Hygro-thermo-mechanical coupling behavior of porous FG-GNPRC annular plates considering aggregation of GNPs

Abstract

The research on graphene nanolayers has important theoretical and practical significance for promoting the application of advanced composite materials in the field of engineering. This paper investigates the mechanical properties of FG-GNPRC annular plates with voids in hot and humid environments. Considering the aggregation effect and aggregation type of graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) in GNP reinforced composites (GRCs), the random distribution pattern of GNPs in GRCs, and the gradient distribution of GNPs in functional gradient GNPRC (FG-GNPRC), the mechanical model of FG-GNPRC annular plate with variable thickness under hygro-thermo-mechanical environment is established. Applying the Newmark method to solve the problem in the time domain, the basic equations of the coupled thermal and humidity fields as well as radial displacement are derived and solved. The effects of the randomly arranged distribution pattern of GNPs, the aspect ratio of GNPs, the aggregation types and aggregation parameters of GNPs within the clusters, the gradient index, and the variation rule of thickness on the hygro-thermo-mechanical response of the porous FG-GRC annular plates are investigated by numerical examples.