Axisymmetric bending analysis of thick functionally graded circular plates using fourth-order shear deformation theory

In the present article, axisymmetric bending and stretching of functionally graded (FG) circular plates subjected to uniform transverse loading based on fourth-order shear deformation plate theory (FOST) have been studied. Using a fourth-order shear deformation theory, the solutions for deflection and rotation functions of FG plates are presented in terms of the corresponding quantities for a homogeneous plate using the classical plate theory (CPT), from which solutions one can easily obtain the FOST solutions for axisymmetric bending of FG circular plates. It is assumed that the effective mechanical properties of the functionally graded plates through the thickness are continuous functions of the volume fractions of the constituent parts which are themselves defined by a power-law function. Numerical results for maximum deflection and shear stress are presented for various percentages of ceramic-metal volume fractions. These results are also compared with those obtained from the first-order shear deformation plate theory of Mindlin (FST), the third-order shear deformation plate theory of Reddy (TST) as well as the exact three-dimensional elasticity solution. It is found that although the maximum deflections obtained using FOST and TST are close to each other, the through-thickness shear stress is predicted more accurately by the FOST formulation than by the TST. (C) 2009 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.