Free vibration of functionally graded beams based on both classical and first-order shear deformation beam theories

The free vibration of functionally graded material （FGM） beams is studied based on both the classical and the first-order shear deformation beam theories. The equations of motion for the FGM beams are derived by considering the shear deforma- tion and the axial, transversal, rotational, and axial-rotational coupling inertia forces on the assumption that the material properties vary arbitrarily in the thickness direction. By using the numerical shooting method to solve the eigenvalue problem of the coupled ordinary differential equations with different boundary conditions, the natural frequen- cies of the FGM Timoshenko beams are obtained numerically. In a special case of the classical beam theory, a proportional transformation between the natural frequencies of the FGM and the reference homogenous beams is obtained by using the mathematical similarity between the mathematical formulations. This formula provides a simple and useful approach to evaluate the natural frequencies of the FGM beams without dealing with the tension-bending coupling problem. Approximately, this analogous transition can also be extended to predict the frequencies of the FGM Timoshenko beams. The numerical results obtained by the shooting method and those obtained by the analogous transformation are presented to show the effects of the material gradient, the slenderness ratio, and the boundary conditions on the natural frequencies in detail.

Thermal buckling and postbuckling of FGM circular plates with in-plane elastic restraints

Based on von Karman＇s plate theory, the axisymmetric thermal buckling and post-buckling of the functionally graded material （FGM） circular plates with in- plane elastic restraints under transversely non-uniform temperature rise are studied. The properties of the FGM media are varied through the thickness based on a simple power law. The governing equations are numerically solved by a shooting method. The results of the critical buckling temperature, post-buckling equilibrium paths, and configurations for the in-plane elastically restrained plates are presented. The effects of the in-plane elastic restraints, material property gradient, and temperature variation on the responses of thermal buckling and post-buckling are examined in detail.

Free vibration analysis of functionally graded material beams based on Levinson beam theory

Free vibration response of functionally graded material （FGM） beams is studied based on the Levinson beam theory （LBT）. Equations of motion of an FGM beam are derived by directly integrating the stress-form equations of elasticity along the beam depth with the inertial resultant forces related to the included coupling and higherorder shear strain. Assuming harmonic response, governing equations of the free vibration of the FGM beam are reduced to a standard system of second-order ordinary differential equations associated with boundary conditions in terms of shape functions related to axial and transverse displacements and the rotational angle. By a shooting method to solve the two-point boundary value problem of the three coupled ordinary differential equations, free vibration response of thick FGM beams is obtained numerically. Particularly, for a beam with simply supported edges, the natural frequency of an FGM Levinson beam is analytically derived in terms of the natural frequency of a corresponding homogenous Euler-Bernoulli beam. As the material properties are assumed to vary through the depth according to the power-law functions, the numerical results of frequencies are presented to examine the effects of the material gradient parameter, the length-to-depth ratio, and the boundary conditions on the vibration response.

Homogenized and classical expressions for static bending solutions for functionally graded material Levinson beams

The exact relationship between the bending solutions of functionally graded material （FGM） beams based on the Levinson beam theory and those of the correspond- ing homogenous beams based on the classical beam theory is presented for the material properties of the FGM beams changing continuously in the thickness direction. The de- flection, the rotational angle, the bending moment, and the shear force of FGM Levinson beams （FGMLBs） are given analytically in terms of the deflection of the reference ho- mogenous Euler-Bernoulli beams （HEBBs） with the same loading, geometry, and end supports. Consequently, the solution of the bending of non-homogenous Levinson beams can be simplified to the calculation of transition coefficients, which can be easily deter- mined by variation of the gradient of material properties and the geometry of beams. This is because the classical beam theory solutions of homogenous beams can be eas- ily determined or are available in the textbook of material strength under a variety of boundary conditions. As examples, for different end constraints, particular solutions are given for the FGMLBs under specified loadings to illustrate validity of this approach. These analytical solutions can be used as benchmarks to check numerical results in the investigation of static bending of FGM beams based on higher-order shear deformation theories.

Bending Solutions of FGM Reddy-Bickford Beams in Terms of Those of the Homogenous Euler-Bernoulli Beams

In this paper, correspondence relations between the solutions of the static bending of functionally graded material (FGM) Reddy-Bickford beams (RBBs) and those of the corresponding homogenous Euler-Bernoulli beams are presented. The effective material properties of the FGM beams are assumed to vary continuously in the thickness direction. Governing equations for the titled problem are formulated via the principle of virtual displacements based on the third-order shear deformation beam theory, in which the higher-order shear force and bending moment are included. General solutions of the displacements and the stress resultants of the FGM RBBs are derived analytically in terms of the deflection of the reference homogenous Euler- Bernoulli beam with the same geometry, loadings and end conditions, which realize a classical and homogenized expression of the bending response of the shear deformable non-homogeneous FGM beams. Particular solutions for the FGM RBBs under specified end constraints and load conditions are given to validate the theory and methodology. The key merit of this work is to be capable of obtaining the high-accuracy solutions of thick FGM beams in terms of the classical beam theory solutions without dealing with the solution of the complicated coupling differential equations with boundary conditions of the problem.