postbuckling of initially heated plates and (2) the thermal postbuckling of initially compressed plates. The postbuckling analysis of laminated plates is based on the higher order shear deformation plate theory with a von Kármán-type of kinematic non-linearity. It is assumed that the foundation reacts in compression only. The thermal effects are also included and the material properties are assumed to be temperature dependent. The initial geometric imperfection of the plates is taken into account. The analysis uses a two-step perturbation technique to determine the postbuckling response of the plates. An iterative scheme is developed to obtain numerical results without using any assumption on the shape of the contact region. Numerical solutions are presented in tabular and graphical forms to study the postbuckling behavior of antisymmetric angle-ply and symmetric cross-ply laminated plates resting on tensionless elastic foundations of the Pasternak-type, from which results for conventional elastic foundations are obtained as comparators. The results reveal that the unilateral constraint has a significant effect on the postbuckling response of the plates subjected to combined axial and thermal loads when the foundation stiffness is sufficiently large. The results also confirm that the postbuckling responses are significantly influenced by temperature dependency and initial membrane stress as well as initial thermal stress.     

Two-mode Galerkin approach in dynamic stability analysis of viscoelastic plates

ＩｎｔｒｏｄｕｃｔｉｏｎＤｙｎａｍｉｃｓｔａｂｉｌｉｔｙａｎａｌｙｓｉｓｏｆｖｉｓｃｏｅｌａｓｔｉｃｓｔｒｕｃｔｕｒｅｓｉｓｍｕｃｈｍｏｒｅｃｏｍｐｌｉｃａｔｅｄｓｉｎｃｅｔｈｅｍａｔｈｅｍａｔｉｃａｌｍｏｄｅｌｔｕｒｎｓｏｕｔｔｏｂｅａｓｙｓｔｅｍｏｆｉｎｔｅｇｒｏ＿ｐａｒｔｉａｌ＿ｄｉｆｆｅｒｅｎｔｉａｌｅｑｕａｔｉｏｎｓ,ｒａｔｈｅｒｔｈａｎａｓｙｓｔｅｍｏｆｐａｒｔｉａｌｄｉｆｆｅｒｅｎｔｉａｌｏｎｅｓａｓｉｎｔｈｅｅｌａｓｔｉｃｓｔｒｕｃｔｕｒｅ[1].Ｍａｎｙｗｏｒｋｓｈａｖｅｂｅｅｎｐ…     

Imperfection sensitivity of the post-buckling behavior of higher-order shear deformable functionally graded plates

This paper investigates the sensitivity of the post-buckling behavior of shear deformable functionally graded plates to initial geometrical imperfections in general modes. A generic imperfection function that takes the form of the product of trigonometric and hyperbolic functions is used to model various possible initial geometrical imperfections such as sine type, local type, and global type imperfections. The formulations are based on Reddy’s higher-order shear deformation plate theory and von Karman-type geometric nonlinearity. A semi-analytical method that makes use of the one-dimensional differential quadrature method, the Galerkin technique, and an iteration process is used to obtain the post-buckling equilibrium paths of plates with various boundary conditions that are subjected to edge compressive loading together with a uniform temperature change. Special attention is given to the effects of imperfection parameters, which include half-wave number, amplitude, and location, on the post-buckling response of plates. Numerical results presented in graphical form for zirconia/aluminum (ZrO₂/Al) graded plates reveal that the post-buckling behavior is very sensitive to the L2-mode local type imperfection. The influences of the volume fraction index, edge compression, temperature change, boundary condition, side-to-thickness ratio and plate aspect ratio are also discussed.     

Anti-plane shear Lamb''s problem treated by gradient elasticity with surface energy

The consideration of higher-order gradient effects in a classical elastodynamic problem is explored in this paper. The problem is the anti-plane shear analogue of the well-known Lamb's problem. It involves the time-harmonic loading of a half-space by a single concentrated anti-plane shear line force applied on the half-space surface. The classical solution of this problem based on standard linear elasticity was first given by J.D. Achenbach and predicts a logarithmically unbounded displacement at the point of application of the load. The latter formulation involves a Helmholtz equation for the out-of-plane displacement subjected to a traction boundary condition. Here, the generalized continuum theory of gradient elasticity with surface energy leads to a fourth-order PDE under traction and double-traction boundary conditions. This theory assumes a form of the strain-energy density containing, in addition to the standard linear-elasticity terms, strain-gradient and surface-energy terms. The present solution, in some contrast with the classical one, predicts bounded displacements everywhere. This may have important implications for more general contact problems and the Boundary-Integral-Equation Method.     

Stability and vibration of shear deformable plates––first order and higher order analyses

This work presents the highly accurate numerical calculation of the natural frequencies and buckling loads for thick elastic rectangular plates with various combinations of boundary conditions. The Reissener–Mindlin first order shear deformation plate theory and the higher order shear deformation plate theory of Reddy have been applied to the plate’s analysis. The governing equations and the boundary conditions are derived using the dynamic version of the principle of minimum of the total energy. The solution is obtained by the extended Kantorovich method. This approach is combined with the exact element method for the vibration and stability analysis of compressed members, which provides for the derivation of the exact dynamic stiffness matrix including the effect of in-plane and inertia forces. The large number of numerical examples demonstrates the applicability and versatility of the present method. The results obtained by both shear deformation theories are compared with those obtained by the classical thin plate’s theory and with published results. Many new results are given too.     

Chebyshev collocation approach for vibration analysis of functionally graded porous beams based on third-order shear deformation theory

In this paper, vibration analysis of functionally graded porous beams is carried out using the third-order shear deformation theory. The beams have uniform and non-uniform porosity distributions across their thickness and both ends are supported by rotational and translational springs. The material properties of the beams such as elastic moduli and mass density can be related to the porosity and mass coefficient utilizing the typical mechanical features of open-cell metal foams. The Chebyshev collocation method is applied to solve the governing equations derived from Hamilton’s principle, which is used in order to obtain the accurate natural frequencies for the vibration problem of beams with various general and elastic boundary conditions. Based on the numerical experiments, it is revealed that the natural frequencies of the beams with asymmetric and non-uniform porosity distributions are higher than those of other beams with uniform and symmetric porosity distributions.     

Variational formulation of a simplified strain gradient elasticity theory and its application to a pressurized thick-walled cylinder problem

A detailed variational formulation is provided for a simplified strain gradient elasticity theory by using the principle of minimum total potential energy. This leads to the simultaneous determination of the equilibrium equations and the complete boundary conditions of the theory for the first time. To supplement the stress-based formulation, the coordinate-invariant displacement form of the simplified strain gradient elasticity theory is also derived anew. In view of the lack of a consistent and complete formulation, derivation details are included for the tutorial purpose. It is shown that both the stress and displacement forms of the simplified strain gradient elasticity theory obtained reduce to their counterparts in classical elasticity when the strain gradient effect (a measure of the underlying material microstructure) is not considered. As a direct application of the newly obtained displacement form of the theory, the problem of a pressurized thick-walled cylinder is analytically solved. The solution contains a material length scale parameter and can account for microstructural effects, which is qualitatively different from Lamé’s solution in classical elasticity. In the absence of the strain gradient effect, this strain gradient elasticity solution reduces to Lamé’s solution. The numerical results reveal that microstructural effects can be large and Lamé’s solution may not be accurate for materials exhibiting significant microstructure dependence.     

Parametric study on supersonic flutter of angle-ply laminated plates using shear deformable finite element method

The influence of fiber orientation,flow yaw angle and length-to-thickness ratio on flutter characteristics of angle-ply laminated plates in supersonic flow is studied by finite element approach.The structural model is established using the Reissner-Mindlin theory in which the transverse shear deformation is considered.The aerodynamic pressure is evaluated by the quasi-steady first-order piston theory.The equations of motion are formulated based on the principle of virtual work.With the harmonic motion assumption,the flutter boundary is determined by solving a series of complex eigenvalue problems.Numerical study shows that (1) The flutter dynamic pressure and the coalescence of flutter modes depend on fiber orientation,flow yaw angle and length-to-thickness ratio;(2) The laminated plate with all fibers aligned with the flow direction gives the highest flutter dynamic pressure,but a slight yawing of the flow from the fiber orientation results in a sharp decrease of the flutter dynamic pressure;(3) The angle-ply laminated plate with fiber orientation angle equal to flow yaw angle gives high flutter dynamic pressure,but not the maximum flutter dynamic pressure;(4) With the decrease of length-to-thickness ratio,an adverse effect due to mode transition on the flutter dynamic pressure is found.     

Analysis of shear deformable plates with combined geometric and material nonlinearities by boundary element method

In this paper a boundary element formulation for analysis of shear deformable plates with combined geometric and material nonlinearities by boundary element method is presented. The dual reciprocity method is used in dealing with the geometric nonlinearity and domain discretization is implemented in dealing with material nonlinearity. The material is assumed to undergo large deflection with small strains. The von Mises criteria is used to evaluate the plastic zone and an elastic perfectly plastic material behaviour is assumed. An initial stress formulation is used to formulate the boundary integral equations. A total incremental method is applied to solve the nonlinear boundary integral equations. Numerical examples are presented to demonstrate the validity and the accuracy of the proposed method.