The complex variable meshless local Petrov–Galerkin method for elasticity problems of functionally graded materials

Abstract

This paper proposed the complex variable meshless local Petrov–Galerkin (CVMLPG) method for the static analysis of functionally graded materials (FGMs). In the presented method, the complex variable moving least-square (CVMLS) approximation, which is established based on the moving least-square (MLS) approximation by introducing the complex variable theory, is adopted for construction of the field approximation function. Compared with the conventional MLS method, the number of the unknown coefficients in the trial function of the CVMLS method is less than that of the MLS approximation, thus higher efficiency and accuracy can be achieved under the same node distributions. One advantage of the CVMLPG method for the FGMs is that the variations of the functionally graded material properties are simulated by using material parameters at Gauss points, so it totally avoids the issue of the assumption of homogeneous in each element in the finite element method (FEM) for the FGMs. Some of selected benchmark examples are considered to confirm the validity and accuracy of the proposed method.