A critical review of recent research on functionally graded plates

In view of the significant increase in research activity and publications in functionally graded materials (FGMs) and structures in the last few years, the present article is an attempt to identify and highlight the topics that are most relevant to FGMs and structures and review representative journal publications that are related to those topics. A critical review of the reported studies in the area of thermo-elastic and vibration analyses of functionally graded (FG) plates with an emphasis on the recent works published since 1998. Because of the extensive growth in the body of knowledge in FGMs in the last two decades, it is prudent to reduce the review to a manageable level by concentrating on the FG plate problems only. The review carried out here, is concerned with deformation, stress, vibration and stability problems of FG plates. This review is intended to give the readers a feel for the variety of studies and applications related to graded composites. An effort has been made here, to include all the important contributions in the current area of interest. The critical areas regarding future research needs for the successful implementation of FGM in design are outlined in the conclusions. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.