Large deformation analysis of functionally graded shells

A geometrically nonlinear analysis of functionally graded shells is presented. The two-constituent functionally graded shell consists of ceramic and metal that are graded through the thickness, from one surface of the shell to the other. A tensor-based finite element formulation with curvilinear coordinates and first-order shear deformation theory are used to develop the functionally graded shell finite element. The first-order shell theory consists of seven parameters and exact nonlinear deformations and under the framework of the Lagrangian description. High-order Lagrangian interpolation functions are used to approximate the field variables to avoid membrane, shear, and thickness locking. Numerical results obtained using the present shell element for typical benchmark problem geometries with functionally graded material compositions are presented. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.