Nonlinear Static Bending and Free Vibration Analysis of Bidirectional Functionally Graded Material Plates

Bidirectional functionally graded material (2D-FGM) plates have mechanical properties that vary continuously in both the thickness and one-edge directions; these plates are more and more widely used in design and engineering applications. When these structures are subjected to strong loads, they can be largely deformed; therefore, nonlinear calculations, in this case, are necessary. In this paper, nonlinear static bending and nonlinear free vibration behaviors of 2D-FGM plates are studied by using the finite element method based on the third-order shear deformation theory; the Newton-Raphson method is used to solve this problem. The accuracy of this approach is confirmed by comparing the results with respect to other papers. The effects of some numerical aspect ratios such as volume fraction index and thickness-to-length ratio on nonlinear static bending and free vibration of the plates are explored. This study shows that there is a big difference between the numerical results obtained from the nonlinear problem and those from the linear one.