On the nonlinear axisymmetric dynamic buckling behavior of clamped functionally graded spherical caps

Here, the dynamic thermal buckling behavior of functionally graded spherical caps is studied considering geometric nonlinearity based on von Karman's assumptions. The formulation is based on first-order shear deformation theory and it includes the in-plane and rotary inertia effects. The material properties are graded in the thickness direction according to the power-law distribution in terms of volume fractions of the material constituents. The effective material properties are evaluated using homogenization method. The governing equations obtained using finite element approach are solved employing the Newmark's integration technique coupled with a modified Newton–Raphson iteration scheme. The pressure load corresponding to a sudden jump in the maximum average displacement in the time history of the shell structure is taken as the dynamic buckling load. The present model is validated against the available isotropic case. A detailed numerical study is carried out to highlight the influences of shell geometries, power law index of functional graded material and boundary conditions on the dynamic buckling load of shallow spherical shells.