Buckling of piezoelectric sandwich microplates with arbitrary in-plane BCs rested on foundation: effect of hygro-thermo-electro-elastic field

Abstract

Buckling and post-buckling behaviors of simply supported microplates in complex environment are studied, where elastic foundation and hygro-thermal-electro-mechanical loads are considered. The first-order shear deformation theory is used to establish basic equations of the microplate considering the von Karman’s nonlinearity. The size-dependent effect is characterized by the modified couple stress theory. A unified boundary condition model is introduced to discuss various in-plane boundary conditions (BCs). Analytical solutions for critical mechanical/hygrothermal buckling loads and post-buckling paths of the microplate under different in-plane BCs are obtained by using the perturbation method and the Galerkin method, respectively. Results reveal that size-dependent effect and elastic foundation enhance the stiffness of the microplate. Transverse displacement of the microplate in the post-buckling stage increases with the external compressive load, temperature and moisture concentration, expressing a nonlinear curve. When the displacement constraint in the normal direction is applied on the microplate edge, the critical mechanical/hygrothermal buckling load decreases. These results can be utilized in the optimization design of the micro-electro-mechanical systems.