Bending analysis of functionally graded sandwich plates using the refined finite strip method

In this study, static analysis of functionally graded (FG) sandwich plates is performed using the finite strip method based on the refined plate theory (RPT). Two types of common FG sandwich plates are considered. The first sandwich plate is composed of two FG material (FGM) face sheets and a homogeneous ceramic or metal core. The second one consists of two homogeneous fully metal and ceramic face sheets at the top and bottom, respectively, and a FGM core. Differential equations of FG sandwich plates are obtained using Hamilton's principle and stiffness and force matrices are formed using the finite strip method. The central deflection and the normal stress values are obtained for a sinusoidal loaded FG sandwich plate and the accuracy of the results are verified against those obtained from other theories such as the classical plate theory (CPT), the first-order shear deformation theory (FSDT), and the higher order shear deformation theory (HSDT). For the first time, this study presents a finite strip formulation in conjunction with the RPT to analyze FG Sandwich plates. While the proposed method is fast and simple, it is capable of modeling a variety of boundary conditions.