Thermoelastic analysis of temperature-dependent functionally graded rectangular plates using finite element and finite difference methods

Two-dimensional thermoelastic analyses of fully clamped functionally graded rectangular plates (FGRPs) by applying a constant in-plane heat flux from one edge were studied by using Finite Difference Method (FDM) and Finite Element Method (FEM) with temperature-dependent material properties. Some differences about 1.5 to 2 times between FDM and the FEM solutions in terms of normal strain, equivalent strain, shear stress, and equivalent stress levels are observed. However, similar distribution characteristics from FDM and FEM analyses are obtained for temperature, displacement, strain, and stress components.