Analysis of arbitrary thick graphene platelet reinforced composite plates subjected to moving load using a shear and normal deformable plate model

Abstract

In the present research, the dynamic response of a composite laminated plate under the action of a moving load is investigated. It is assumed that plate is reinforced with graphene platelets (GPLs) where the amount of GPLs in the layers may be different. The governing equations of motion of the plate are established by means of a quasi-3D plate model which captures the through-the-thickness shear strains and also takes into account for the thickness stretching effects. The elasticity modulus of the composite media is obtained by means of the Halpin-Tsai rule which takes into account the size of the reinforcements. The developed governing equations may be used for the case of an arbitrary thick plate subjected to a moving load with constant magnitude and velocity and arbitrary path. Suitable for plates which are simply supported all around, the Navier solution is adopted to discrete the governing equations and establish a set of ordinary time dependent equations. This set is traced in time by means of the Newmark time marching scheme. Results of this study are first compared with the available data in the open literature for the simple cases and after that novel results are provided to explore the effects of different parameters on the dynamic response of the plate. It is shown that the developed theory is accurate to analyse the dynamic response of arbitrary thick plates made of FG-GPLRCs.