Isogeometric analysis of functionally graded plates using higher-order shear deformation theory

This paper presents a novel and effective formulation based on isogeometric approach (IGA) and higher-order deformation plate theory (HSDT) to study the behavior of functionally graded material (FGM) plates. HSDT model using C-1 continuous element is able to improve the accuracy of solution and describe exactly the shear stress distribution without shear correction factors. IGA utilizes the non-uniform rational B-spline (NURBS) functions which allow us to achieve easily the smoothness with arbitrary continuity order. The present method hence fulfills the C-1 - requirement of HSDT model. The effective material properties of the FGM plates, which property varies only through the thickness of plate, are calculated using the rule of mixture and the Mori-Tanaka homogenization technique. The static, dynamic and buckling analysis of rectangular and circular plates is investigated for different boundary conditions. Numerical results show high effectiveness of the present formulation. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.