Size dependent buckling analysis of functionally graded micro beams based on modified couple stress theory

Buckling analysis of functionally graded micro beams based on modified couple stress theory is presented. Three different beam theories, i.e. classical, first and third order shear deformation beam theories, are considered to study the effect of shear deformations. To present a profound insight on the effect of boundary conditions, beams with hinged-hinged, clamped–clamped and clamped–hinged ends are studied. Governing equations and boundary conditions are derived using principle of minimum potential energy. Afterwards, generalized differential quadrature (GDQ) method is applied to solve the obtained differential equations. Some numerical results are presented to study the effects of material length scale parameter, beam thickness, Poisson ratio and power index of material distribution on size dependent buckling load. It is observed that buckling loads predicted by modified couple stress theory deviates significantly from classical ones, especially for thin beams. It is shown that size dependency of FG micro beams differs from isotropic homogeneous micro beams as it is a function of power index of material distribution. In addition, the general trend of buckling load with respect to Poisson ratio predicted by the present model differs from classical one.     

Bending analysis of a functionally graded rotating disk based on the first order shear deformation theory

The theoretical formulation for bending analysis of functionally graded (FG) rotating disks based on first order shear deformation theory (FSDT) is presented. The material properties of the disk are assumed to be graded in the radial direction by a power law distribution of volume fractions of the constituents. New set of equilibrium equations with small deflections are developed. A semi-analytical solution for displacement field is given under three types of boundary conditions applied for solid and annular disks. Results are verified with known results reported in the literature. Also, mechanical responses are compared between homogeneous and FG disks. It is found that the stress couple resultants in a FG solid disk are less than the stress resultants in full-ceramic and full-metal disk. It is observed that the vertical displacements for FG mounted disk with free condition at the outer surface do not occur between the vertical displacements of the full-metal and full-ceramic disk. More specifically, the vertical displacement in a FG mounted disk with free condition at the outer surface can even be greater than vertical displacement in a full-metal disk. It can be concluded from this work that the gradation of the constitutive components is a significant parameter that can influence the mechanical responses of FG disks.     

Dynamic analysis of multi-directional functionally graded annular plates

Dynamic analysis of multi-directional functionally graded annular plates is achieved in this paper using a semi-analytical numerical method entitled the state space-based differential quadrature method. Based on the three-dimensional elastic theory and assuming the material properties having an exponent-law variation along the thickness, radial direction or both directions, the frequency equations of free vibration of multi-directional functionally graded annular plates are derived under various boundary conditions. Numerical examples are presented to validate the approach and the superiority of this method is also demonstrated. Then free vibration of functionally graded annular plates is studied for different variations of material properties along the thickness, radial direction and both directions, respectively. And the influences of the material property graded variations on the dynamic behavior are also investigated. The multi-directional graded material can likely be designed according to the actual requirement and it is a potential alternative to the unidirectional functionally graded material.     

Development of size-dependent consistent couple stress theory of Timoshenko beams

In this paper, a linear size-dependent Timoshenko beam model based on the consistent couple stress theory is developed to capture the size effects. The extended Hamilton's principle is utilized to obtain the governing differential equations and boundary conditions. The general form of boundary conditions and the concentrated loading are employed to determine the exact static/dynamic solution of the beam. Utilizing this solution for the beam's deformation and rotation, the exact shape functions of the consistent couple stress theory (C-CST) is extracted, which leads to the stiffness and mass matrices of a two-node C-CST finite element beam. Due to the complexity and high computational cost of using the exact solution's shape functions, in addition to the Ritz approximate solution, a two primary variable finite element model of C-CST is proposed, and the corresponding general deformation and rotation fields, shape functions, mass and stiffness matrices are calculated. The C-CST is validated by comparing the prediction of different beam models for a benchmark problem. For the fully and partially clamped cantilever, and free-free beams, the size dependency of the formulations is investigated. The static solutions of the classical and consistent couple stress Timoshenko beam models are compared, and a criterion for selecting the proper model is proposed. For a wide range of material properties, the relation between the beam length and length scale parameter is derived. It is shown that the validity domain of the consistent couple stress Timoshenko model barely depends on the beam's constituent material.     

Nonlinear modeling and analysis of electrically actuated viscoelastic microbeams based on the modified couple stress theory

A nonclassical nonlinear continuum model of electrically actuated viscoelastic microbeams is presented based on the modified couple stress theory to consider the microstructure effect in the framework of viscoelasticity. The nonlinear integral-differential governing equation and related boundary conditions of are derived based on the extended Hamilton's principle and Euler–Bernoulli hypothesis for viscoelastic microbeams with clamped-free, clamped-clamped, simply-supported boundary conditions. The proposed model accounts for system nonlinearities including the axial residual stress, geometric nonlinearity due to midplane stretching, electrical forcing with fringing effect. The behavior of the microbeam is simulated using generalized Maxwell viscoelastic model. A new generalized differential/integral quadrature method is developed to solve the resulting governing equation. The developed model is verified against elastic behavior and a favorable agreement is obtained. Efficiency of the developed model is demonstrated by analyzing the quasistatic pull-in phenomena of electrically actuated viscoelastic microbeams with different boundaries at various material length scale parameters and axial residual stresses in the framework of linear viscoelasticity.     

Free vibration of a functionally graded annular sector plate integrated with piezoelectric layers

Based on the first order shear deformation theory, free vibration behavior of functionally graded (FG) annular sector plates integrated with piezoelectric layers is investigated. The distribution of electric potential along the thickness direction of piezoelectric layers which is assumed to be a combination of linear and sinusoidal functions, satisfies both open and closed circuit electrical boundary conditions. Through a reformulation of governing equations and harmonic motion assumption, a novel decoupling method is suggested to transform the six second order coupled partial differential equations of motion into two eighth order and fourth order equations. A Fourier series method is then employed to present analytical solutions for free vibration of smart FG annular sector plates with simply supported radial edges and arbitrarily supported circular edges. The results, which can be used as a benchmark and suitable for design purposes, are verified with those reported in the literature. Finally, by presenting extensive ranges of frequencies, the effects of geometric parameters, power law index, FG and piezoelectric materials, electrical and mechanical boundary conditions as well as the piezoelectric layer thickness on vibration response of smart annular sector plates are discussed in detail.     

Size effect on pull-in behavior of electrostatically actuated microbeams based on a modified couple stress theory

A variety of micro-scale experiments have demonstrated that the mechanical property of some metals and polymers on the order of micron scale are size dependence. Taking into account the size effect on the mechanical property of materials and the inherent nonlinear property of electrostatic force, the static pull-in behavior of an electrostatically actuated Bernoulli–Euler microbeam is analyzed on the basis of a modified couple stress theory. The approximate analytical solutions to the pull-in voltage and pull-in displacement of the microbeam are derived by using the Rayleigh–Ritz method. The results show that the normalized pull-in voltage of the microbeam increases by a factor of 3.1 as the microbeam thickness equals to the material length scale parameter and exhibits size effect remarkably. However, the size effect on the pull-in voltage is almost diminishing as the microbeam thickness is far greater than the material length scale parameter. The normalized pull-in displacement of the microbeam exhibits size independence and equals to 0.448 and 0.398 for the cantilever beam and clamped–clamped beam, respectively.     

Modeling of AFM with a piezoelectric layer based on the modified couple stress theory with geometric discontinuities

AFM has been one of the most accurate instruments for measuring intermolecular forces and surface topography in the nano-scale. Micro-cantilever (MC) with piezoelectric layer has been used to improve the AFM performance. The Classic Continuum Mechanics (CCM) which currently used to develop the governing equation leads to noticeable errors. Hence, the accuracy of the governing equations for examining the MC vibrational behavior needs to be improved by using a modified model. In response to this need, the Modified Couple Stress theory (MCS) based on the Timoshenko beam model has been employed in this research. The governing equations have been derived using the Hamilton's principle and solved using the Differential Quadrature (DQ) method. In the modeling, the geometric discontinuities resulting from the presence of a piezoelectric layer enclosed between electrodes and MC surface area variations resulting from the connection of the probe to the MC have been considered. Moreover, the coupling effects of piezoelectric on MC stiffness have been taken into account. The results have revealed that the size parameter not only affects the frequency and amplitude but also improves the accuracy of the results when compared with the CCM theory. Moreover, the effects of geometric parameters on the piezoelectric MC frequency have been examined.     

Electro-mechanical shear buckling of piezoelectric nanoplate using modified couple stress theory based on simplified first order shear deformation theory

This paper studies the electro-mechanical shear buckling analysis of piezoelectric nanoplate using modified couple stress theory with various boundary conditions.In order to be taken electric effects into account, an external electric voltage is applied on the piezoelectric nanoplate. The simplified first order shear deformation theory (S-FSDT) has been employed and the governing differential equations have been obtained using Hamilton's principle and nonlinear strains of Von-Karman. The modified couple stress theory has been applied to considering small scale effects. An analytical approach was developing to obtain exact results with various boundary conditions. After all, results have been presented by change in some parameters, such as; aspect ratio, effect of various boundary conditions, electric voltage and length scale parameter influences. At the end, results showed that the effect of external electric voltage on the critical shear load occurring on the piezoelectric nanoplate is insignificant.     

One-dimensional analysis for magneto-thermo-mechanical response in a functionally graded annular variable-thickness rotating disk

In this paper, the magneto-thermo-mechanical response of a functionally graded magneto-elastic material (FGMM) annular variable-thickness rotating disk is investigated. The material properties namely material stiffness, heat conduction coefficient, thermal expansion coefficient, mass density and magnetic permeability are assumed to vary continuously along the radial direction according to a power law. The thickness profile of the disk placed in a uniform magnetic field and subjected to the thermal load is assumed to be hyperbolic in nature. The effects of the magnetic field, grading index and geometric nonlinearity on the mechanical and thermal stresses of the disk are investigated. For a specific value of the grading index the maximum radial stress due to magneto-mechanical load in a mounted FGMM disk with hyperbolic convergent profile is found away from the center. This result is different from other thickness profile disks where the radial stresses are always at the center. It is observed that unlike radial stress in a mounted FGM disk subjected to mechanical load only where it is always tensile, the radial stress due to magneto-thermal load in a mounted FGMM disk can be both tensile and compressive type. It is seen that a decrease in the value of grading index invokes shifting of the location of the maximum temperature in FGMM disk with hyperbolic convergent profile towards the outer surface of the disk.     

The dynamic analysis of the functionally graded piezoelectric (FGP) shell panel based on three-dimensional elasticity theory

In this paper, three-dimensional elasticity solution is extended to investigate a FGPM finite length, simply supported shell panel under dynamic pressure excitation. The host panel is assumed to be of some functionally graded piezoelectric material (FGPM). The ordinary differential equations (o.d.e.) are derived from the highly coupled partial differential equations (p.d.e.) using series expansions of mechanical and electrical displacements. The resulting system of ordinary differential equations is solved by means of Galerkin finite element method. At last, numerical examples are presented for a FGPM shell panel. To verify the validity of code and formulation, the results of a FGM panel and a FGM plate are compared with the published results.     

Generalized shear deformation theory for bending analysis of functionally graded plates

In this study, the static response is presented for a simply supported functionally graded rectangular plate subjected to a transverse uniform load. The generalized shear deformation theory obtained by the author in other recent papers is used. This theory is simplified by enforcing traction-free boundary conditions at the plate faces. No transversal shear correction factors are needed because a correct representation of the transversal shearing strain is given. Material properties of the plate 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 equilibrium equations of a functionally graded plate are given based on a generalized shear deformation plate theory. The numerical illustrations concern bending response of functionally graded rectangular plates with two constituent materials. The influences played by transversal shear deformation, plate aspect ratio, side-to-thickness ratio, and volume fraction distributions are studied. The results are verified with the known results in the literature.     

Thermal buckling and post-buckling analysis of functionally graded beams based on a general higher-order shear deformation theory

In the present work, attention is focused on the prediction of thermal buckling and post-buckling behaviors of functionally graded materials (FGM) beams based on Euler–Bernoulli, Timoshenko and various higher-order shear deformation beam theories. Two ends of the beam are assumed to be clamped and in-plane boundary conditions are immovable. The beam is subjected to uniform temperature rise and temperature dependency of the constituents is also taken into account. The governing equations are developed relative to neutral plane and mid-plane of the beam. A two-step perturbation method is employed to determine the critical buckling loads and post-buckling equilibrium paths. New results of thermal buckling and post-buckling analysis of the beams are presented and discussed in details, the numerical analysis shows that, for the case of uniform temperature rise loading, the post-buckling equilibrium path for FGM beam with two clamped ends is also of the bifurcation type for any arbitrary value of the power law index and any various displacement fields.     

Unified theory of 2n+1 order size-dependent beams: Mathematical difficulty for functionally graded size-effect parameters solved

New insights on theoretical modeling of size-dependent functionally graded (FG) nanobeams are provided by establishing a unified theory of 2n+1 order shear deformable model with the aids of nonlocal strain gradient elasticity. The unified model covers Euler-type (n = 0), Reddy-type (n = 1), 5th (n = 2), 7th (n = 3) order beam and etc., and the limiting situation n → ∞ predicts nonlocal strain gradient Timoshenko model. The mathematical difficulty for FG nonlocal parameter is particularly emphasized, and an attempt is made for the first time to overcome the difficulty. Theoretically, the governing equations and boundary conditions of 2n+1 order nonlocal strain gradient beams, especially with FG nonlocal parameter and FG strain gradient parameter, are systematically formulated. The difficulty for FG nonlocal parameter is satisfactorily solved with by adopting the present 2n+1 order beam theory. Analytically, solutions to bending and buckling analyses within the unified model are obtained, from which the analytical solutions for Euler- and Timoshenko-type beam can be recovered. Numerically, bending deflection and buckling critical load for Euler beam, Reddy beam, 5th-11th order beam and Timoshenko beam are depicted, of which the benchmark solutions for the 5th to 11th order beam are given for the first time. Meanwhile, potential extensions of the unified model into fractional order is discussed, where benchmark solutions for n = 1.1, 0.88, 0.77, 0.4and0.2 are listed. The influences of FG nonlocal parameter, dimensionless height and Poisson's ratio (or the ratio E/G) on the bending deflection and buckling critical load are systematically studied. The present work mainly contributes to theoretical developments and greatly facilitates the mechanical analysis of beam-type structures.     

Levy-type solution for buckling analysis of thick functionally graded rectangular plates based on the higher-order shear deformation plate theory

In this article, an analytical approach for buckling analysis of thick functionally graded rectangular plates is presented. The equilibrium and stability equations are derived according to the higher-order shear deformation plate theory. Introducing an analytical method, the coupled governing stability equations of functionally graded plate are converted into two uncoupled partial differential equations in terms of transverse displacement and a new function, called boundary layer function. Using Levy-type solution these equations are solved for the functionally graded rectangular plate with two opposite edges simply supported under different types of loading conditions. The excellent accuracy of the present analytical solution is confirmed by making some comparisons of the present results with those available in the literature. Furthermore, the effects of power of functionally graded material, plate thickness, aspect ratio, loading types and boundary conditions on the critical buckling load of the functionally graded rectangular plate are studied and discussed in details. The critical buckling loads of thick functionally graded rectangular plates with various boundary conditions are reported for the first time and can be used as benchmark.     

Free vibrations of thin annular plates made from functionally graded material

Subject of the consideration is thin annular plate made of a two-phase functionally graded composte. The plate has periodically inhomogeneous microstructure slowly varying in space: the λ-periodic structure along circular coordinate, but smoothly graded apparent (averaged) properties in the perpendicular, radial direction. The aim of the contribution is to derive and apply a deterministic macroscopic model describing the free vibrations of this plate. Modeling procedure is based on tolerance averaging technique. We received, equations system with smooth coefficients. We made numerical solution of this problem, using finite difference method, and analyze influence of material proportion and microstructure size on first frequency of free vibrations. (© 2009 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Bending,buckling and free vibration analysis of incompressible functionally graded plates using higher order shear and normal deformable plate theory

In the present study, higher order shear and normal deformable plate theory is developed for analysis of incompressible functionally graded rectangular thick plates. Also, The effect of incompressibility is studied on the static, dynamic and stability responses of thick plate. It is assumed that plate is incompressible and the incompressibility condition is considered in addition to the governing equations for determining the unknowns. Since the plate is thick, higher order shear and normal deformable theory is applied so that the Legendre polynomials are used for expansion of displacement field components in the thickness direction. Also, it is supposed that material properties vary through the thickness based on the power law function. Utilizing the variational approach, governing equations for static, stability and dynamic analysis of plate are derived. Resulted equations are solved analytically for simply supported plates. Finally, the effects of material properties and dimensions on the response of incompressible plates are investigated in details.     

Static analysis of functionally graded beams using higher order shear deformation theory

Displacement field based on higher order shear deformation theory is implemented to study the static behavior of functionally graded metal–ceramic (FGM) beams under ambient temperature. FGM beams with variation of volume fraction of metal or ceramic based on power law exponent are considered. Using the principle of stationary potential energy, the finite element form of static equilibrium equation for FGM beam is presented. Two stiffness matrices are thus derived so that one among them will reflect the influence of rotation of the normal and the other shear rotation. Numerical results on the transverse deflection, axial and shear stresses in a moderately thick FGM beam under uniform distributed load for clamped–clamped and simply supported boundary conditions are discussed in depth. The effect of power law exponent for various combination of metal–ceramic FGM beam on the deflection and stresses are also commented. The studies reveal that, depending on whether the loading is on the ceramic rich face or metal rich face of the beam, the static deflection and the static stresses in the beam do not remain the same.     

A simple four-unknown refined theory for bending analysis of functionally graded plates

In the present paper, a refined trigonometric higher-order plate theory is simply derived, which satisfies the free surface conditions. Moreover, the number of unknowns of this theory is the least one comparing with other shear theories. The effects of transverse shear strains as well as the transverse normal strain are taken into account. The number of unknown functions involved in the present theory is only four as against six or more in case of other shear and normal deformation theories. The bending response of FG rectangular plates is presented. A comparison with the corresponding results is made to check the accuracy and efficiency of the present theory. Additional results for all displacements and stresses are investigated through-the-thickness of the FG rectangular plate.     

Stochastic heat conduction analysis of a functionally graded annular disc with spatially random heat transfer coefficients

The mean and variance of the temperature are analytically obtained in a functionally graded annular disc with spatially random heat transfer coefficients (HTCs) on the upper and lower surfaces. This annular disc has arbitrary variations in the HTCs (i.e., arbitrary thermal interaction with the surroundings) and gradient material composition only along the radial direction and is subjected to deterministic axisymmetrical heating at the lateral surfaces. The stochastic temperature field is analysed by considering the annular disc to be multilayered with spatially constant material properties and spatially constant but random HTCs in each layer. A type of integral transform method and a perturbation method are employed in order to obtain the analytical solutions for the statistics. The correlation coefficients of the random HTCs are expressed in the form of a linear function with respect to the radial distance as a non-homogeneous random field of discrete space. Numerical calculations are performed for functionally graded annular discs composed of stainless steel and ceramic, which comprise two types of material composition distributions. The effects of the magnitude of the means of HTCs, volume fraction distributions of the constitutive materials and correlation strengths of the HTCs on the standard deviation of the temperature are discussed.