Exact solutions for free flexural vibration of Lévy-type rectangular thick plates via third-order shear deformation plate theory

In this paper, exact closed-form solutions in explicit forms are presented for transverse vibration analysis of rectangular thick plates having two opposite edges hard simply supported (i.e., Lévy-type rectangular plates) based on the Reddy’s third-order shear deformation plate theory. Two other edges may be restrained by different combinations of free, soft simply supported, hard simply supported or clamped boundary conditions. Hamilton’s principle is used to derive the equations of motion and natural boundary conditions of the plate. Several comparison studies with analytical and numerical techniques reported in literature are carried out to demonstrate accuracy of the present new formulation. Comprehensive benchmark results for natural frequencies of rectangular plates with different combinations of boundary conditions are tabulated in dimensionless form for various values of aspect ratios and thickness to length ratios. A set of three-dimensional (3-D) vibration mode shapes along with their corresponding contour plots are plotted by using exact transverse displacements of Lévy-type rectangular Reddy plates. Due to the inherent features of the present exact closed-form solution, the present findings will be a useful benchmark for evaluating the accuracy of other analytical and numerical methods, which will be developed by researchers in the future.     

On the effects of coupling between in-plane and out-of-plane vibrating modes of smart functionally graded circular/annular plates

In recent years many articles concerned with the mechanics of functionally graded plates have been published. The variation in material properties through the thickness of the plate introduces a coupling between in-plane and transverse displacements, the coupling is important in the vibration of functionally graded plates (FGPs), but none have produced an exact closed-form solution for the in-plane as well as transverse vibrations of smart circular/annular FGPs. Therefore, this paper develops an exact closed-form solution for the free vibration of piezoelectric coupled thick circular/annular FGPs subjected to different boundary conditions on the basis of the Mindlin’s first-order shear deformation theory. Through the comparison of present results with those available, the accuracy of the present method was verified. The effects of coupling between in-plane and transverse displacements on the frequency parameters are proved to be significant. It is concluded that the developed model can describe vibrational behavior of smart FGM plates more realistic. Due to the inherent features of the present solution, all findings will be a useful benchmark for evaluating other analytical and numerical methods developed by researchers in the future.     

hp-Finite element for free vibration analysis of the orthotropic triangular and rectangular plates

The hp-version of the finite element method based on a triangular p-element is applied to free vibration of the orthotropic triangular and rectangular plates. The element's hierarchical shape functions, expressed in terms of shifted Legendre orthogonal polynomials, is developed for orthotropic plate analysis by taking into account shear deformation, rotary inertia, and other kinematics effects. Numerical results of frequency calculations are found for the free vibration of the orthotropic triangular and rectangular plates with the effect of the fiber orientation and plate boundary conditions. The results are very well compared to those presented in the literature.     

An accurate mathematical study on the free vibration of stepped thickness circular/annular Mindlin functionally graded plates

An analytical solution based on a new exact closed form procedure is presented for free vibration analysis of stepped circular and annular FG plates via first order shear deformation plate theory of Mindlin. The material properties change continuously through the thickness of the plate, which can vary according to a power-law distribution of the volume fraction of the constituents, whereas Poisson’s ratio is set to be constant. Based on the domain decomposition technique, five highly coupled governing partial differential equations of motion for freely vibrating FG plates were exactly solved by introducing the new potential functions as well as using the method of separation of variables. Several comparison studies were presented by those reported in the literature and the FEM analysis, for various thickness values and combinations of stepped thickness variations of circular/annular FG plates to demonstrate highly stability and accuracy of present exact procedure. The effect of the geometrical and material plate parameters such as step thickness ratios, step locations and the power law index on the natural frequencies of FG plates is investigated.     

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.     

Analysis of functionally graded plates using higher order shear deformation theory

This work addresses a static analysis of functionally graded material (FGM) plates using higher order shear deformation theory. In the theory the transverse shear stresses are represented as quadratic through the thickness and hence it requires no shear correction factor. The material property gradient is assumed to vary in the thickness direction. Mori and Tanaka theory (1973) [1] is used to represent the material property of FGM plate at any point. The thermal gradient across the plate thickness is represented accurately by utilizing the thermal properties of the constituent materials. Results have been obtained by employing a C° continuous isoparametric Lagrangian finite element with seven degrees of freedom for each node. The convergence and comparison studies are presented and effects of the different material composition and the plate geometry (side-thickness, side–side) on deflection and temperature are investigated. Effect of skew angle on deflection and axial stress of the plate is also studied. Effects of material constant n on deflection and the temperature distribution are also discussed in detail.     

A new sinusoidal shear deformation theory for bending,buckling, and vibration of functionally graded plates

A new sinusoidal shear deformation theory is developed for bending, buckling, and vibration of functionally graded plates. 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 sinusoidal shear deformation theory, the proposed sinusoidal shear deformation theory contains only four unknowns and has strong similarities with classical plate theory in many aspects such as equations of motion, boundary conditions, and stress resultant expressions. The material properties of plate are assumed to vary according to power law distribution of the volume fraction of the constituents. Equations of motion are derived from the Hamilton’s principle. The closed-form solutions of simply supported plates are obtained and the results are compared with those of first-order shear deformation theory and higher-order shear deformation theory. It can be concluded that the proposed theory is accurate and efficient in predicting the bending, buckling, and vibration responses of functionally graded plates.     

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 vibration analysis of piezoelectric coupled annular plates with variable thickness

This paper presents the free vibration analysis of piezoelectric coupled annular plates with variable thickness on the basis of the Mindlin plate theory. No work has yet been done on piezoelectric laminated plates while the thickness is variable. Two piezoelectric layers are embedded on the upper and lower surfaces of the host plate. The host plate thickness is linearly increased in the radial direction while the piezoelectric layers thicknesses remain constant along the radial direction. Different combinations of three types of boundary conditions i.e. clamped, simply supported, and free end conditions are considered at the inner and outer edges of plate. The Maxwell static electricity equation in piezoelectric layers is satisfied using a quadratic distribution of electric potential along the thickness. The natural frequencies are obtained utilizing a Rayleigh–Ritz energy approach and are validated by comparing with those obtained by finite element analysis. A good compliance is observed between numerical solution and finite element analysis. Convergence study is performed in order to verify the numerical stability of the present method. The effects of different geometrical parameters such as the thickness of piezoelectric layers and the angle of host plate on the natural frequencies of the assembly are investigated.     

Free vibration analysis of two-dimensional functionally graded cylindrical shells

In this paper, the free vibration of a two-dimensional functionally graded circular cylindrical shell is analyzed. The equations of motion are based on the Love’s first approximation classical shell theory. The spatial derivatives of the equations of motion and boundary conditions are discretized by the methods of generalized differential quadrature (GDQ) and generalized integral quadrature (GIQ). Two kinds of micromechanics models, viz. Voigt and Mori–Tanaka models are used to describe the material properties. To validate the results, comparisons are made with the solutions for FG cylindrical shells available in the literature. The results of this study show that the natural frequency of the material can be modified in order to meet the expected results through manipulation of the constituent volume fractions. A comprehensive comparison is then drawn between ordinary and 2-D FG cylindrical shells.     

Natural frequencies of rectangular Mindlin plates coupled with stationary fluid

The present study is concerned with the free vibration analysis of a horizontal rectangular plate, either immersed in fluid or floating on its free surface. The governing equations for a moderately thick rectangular plate are analytically derived based on the Mindlin plate theory (MPT), whereas the velocity potential function and Bernoulli’s equation are employed to obtain the fluid pressure applied on the free surface of the plate. The simplifying hypothesis that the wet and dry mode shapes are the same, is not assumed in this paper. In this work, an exact-closed form characteristics equation is used for the plate subjected to a combination of six different boundary conditions. Two opposite sides are simply supported and any of the other two edges can be free, simply supported or clamped. To demonstrate the accuracy of the present analytical solution, a comparison is made with the published experimental and numerical results in the literature, showing an excellent agreement. Then, natural frequencies of the plate are presented in tabular and graphical forms for different fluid levels, fluid densities, aspect ratios, thickness to length ratios and boundary conditions. Finally, some 3-D mode shapes of the rectangular Mindlin plates in contact with fluid are illustrated.     

Three-dimensional layerwise-finite element free vibration analysis of thick laminated annular plates on elastic foundation

Using a three-dimensional layerwise-finite element method, the free vibration of thick laminated circular and annular plates supported on the elastic foundation is studied. The Pasternak-type formulation is employed to model the interaction between the plate and the elastic foundation. The discretized governing equations are derived using the Hamilton’s principle in conjunction with the layerwise theory in the thickness direction, the finite element (FE) in the radial direction and trigonometric function in the circumferential direction, respectively. The fast rate of convergence of the method is demonstrated and to verify its accuracy, comparison studies with the available solutions in the literature are performed. The effects of the geometrical parameters, the material properties and the elastic foundation parameters on the natural frequency parameters of the laminated thick circular and annular plates subjected to various boundary conditions are presented.     

Free vibration characteristics of a functionally graded beam by finite element method

This paper presents the dynamic characteristics of functionally graded beam with material graduation in axially or transversally through the thickness based on the power law. The present model is more effective for replacing the non-uniform geometrical beam with axially or transversally uniform geometrical graded beam. The system of equations of motion is derived by using the principle of virtual work under the assumptions of the Euler–Bernoulli beam theory. The finite element method is employed to discretize the model and obtain a numerical approximation of the motion equation. The model has been verified with the previously published works and found a good agreement with them. Numerical results are presented in both tabular and graphical forms to figure out the effects of different material distribution, slenderness ratios, and boundary conditions on the dynamic characteristics of the beam. The above mention effects play very important role on the dynamic behavior of the beam.     

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.     

Levy-type solution for free vibration analysis of orthotropic plates based on two variable refined plate theory

Closed-form solutions for free vibration analysis of orthotropic plates are obtained in this paper based on two variable refined plate theory. The theory, which has strong similarity with classical plate theory in many aspects, accounts for a quadratic variation of the transverse shear strains across the thickness, and satisfies the zero traction boundary conditions on the top and bottom surfaces of the plate without using shear correction factors. Equations of motion are derived from the Hamilton’s principle. The closed-form solutions of rectangular plates with two opposite edges simply supported and the other two edges having arbitrary boundary conditions are obtained by applying the state space approach to the Levy-type solution. Comparison studies are performed to verify the validity of the present results. The effects of boundary condition, and variations of modulus ratio, aspect ratio, and thickness ratio on the natural frequency of orthotropic plates are investigated and discussed in detail.     

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.     

Nonlinear free vibration analysis of functionally graded beams by using different shear deformation theories

This study investigates the nonlinear free vibration of functionally graded material (FGM) beams by different shear deformation theories. The volume fractions of the material constituents and effective material properties are assumed to be changing in the thickness direction according to the power-law form. The von Kármán geometric nonlinearity has been considered in the formulation. The Ritz method and Lagrange equation are adopted to yield the discrete formulations. A direct numerical integration method for the motion equation in matrix form is developed to solve the nonlinear frequencies of FGM beams. Comparing with the global concordant deformation assumption (GCDA), a new deformation assumption named as local concordant deformation assumption (LCDA) is proposed in this study. The LCDA fits with the real deformation of the vibrating beam better, thus more accurate results of the nonlinear frequency can be expected. In numerical results, the comparison study of the GCDA and LCDA is carried out. In addition, the effects of power-law index, slenderness ratio and maximum deflection for different shear deformation theories and boundary conditions on the nonlinear frequency of the beam are discussed.     

Static response and free vibration analysis of FGM plates using higher order shear deformation theory

Free vibration and static analysis of functionally graded material (FGM) plates are studied using higher order shear deformation theory with a special modification in the transverse displacement in conjunction with finite element models. The mechanical properties of the plate are assumed to vary continuously in the thickness direction by a simple power-law distribution in terms of the volume fractions of the constituents. The fundamental equations for FGM plates are derived using variational approach by considering traction free boundary conditions on the top and bottom faces of the plate. Results have been obtained by employing a continuous isoparametric Lagrangian finite element with 13 degrees of freedom per node. Convergence tests and comparison studies have been carried out to demonstrate the efficiency of the present model. Numerical results for different thickness ratios, aspect ratios and volume fraction index with different boundary conditions have been presented. It is observed that the natural frequency parameter increases for plate aspect ratio, lower volume fraction index n and smaller thickness ratios. It is also observed that the effect of thickness ratio on the frequency of a plate is independent of the volume fraction index. For a given thickness ratio non-dimensional deflection increases as the volume fraction index increases. It is concluded that the gradient in the material properties plays a vital role in determining the response of the FGM plates.     

Analysis of laminated composite plates using higher-order shear deformation plate theory and node-based smoothed discrete shear gap method

This paper presents a novel finite element formulation for static, free vibration and buckling analyses of laminated composite plates. The idea relies on a combination of node-based smoothing discrete shear gap method with the higher-order shear deformation plate theory (HSDT) to give a so-called NS-DSG3 element. The higher-order shear deformation plate theory (HSDT) is introduced in the present method to remove the shear correction factors and improve the accuracy of transverse shear stresses. The formulation uses only linear approximations and its implementation into finite element programs is quite simple and efficient. The numerical examples demonstrated that the present element is free of shear locking and shows high reliability and accuracy compared to other published solutions in the literature.     

Approximation of functionally graded plates with non-conforming finite elements

In this paper rectangular plates made of functionally graded materials (FGMs) are studied. A two-constituent material distribution through the thickness is considered, varying with a simple power rule of mixture. The equations governing the FGM plates are determined using a variational formulation arising from the Reissner–Mindlin theory. To approximate the problem a simple locking-free Discontinuous Galerkin finite element of non-conforming type is used, choosing a piecewise linear non-conforming approximation for both rotations and transversal displacement. Several numerical simulations are carried out in order to show the capability of the proposed element to capture the properties of plates of various gradings, subjected to thermo-mechanical loads.