A n-order four variable refined theory for bending and free vibration of functionally graded plates

Abstract

This paper presents a simple n-order four variable refined theory for the bending and vibration analyses of functionally graded plates. By dividing the transverse displacement into bending and shear parts, the number of unknowns and governing equations of the present theory is reduced, and hence, makes it simple to use. The present theory is variationally consistent, uses the n-order polynomial term to represent the displacement field, does not require shear correction factor, and gives rise to transverse shear stress variation such that the transverse shear stresses vary parabolically across the thickness satisfying shear stress free surface conditions. The governing equations are derived by employing the Hamilton's principle and the physical neutral surface concept. The accuracy of the present solutions is verified by comparing the obtained results with available published ones.