Static and free vibration analysis of four-parameter continuous grading elliptical sandwich plates

In the present study, the static and dynamic analyses of elliptical functionally graded sandwich (FGS) plates are investigated. The constituent materials of the sandwich plates are ceramic and metal so that the core is made of pure metal, while the face sheets consist of a combination of metal and ceramic according to a four-parameter power-law distribution. Different material profiles such as classic, symmetric, and asymmetric can be obtained using the applied generalized power-law distribution relation. The analysis is performed based on the classical laminated plate theory (CLPT) and the Ritz method. The effects of four parameters in the material distribution relation as well as different geometric parameters on the deflection and natural frequencies of elliptical FGS plates are studied. The results of this study show that with a proper distribution of materials, the optimal static and dynamic behavior can be achieved. The results also indicate that the generalized power-law distribution has significant effects on the natural frequencies of elliptical FGS plates. For example, although the frequency parameter of a plate with ceramic face sheets is more than the one with metal face sheets, the use of larger amounts of ceramic does not necessarily increase the natural frequency of the structure.