Mechanical behaviour of functionally graded plates under static and dynamic loading

This article presents an analytical solution for the mechanical behaviour of rectangular plates made of functionally graded materials (FGMs) based on the first-order shear deformation theory (FSDT) and the third-order shear deformation theory (TSDT). The FGM plate is assumed to be graded across the thickness. The material properties of the FGM plate are assumed to vary continuously through the thickness of the plate according to a power law distribution of the volume fraction of the constituent materials, except Poisson's ratio, which is assumed to be constant. The plate is subjected to a lateral mechanical load on its upper surface. The equations of motion are written based on displacement fields. The partial differential equations have been solved by the Fourier series expansion. Using the Laplace transform, unknown variables are obtained in the Laplace domain. The resulting formulations enable one to perform the static, dynamic, and free vibration analysis for both FSDT and TSDT plates. Employing the analytical Laplace inversion method and numerical time integration technique based on the Newmark method, time function solution of the problem is obtained and the unknown parameters are derived for a dynamic loading situation. Finally, the natural frequencies of the plate are obtained and dynamic responses are presented in the form of combinations of different frequencies. The results are verified with those reported in the literature.