Buckling of Simply Supported Piezoelectric FGM Plates Subjected to Electro-Mechanical Loading Using Higher-Order Shear Deformation Theory

Abstract

This paper investigates the stability analysis of plates made of functionally graded material (FGM) and integrated with piezoelectric actuator and sensor at top and bottom face subjected to electrical and mechanical loading. The finite element formulation is presented using degenerated shell element, von-Karman hypothesis, higher-order shear deformation theory and considering the piezoelectric effect. The governing equilibrium equation is derived using the principle of minimum energy and solution for critical buckling load is obtained by solving Eigen value problem. The material properties of the FGM plates are assumed to be graded along the thickness direction according to simple power-law distribution in terms of the volume fraction of the constituents, while the poison’s ratio is assumed to be constant. Stability analysis is carried out on simply supported plate made of newly introduced metal based functionally graded material (FGM) i.e. mixture of aluminum and stainless steel which exhibits the two different material properties in single material i.e. high corrosion resistance as well as high strength. Results show that the buckling strength of plate increases with increase in volume fraction indices through the thickness and it can be further improved with the help of piezoelectric effect.