Analysis of functionally graded plates using a sinusoidal shear deformation theory

This paper uses the four-variable refined plate theory for the free vibration analysis of functionally graded material (FGM) rectangular plates. The plate properties are assumed to be varied through the thickness following a simple power law distribution in terms of volume fraction of material constituents. The theory presented is variationally consistent, does not require shear correction factor, and gives rise to transverse shear stress variation such that the transverse shear stresses vary parabolically across the thickness satisfying shear stress free surface conditions. Equations of motion are derived from the Hamilton's principle. The closed-form solutions of functionally graded plates are obtained using Navier solution. Numerical results of the refined plate theory are presented to show the effect of the material distribution, the aspect and side-to-thickness ratio on the fundamental frequencies. It can be concluded that the proposed theory is accurate and simple in solving the free vibration behavior of functionally graded plates.