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Buckling of rectangular functionally graded material plates subjected to nonlinearly distributed

in-plane edge loads

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INSTITUTE OF PHYSICS PUBLISHING SMART MATERIALS AND STRUCTURES
Smart Mater. Struct. 13 (2004) 1430–1437 PII: S0964-1726(04)87153-2

Buckling of rectangular functionally


graded material plates subjected to
nonlinearly distributed in-plane edge
loads
X L Chen1 and K M Liew1,2,3
1
Nanyang Centre for Supercomputing and Visualisation, Nanyang Technological University,
Nanyang Avenue, 639798, Singapore
2
School of Mechanical and Production Engineering, Nanyang Technological University,
Nanyang Avenue, 639798, Singapore

E-mail: mkmliew@ntu.edu.sg

Received 20 November 2003, in final form 6 July 2004


Published 9 November 2004
Online at stacks.iop.org/SMS/13/1430
doi:10.1088/0964-1726/13/6/014

Abstract
In this paper, the buckling behavior of functionally graded material (FGM)
rectangular plates subjected to pin loads, partial uniform loads and parabolic
loads is studied using the mesh-free method based on the radial basis
function. The proposed mesh-free method approximates displacements
based on scattered nodes, thus it can avoid the disadvantages that arise in the
finite element method (FEM) from the use of elements. Variational forms of
the system equations for the calculation of non-uniform prebuckling stress
distribution and buckling loads of the plate are established. Two-step
solution procedures are implemented. First the non-uniform prebuckling
stresses are obtained based on a two-dimensional (2D) elastic plane stress
problem. Then buckling loads of plates with the predetermined non-uniform
prebuckling stresses are calculated based on Mindlin’s plate assumption.
Selected numerical examples are presented to validate the proposed
mesh-free method.

1. Introduction recently been proposed. The FGMs are made in such a way
that the volume fractions of two or more materials are varied
Composite materials are often used in different engineering continuously along a certain dimension. The FGMs can be
fields, especially in the aerospace field. They have been made as required for application, for example, thermal barrier
widely investigated by researchers (Phan and Reddy 1985, plate structures can be made from a mixture of ceramic and
Reddy 1997, Liu et al 2002, Liew et al 2002). The metal for high temperature application. The advantage of the
advantage of composite materials is the high stiffness-to- FGM plate is that its material properties vary continuously
weight and strength-to-weight ratios. The limitations of from one surface to the other, thus it avoids the interface
composite materials are the following: the weakness of problem that exists in homogeneous composites. The FGMs
interfaces between layers may lead to delamination, extreme were first developed by Japanese scientists in the late 1980s.
thermal loads may lead to debonding between matrix and Since that, the FGMs have been used in several branches
fiber due to mismatch of mechanical properties, and residual (Praveen and Reddy 1998, Reddy and Chin 1998, Reddy
stresses may be present due to difference in coefficients of 2000, Woo and Meguid 2001, Liew et al 2003a) and are still
thermal expansion of the fiber and the matrix. To overcome being broadened. The main applications of the FGMs are
the limitations, functionally graded materials (FGMs) have thermal stress analysis and applications, mechanical models
with applications to FGM plate instability, fracture mechanics
3 Author to whom any correspondence should be addressed.
analysis and models, and vibration and control applications.

0964-1726/04/061430+08$30.00 © 2004 IOP Publishing Ltd Printed in the UK 1430


Buckling of rectangular FGM plates subjected to nonlinearly distributed in-plane edge loads

The elastic buckling solution for the FGM plate subjected domain is interpolated by using a displacement interpolation
to uniaxial loading was studied by Feldman and Aboudi function u h (x) of this point based on only the nodes
(1997). Postbuckling of piezoelectric FGM plates subjected within a small influence domain of this point x. The
to thermo-electro-mechanical loading was analysed by Liew scattered nodes can be randomly distributed in the problem
et al (2003b). The plates that are subjected to non-uniformly domain. The number and location of the nodes can be
distributed loads are of interest to engineers and designers adjusted easily by users as computational accuracy requires.
because such plates are often encountered in many engineering The entire problem domain is not divided into subdomains
practices. However, two things should be mentioned: one to approximate the displacement unlike the FEM. The
is that solving this problem is not an easy task due to non- displacement interpolation function u h (x) is composed of two
uniform distribution of prebuckling stresses. The other thing terms, which are represented in terms of the radial basis
is that to the best knowledge of the authors, no literature on functions and polynomial basis respectively as
buckling of an FGM plate subjected to non-uniform loads is
found. Therefore, this paper aims to investigate the buckling u h (x) = u r (x) + u p (x) (1)
problem of such an FGM plate.
Recently, a mesh-free method based on the application of where
the radial basis functions has been proposed. The advantages u r (x) = Rt (x)a (2a)
of this method are the following: u (x) = P (x)b
p t
(2b)
(i) the mesh-free method approximates displacements based in which a is the vector of n unknown coefficients, R(x) is
on a set of scattered nodes instead of elements in the the vector of radial basis functions with n components that is
influence domain, thus it can avoid the disadvantages that given by
arise in the finite element method (FEM) from the use of
elements, e.g., heavily distorted elements in the FEM may Rt (x) = {R1 (x), R2 (x), . . . , Rn (x)} (3a)
occur;
(ii) one can easily handle the nodal distribution and the density b is the vector of m unknown coefficients, and P(x) is the
of nodes for desired computational accuracy without vector of polynomial basis with m components that is given by
complicated numerical procedures;
(iii) its shape function has a delta function property that enables Pt (x) = {P1 (x), P2 (x), . . . , Pm (x)}. (3b)
the method to enforce essential boundary conditions as
Note that the number n is determined by the number of nodes
easily as the FEM;
within the influence domain of the interpolation point x, and
(iv) radial basis functions are not sensitive to spatial
the number m is defined by users. The number n of nodes
dimension, do not depend on the direction of the node to
within the influence domain of the selected interpolation point
the interpolation point, and are continuously differentiable
x should be larger than the terms m of polynomial basis based
and integrable.
on the displacement reproduction requirement.
The mesh-free method has been shown to have good The radial basis functions are not sensitive to spatial
potential in solving two-dimensional (2D) static and dynamic dimension, do not depend on the direction of the node to
mechanical problems (Hon et al 1997, 2002, Zhang et al 2000, the interpolation point, and are continuously differentiable
Wang and Liu 2002a, 2002b). and integrable, but their performance depends on the choice
This paper further develops the mesh-free method for of shape parameters which is related to the type of physical
buckling analysis of the FGM plates that are subjected to problem. Because the performance of the multiquadric (MQ)
nonlinearly distributed loads. We take a two-step method to radial basis function is not very sensitive to the choice of shape
implement the numerical computation. A variational form parameters, this paper adopts the MQ radial basis function in
of the static system equation is established based on a 2D the proposed method, which is defined as
elastic plane stress problem in the first step, and the variational
equation is discretized through displacement interpolations. Ri (x) = [|x − xi |2 + (αq d̄x )2 ]q , for i = 1, 2, . . . , n
The prebuckling stresses of the plane elasticity problem are (4a)
obtained in this step. A variational form of the system equation where |x − xi | is the space distance between node xi and the
is established based on the Mindlin plate theory in the second interpolation point x, d̄x is the average nodal distance, αq is the
step. The variational form is discretized to an eigenvalue dimensionless shape parameter that is defined by users, and q
equation. The static buckling loads of the FGM plates with is the constant.
the prebuckling stresses are obtained in this step. Buckling of The polynomial basis is composed of monomials in terms
the FGM plates that are subjected to in-plane pin loads, partial of space coordinates. In this paper, a complete quadratic basis
uniform loads and parabolic loads is studied. is chosen with the form of

Pt (x) = {1, x, y, x 2 , x y, y 2 }. (4b)


2. Displacement interpolation based on radial basis
function and polynomial basis Within the small influence domain of the point x, the
approximated displacement u h (xk ) of any node xk is equal
The proposed method based on radial basis function and to the nodal displacement value u k , i.e.
polynomial basis is a mesh-free method, in which the
displacement u(x) of any selected point x in the problem u r (xk ) + u p (xk ) = u k , for k = 1, 2, . . . , n. (5)

1431
X L Chen and K M Liew

Substituting equations (2a) and (2b) into equation (5), one y,v
condition with n equations for unknown coefficients a and b Metal
can be obtained as
h
Rt (xk )a + Pt (xk )b = u k , for k = 1, 2, . . . , n. (6) ϕy

x,u
To guarantee the unique displacement approximation, an o
additional condition with m equations for the polynomial basis ϕx b
needs to be satisfied:
P̄t a = 0 (7)
where a
Ceramic
 
P1 (x1 ) P2 (x1 ) ··· Pm (x1 )
z,w
 P1 (x2 ) P2 (x2 ) ··· Pm (x2 ) 
P̄ = 
 ... .. .. ..  . (8)
. . .  Figure 1. An FGM plate and its geometrical notation.
P1 (xn ) P2 (xn ) ··· Pm (xn )
For buckling problem of plates that are subjected to
Solving equations (6) and (7), the unknown coefficients nonlinearly distributed in-plane compressive edge loads, two-
a and b can be determined. Substituting a and b back into step solution procedures are implemented. In the first step,
equations (2a), (2b) and (1), the approximate displacement for non-uniform prebuckling stress distribution in the plates is
the interpolation point x can be obtained with the form of determined using the present method based on a 2D elastic

n plane stress problem. In the second step, the critical buckling
u h (x) = φi u i (9) load of the plates, with the prebuckling stress distribution that
i=1 was obtained in the first step, is computed using the present
method based on the Mindlin plate assumption.
where φi and u i are the shape function and the nodal
displacement at node xi , respectively.
The shape function φi (x j ) at node xi for interpolation node 3.2. Prebuckling stress calculation based on a 2D elastic
x j satisfies the delta function properties: plane stress problem
 The plate is subjected to external nonlinearly distributed in-
1 for i = j plane loads. For the prebuckling stress calculation, the plate
φi (x j ) = δi j = (10)
0 for i = j . is taken as a 2D elastic plane stress problem. The variational
formulation of the 2D elastic plane stress problem is
3. Governing equations
δ εt σ dV − δut b dV − δut t̄ dS = 0 (13)
V V Sσ
3.1. FGM plate
A plate of thickness h is considered made of functionally where ε is the strain field, σ is the stress field, u is the
graded materials through the thickness. The orthogonal displacement field, b is the body force, and t̄ is the surface
Cartesian coordinates are introduced as shown in figure 1. force.
The plane of x- and y-axes is arranged in the undeformed The strain field ε and the stress field σ can be expressed
midplane of the plate. The mechanical behavior of the FGM as  0 
 
plate is considered to be linear elastic. The FGMs are made  εx x 
  u ,x
of combined ceramic–metal materials. The mixing ratio of the ε yy =
0
v,y (14)

 0  
FGMs varies smoothly and continuously through the thickness. γ u ,y + v,x
xy
The top surface of the plate is pure metal while the bottom
and
surface is pure ceramic. The materials are assumed to be
 0   
   εx0 x 
 σx x 
distributed according to the following governing equations:   Q 11 Q 12 0  
σ yy = Q 12
0
Q 22 0 ε0yy (15a)
Vc (z) = (1/2 + z/ h)n (11a)  0 
  
 0  
τx y 0 0 Q 66 γx y
Vm (z) = 1 − (1/2 + z/ h)n (11b)
or it can be expressed as
where Vc (z) and Vm (z) are the volume fractions of the material
constituents for ceramic and metal, respectively; n is the non- σ = De ε (15b)
negative volume fraction exponent. The effective Young’s
modulus and Poisson’s ratio can be determined as where De is the elastic rigidity matrix and Q i j (i , j = 1, 2, 6)
are the elastic stiffnesses of the FGMs given by
E = E m + (E c − E m )(1/2 + z/ h)n (12a)
E
Q 11 = Q 22 = (16a)
ν = νm + (νc − νm )(1/2 + z/ h)n . (12b) 1 − ν2

1432
Buckling of rectangular FGM plates subjected to nonlinearly distributed in-plane edge loads

νE 3.3. Buckling analysis of the FGM plates


Q 12 = (16b)
1 − ν2 For buckling analysis of plates, the variational formulation of
E the plates can be written as
Q 66 = (16c)
2(1 + ν)
δ(ε ) σ dV +
l t l
δ εtn τ n dV = 0 (25)
in which E is the effective elastic rigidity; ν is the effective V V
Poisson’s ratio.
where εl is the linear strain field, σ l is the linear stress field,
According to equation (9), the displacement vector u
εn is the nonlinear strain field and τ n is the stress field.
is approximated using the present mesh-free method and is
Based on the Mindlin assumption (Mindlin 1951, Della
expressed as Croce and Scapolla 1992), the displacement field for a plate
n
can be written as
u= φi u i (17a)
i=1
u(x, y, z) = u 0 (x, y) + zϕx (x, y) (26a)

n
v= φi vi . (17b) v(x, y, z) = v0 (x, y) + zϕ y (x, y) (26b)
i=1
w(x, y, z) = w(x, y) (26c)
Substituting the approximated displacements u and v of where w is the transverse deflection of a point on the plate
equations (17a) and (17b) into the variational formulation of mid-plane, and ϕx and ϕ y denote the rotations about the y- and
equation (13) gives the discrete system equation of the 2D x-axes, respectively.
elastic plane stress problem as The linear strain field εl and the linear stress field σ l can
be expressed as
KU = f (18) εxl x = u 0,x + zϕx,x (27a)

where U is the vector of displacements of all nodes in the entire εlyy = v0,y + zϕ y,y (27b)
problem domain which is given by
γxl y = u 0,y + v0,x + zϕx,y + zϕ y,x (27c)
U = {u 1 , v1 , u 2 , v2 , . . . , u N , v N }t (19) γxl z = w,x + ϕx (27d)

K is the stiffness matrix that is assembled using the nodal γ yz


l
= w,y + ϕ y (27e)
stiffness matrix which is given by and
 l   l 
   σx x 

   Q 11  εx x 
l   
h/2 Q 12 0 0 0
Ki j = Bti De B j dz dS 
 σ yy 
 
 εlyy 
(20) 
 
  Q 12 Q 22 0 0 0   

S −h/2  
τx y =  0
l
0 Q 44 0 0  γx y l

 
   

and f is the force vector that is assembled using the nodal force 
 τxl z 
 0 0 0 k Q 55 0 
 γ l  

   
 l  
k Q 66  l x z
vector which is given by  0 0 0 0 
τ yz γ yz
    (28a)
φi bx φi t¯x
fi = h dS + h d (21)
S φi b y σ φi t¯y or it can be expressed as

in which the subscript N is the total number of nodes in the σ l = Dl εl (28b)


entire problem domain and
where k is the shear correction factor (taken as 5/6 in Mindlin’s
  theory), Dl is the elastic rigidity matrix of the plate, and Q ii
φi,x 0
Bi = 0 φi,y . (22) (i = 4, 5) are the elastic stiffnesses of the plate given by
φi,y φi,x
Q 44 = Q 55 = Q 66 . (29)
Solving equation (18) gives the displacements of the 2D
The higher order terms that are associated with the
elastic plane stress problem. For any point, the stress field can
in-plane displacements in the nonlinear strain field εn are
be obtained as follows:
neglected (Wang et al 1993) in this paper, and εn can be
 0  expressed as
 σx x 
   n
σ yy  0 
0
= De B i u i (23)  εx x  1 
 0 
  i=1 
 
  (w,x )2 
τx y 
 
   2 

 ε yy 
0
    1 (w,y )2 

2
εn = γx y = w,x w,y
0
(30)
where   
 
 
 

 0 
 γx z 
  
 0 

ui 
 
ui = . (24)  0   0
vi γ yz

1433
X L Chen and K M Liew

and the stress field τ n that corresponds to the nonlinear strain a


field εn can be written as
 0 
 σx x 

 0  

 
 σ yy 
τn = τ0 . (31)

 xy 


 


 0   x
0

b
The three independent displacement variables of
equations (26a)–(26c), w, ϕx , and ϕ y , of the plates can be P P
interpolated using equation (9). The shape functions for the c
three independent displacement variables can be different.
In this paper, for simplicity of calculation the same set of
shape functions is chosen for approximation of the three
displacements, which is expressed as y


n Figure 2. A rectangular plate that is subjected to a pair of in-plane
w= φi wi (32a) pin loads.
i=1
4. Numerical examples

n
ϕx = φi ϕxi (32b) Functionally graded materials (FGMs) with a mixture of
i=1
zirconia and aluminum are used for examination of the present

n mesh-free method. The buckling loads of the rectangular FGM
ϕy = φi ϕ yi . (32c) plates subjected to in-plane pin loads, partial uniform loads and
i=1 parabolic loads are calculated using the present method.
Substituting the approximated independent displacement Young’s modulus E = 151.0 × 109 N m−2 for zirconia
variables of equations (32a)–(32c) into the variational and E = 70.0 × 109 N m−2 for aluminum, and Poisson’s ratio
formulation of equation (25) gives the discrete eigenvalue ν = 0.3 for zirconia and aluminum are used.
equation for the buckling analysis of the plates as The shape parameter and the constant of the radial
basis function have been proposed for beam structures in the
[K̃ + χG]Q = 0 (33) literature (Wang and Liu 2002b). In this paper, we adopt the
same optimal shape parameter and constant from the literature
where χ is the eigenvalues, Q is the eigenvectors, and K̃ is (Wang and Liu 2002b), i.e., αq = 2.0 and q = 1.03 for our
the stiffness matrix that is assembled using the nodal stiffness FGM plate analysis (Liew and Chen 2004a).
matrix, i.e., For all examples considered here, the size of quadrilateral
 h/2  influence domain dmax (Liu and Chen 2001) is chosen as
3.9 times the average nodal distance. Six terms’ polynomial
K̃i j = t
B̃i Dl B̃ j dz dS (34)
S −h/2 bases are used. Regularly distributed nodes in the entire plate
domain for displacement interpolation and Gauss points of
in which   4 × 4 at each background cell for the numerical integration
0 zφi,x 0 are used (Liew and Chen 2004b).
 0 0 zφi,y  In the following studies, the notation SSSS denotes simply
 
B̃i =  0 zφi,y zφi,x  (35) supported at four edges, CCCC denotes clamped at four edges,
 
φi,x φi 0 and CSCS denotes clamped at two edges parallel to the y- axis
φi,y 0 φi and simply supported at two edges parallel to the x-axis.
and G is the matrix that is assembled using the nodal matrix
given by 4.1. A rectangular plate subjected to a pair of pin loads
 (1,1) 
G 0 0
Gi j = 0 0 0 (36) A rectangular plate that is subjected to a pair of in-plane pin
0 0 0 loads, shown in figure 2, is considered. The non-dimensional
buckling load factor is defined as k p = PDcr0b , where Pcr is the
in which critical compressive loads that are applied to the edges of the
  Ec h 3
plates, and the elastic rigidity is D0 = 12(1−ν
φi,x φ j,x 2) .
(1,1)
G =h {σx0x , σ yy
0
, τx0y } φi,y φ j,y dS. First, the convergence of the buckling loads is studied. The
S (φi,x φ j,y + φ j,x φi,y ) edges of the plate are a = b = 10.0 (m), and the thickness
(37) is h = 0.1 (m). The pin loads are located at the mid-edge
Solving equation (33), we can obtain the critical buckling (i.e., c/b = 0.5). The volume fraction exponent is taken as
loads of the plates that are subjected to the nonlinearly n = 1. The buckling load of the simply supported plate is
distributed in-plane loads. calculated using different numbers of nodes. The results are

1434
Buckling of rectangular FGM plates subjected to nonlinearly distributed in-plane edge loads

24 a

23

A pair of concentrated loads (SSSS)


22

c 2 c 2

b
x
kp

21

20 c 2 c 2

19
P P

18
6x6 7x7 9x9 11x11 13x13 15x15 17x17
Nodes y

Figure 3. Convergence study of the buckling loads of the simply Figure 5. A square plate that is subjected to partial uniform in-plane
supported FGM plate subjected to a pair of pin loads. edge loads.

70 Table 1. Buckling load factors k p = PDcr0b of the FGM plate that is


subjected to a pair of pin loads along the x-direction.
SSSS
60
CCCC a/b c/b SSSS CCCC CSCS
1.0 0.5 18.429 48.637 33.891
50 0.25 25.960 63.366 42.374
0.1 36.723 70.464 46.286
0.5 0.5 21.390 58.715 58.136
40
kp

0.25 27.093 73.188 62.547


0.1 55.986 130.939 91.455
30
Table 2. Buckling load factors k p = PDcr0b of the FGM plate that is
20 subjected to partial uniform in-plane edge loads along the
x-direction.
Boundaries
10
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5
Volume fraction exponent n c/b SSSS CCCC CSCS
0.25 19.042 51.129 34.651
Figure 4. Effects of volume fraction exponent on the buckling load
0.50 25.486 58.282 39.217
factors of the FGM plate subjected to a pair of pin loads.
0.75 26.226 66.123 43.945
1.0 30.053 75.708 49.616
drawn in figure 3. Good convergence can be observed although
the results are slightly oscillating.
Second, the effect of volume fraction exponent on the factors for clamped boundary conditions are larger than those
buckling loads is studied. The plate is considered to be fully for simply supported boundary conditions, and the buckling
simply supported or fully clamped at four edges. The edge size load factors for CSCS boundary conditions are between those
of the plate and the location of the pin loads are the same as for simply supported and clamped boundary conditions.
those for convergence study. The 19 × 19 nodes are regularly
distributed in the entire domain of the plate. The buckling 4.2. A rectangular plate subjected to partial uniform loads
loads are calculated using several volume fraction exponents.
The results are drawn in figure 4. The curves of buckling loads A square plate that is subjected to partial uniform in-plane edge
versus volume fraction exponents for simply supported and loads, shown in figure 5, is considered. The edges of the plate
clamped boundary conditions are the curves of the exponent are a = b = 10.0 (m), and the thickness is h = 0.1 (m).
function. The buckling load factors gradually decrease as the The applied loads are changed from partial uniform loads to
volume fraction exponent increases. uniform loads through the change of c/b. Three cases of
Third, the buckling loads of the rectangular plate with essential boundary conditions, SSSS, CCCC and CSCS, are
various aspect ratios, locations of pin loads, and boundary considered. The number of nodes regularly distributed in the
conditions are calculated. The volume fraction exponent is entire domain of the plate is 19 × 19. The volume fraction
taken as n = 1.0. 19 × 19 regularly distributed nodes are set exponent is taken as n = 1. The results are listed in table 2
in the entire domain of the plate. The results are listed in table 1. and drawn in figure 6. The buckling load factors increase as
The buckling load factors increase as the pin loads are gradually the loads change from partial uniform loads to uniform loads.
further away from mid-edge. As expected, the buckling load As expected, the buckling load factors for clamped boundary

1435
X L Chen and K M Liew

80 -5
-0.4 -0.6 -0.4
-0.6 -0.6 -0.6
SSSS
70 CCCC -0.8 -0.8

y-axis
CSCS 0
60 -0.8 -0.8
-0.6 -0.6
-0.4 -0.6 -0.6 -0.4
50 5
-15 -10 -5 0 5 10 15
kp

x-axis
40
(a). σ xx0 σ 0
30 -5

-0.1 -0.1
20 -0.3

y-axis
-0.3
0
10 -0.2 -0.2
0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
c/b
5
-15 -10 -5 0 5 10 15
Figure 6. The bucking load factors of the FGM plate subjected to
x-axis
partial uniform in-plane loads.
(b). σ yy
0
σ0
a 2 a 2 -5
0.05 -0.05
σx 0.1 -0.1
-0.05
0.05 -0.05
y-axis

b 2 0
x 0.05
o -0.1
-0.05 0.05
0.1
y -0.05 0.05
b 2 5
-15 -10 -5 0 5 10 15
x-axis
0
(c). τ xy σ0
Figure 7. A rectangular plate and its parabolic loads:
σx = σ0 cos(π y/b). Figure 8. The non-dimensional stress σx0x /σ0 , σ yy
0
/σ0 and τx0y /σ0 of
the FGM plate subjected to a pair of parabolic loads (a/b = 3).
conditions are larger than those for simply supported boundary 2
conditions. Table 3. Buckling load factors kσ = σπcr2hb
D0
of the FGM plate that is
subjected to parabolic in-plane edge loads along the x-direction.
4.3. A rectangular plate subjected to parabolic in-plane edge a/b SSSS CCCC CSCS
loads 0.5 5.522 16.305 15.687
A rectangular plate that is subjected to parabolic in-plane edge 1.0 4.352 10.338 6.846
1.5 4.329 8.964 6.345
loads, shown in figure 7, is considered. The edge of the plate 2.0 4.273 8.828 5.500
is b = 10.0 (m), and the thickness is h = 0.1. The parabolic 2.5 4.527 8.842 5.387
loads are taken as σx = σ0 cos(π y/b). The non-dimensional 3.0 5.422 8.908 5.548
buckling load factor is defined as kσ = σπcr2hb
2

D0
, where σcr
is the critical amplitude of the parabolic loads (pressures)
that are applied to the edges of the plate. Again, 19 × 19 good accuracy compared to the result (0.6366) according to the
regularly distributed nodes are used. Several aspect ratios are Saint–Venant principle. The non-dimensional stresses σx0x /σ0
considered. The volume fraction exponent is taken as n = 1. and σ yy
0
/σ0 are symmetrical to and τx0y /σ0 are anti-symmetrical
The non-dimensional pre-buckling stresses for the aspect ratio to the x- and y-axes. The buckling load factors of the plate with
a/b = 3 are calculated and drawn in figures 8(a)–(c). The several aspect ratios are calculated. The results are listed in
 b/2
total edge load is Px = −b/2 σ0 cos(π y/b)h dy = 2bhσ0 /π. table 3, and drawn in figure 9. Again, as expected, the buckling
According to the Saint–Venant principle, the stresses at a load factors for clamped boundary conditions are larger than
point where the distance from the edge is larger than the those for simply supported boundary conditions. These results
edge size b should be uniformly distributed, thus we have can be taken as a reference for the FGM design.
σx /σ0 = (Px /bh)/σ0 = 2/π = 0.6366 at the point far
away from the edge. It is observed from figure 8(a) that the 5. Conclusions
present non-dimensional stresses σx0x /σ0 near the mid-point
of the edge are larger than those far away from the mid- This paper presents a mesh-free approach based on the
point of the edge, and they become uniformly distributed in radial basis function for buckling analysis of the FGM plates
the vicinity of mid-point of the side length and are close to with edges subjected to nonlinearly distributed loads such
0.60. Therefore, the present non-dimensional stresses have as pin loads, partial uniform loads and parabolic loads.

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Buckling of rectangular FGM plates subjected to nonlinearly distributed in-plane edge loads

18 Hon Y C, Lu M W, Xue W M and Zhou X 2002 Numerical


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σ

Appl. Mech. Eng. 193 205–24


k

10 Liew K M and Chen X L 2004b Buckling of rectangular Mindlin


plates subjected to partial in-plane edge loads using the radial
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