Dual mesh control domain analysis of functionally graded circular plates accounting for moderate rotations

Abstract

Nonlinear analysis of the axisymmetric bending of circular plates, accounting for through-thickness power-law variation of a two-constituent material and the von Kármán nonlinearity is presented using the dual mesh control domain methods (DMCDM). The classical and first-order shear deformation theory kinematics are used and displacement and mixed models are developed using the DMCDM. The DMCDM predicts displacements as accurate as the finite element method (FEM), but has the advantage of predicting the stress resultants more accurately than the FEM. The developed computational models are used to determine the effect of the geometric nonlinearity and power-law index on the bending deflections and stress resultants of functionally graded circular and annular plates with different boundary conditions. It is found that the power-law index, which dictates the material distribution through the thickness, has two different regions of response, one with steep increase in deflections followed by relatively slow increase with respect to the power-law index.