ANALYSIS OF FGM SANDWICH PLATES USING HIGHER ORDER REFINED COMPUTATIONAL MODEL - IN-PLANE STRESSES

In this paper investigation analytical formulations and solutions for bending analysis Functionally Graded Material (FGM) sandwich plates using a higher-order refined computational models available in the literature is presented. The higherorder computational model is based on Taylor's series expansion of the displacements in the thickness coordinate and incorporates the realistic parabolic distribution of transverse strains through the plate thickness. The model consists of nine degrees-of freedoms includes the effect of transverse shear deformation. In a first-order model developed by other investigators and available in the literature is also considered for the evaluation purpose. For mathematical modeling purposes, the material properties are assumed to be isotropic along the plane of the plate and vary through the thickness according to the exponential law function. A simply supported plate subjected to sinusoidal and uniformly distributed transverse load is considered throughout as a test problem. The governing equations of equilibrium are obtained using the Principle of Minimum Potential Energy (PMPE) and the solutions using Navier's technique. Extensive numerical results are presented for the in-plane, transverse displacements and stresses. Numerical results computed using all the four models are presented for the FGM plates with varying side-to-thickness ratio and power law parameter which will serve as a bench mark for future investigations