Post-Buckling Analysis of Axially Functionally Graded Three-Dimensional Beams

Post-buckling analysis of an axially functionally graded (AFG) cantilever beam subjected to an axial nonfollower compression load is studied in this paper by using the total Lagrangian finite element model of three-dimensional continuum approximations. Material properties of the beam change in the axial direction according to a powerlaw function. In this study, finite element model of the beam is constructed by using total Lagrangian finite element model of three-dimensional continuum for an eight-node quadratic element. It is known that post-buckling problems are geometrically nonlinear problems. The considered highly nonlinear problem is solved by using incremental displacement-based finite element method in conjunction with Newton-Raphson iteration method. There is no restriction on the magnitudes of deflections and rotations in contradistinction to von-Karman strain displacement relations. The obtained results are compared with the published results. In this study, the effects of the material distribution on the post-buckling response of the AFG beam are investigated in detail. The differences between of material distributions are investigated in the post-buckling analysis. Numerical results show that the above-mentioned effects play a very important role on the post-buckling responses of the beam, and it is believed that new results are presented for post-buckling of AFG beams which are of interest to the scientific and engineering community in the area of FGM structures.