Closed-form expressions for bending and buckling of functionally graded nanobeams by the Laplace transform

Abstract

This paper presents analytical solutions for bending and buckling of nonlocal functionally graded (FG) Euler–Bernoulli (EB) nanobeams. Material gradation along the thickness direction could be defined by a power function (P-FG), a sigmoidal function (S-FG), and an exponential function (E-FG). Laplace transform is applied to the differential form of the equation of motion of the nonlocal elasticity theory. Closed-form expressions for bending deflection and critical buckling load of FG nanobeams are derived. Effects of material gradations as well as the nonlocal parameter are examined. It is found that bending displacements and critical buckling loads could be controlled by an appropriate choice of material distribution parameter for P-FG nanobeams. The presented results also demonstrate the influences of factors such as the choice of material gradation, power-law index, and nonlocal parameter on bending and buckling behavior.