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ISSN 0974-5904, Volume 06, No. 04 August 2013, P.P. 633-637

Computational Model for the Transverse Stress Analysis of FGM

Plates – An Assessment
K SWAMINATHAN AND D T NAVEENKUMAR
Department of Civil Engineering, National Institute of Technology Karnataka, Surathkal, Mangalore 575025, India.
Department of Civil Engineering, National Institute of Technology Karnataka, Surathkal, Mangalore 575025, India.
Email: swami7192@yahoo.co.in, naveendt012@gmail.com

Abstract: This paper presents the complete theoretical formulation and the analytical solutions for stress analysis of
functionally graded material (FGM) plates using First-order Shear Deformation Theory (FSDT). The material
properties are assumed to be isotropic along the plane of the plate and vary through the thickness according to the
power law function. The governing equations of equilibrium are derived using Principle of Minimum Potential
Energy (PMPE) and the analytical solutions are obtained in closed-form using Navier’s solution technique. The
effect of variation of side-to-thickness ratio, modulus of elasticity ratio, edge ratio and the power law function on the
behaviour of the plate is studied. Numerical results are presented for the transverse displacement, the in-plane and
the transverse stresses.
Keywords: Functionally graded plates, First-order model, Power law function, Navier’s method, Analytical
solution.

Introduction: sigmoid FGM (S-FGM) and exponential FGM (E-FGM)

based on classical lamination theory. Nguyen (2008)
The concept of Functionally Graded Materials (FGMs)
presented an FSDT model for analysis of FGM
was proposed in 1984 by materials scientists as a means
rectangular plates. An analytical method was developed
of preparing thermal barrier materials. FGMs are the
by Saidi and Jomehzadeh (2009) to decouple the
heterogeneous composite materials in which the
governing equations of bending-stretching for the
material properties are gradually varied along certain
analysis FGM rectangular plates based on
directions in a predetermined manner. Thus, mitigating
FSDT/Mindlin plate theory. Once stretching and
problems induced due to the sudden change of thermo-
bending equations are decoupled, Levy method can be
mechanical properties as in the case of laminated
effectively used for the static analysis of FGM plates
composites. FGMs have a great potential of becoming
with different boundary conditions.
an advanced structural material in various engineering
and industrial applications. Displacement Field and Strains:
Several approaches have been proposed for the analysis Based on the FSDT the displacement field at a point in
of FGM plates. Reddy et al. (1999) developed equations an FGM plate is expressed as
for the displacement, forces and moments of the FGM u(x,y,z)  u 0 (x,y)  zx (x,y),
annular and circular plates based on First order Shear
Deformation Theory (FSDT) in terms of the quantities v(x,y,z)  v 0 (x,y)  zy (x,y), (1)
of isotropic plates based on classical plate theory.
Cheng and Batra (2000) established an exact
relationship between the deflection of an FGM plate and w(x,y,z)  w 0 (x,y).
that of an equivalent homogeneous Kirchhoff plate. A Where, the terms u, v and w are the displacements of a
three-dimensional elasticity solution was developed by general point (x, y, z) in x, y and z directions
Kashtalyan (2004) using the Plevako method for the respectively. The parameters u0, and v0 are the in-plane
analysis of simply supported FGM plate subjected to displacements and w0 is the transverse displacement of a
transverse load. Zenkour (2006) presented a Navier’s point on the middle plane. The functions x , y are
analytical solution to study the static response of an
rotations of the normal to the middle plane about y and
FGM rectangular plate based on sinusoidal shear
x axes respectively.
deformation theory. Chi and Chung (2006) presented a
closed form solution for power law FGM (P-FGM),

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 Computational Model for the Transverse Stress Analysis of FGM Plates 634
– An Assessment
The strain is assumed to be linear through the thickness N y N xy
of the FGM plate vo :   0, (7)
    z ,
0 |
(2)
y x
u v w M x M xy
x  ,  y  , z  , x :   Qx  0, (8)
x y z x y
M y M xy
u v u w y :   Q y  0, (9)
 xy   ,  xz   , (3) y x
y x z x
Q Q y
w 0 : x   Pz  0. (10)
v w x y
 yz   .
z y Here (Nx, Ny, Nxy), (Mx, My, Mxy) and (Qx, Qy)
Constitutive Relationship: respectively denotes in-plane, bending and shear stress
resultants, which can be defined as,
Assuming through the thickness gradation of material
properties, the volume fraction composition is defined u 0  u 0 
using power law function as,  x   y 
p    
 2z  h  N x  v  v 
E(z)  E m  (E c  E m ) . (4)  
 2h   0  0
N y    x 
   y
' 
   A   A  '
Where,
Em = Young’s modulus of metal (11)
Ec = Young’s modulus of ceramic M x  x  x 
P = Parameter that dictates the variation of material    x   y 
profile through the thickness. M y     
Ν = Poisson’s ratio.  y   
H = Thickness of the plate.    y
The stress-strain relationship accounting for the  y   x 
transverse shear deformation is given by, u 0  u 0 
  Q, (5)  x   y 
   
 = Stress vector, v  v 
 0  0
Q = Transformed elastic stiffness matrix, N xy 
  
 y  x 
' 
 = Strain vector.    B    B ' (12)
M xy  x  x 
E(z)  x   y 
Q11  Q22  , Q12  Q21  Q11 ,    
1- 
2
 y   
E(z)    y
Q44  Q55  Q66  .  y   x 
21+
 x   y 
Q x     
 *   Dw   D w 0 ,
Governing Equations: '
(13)
The governing equations of equilibrium are derived Q x   0  
using Principle of Minimum Potential Energy (PMPE).  x   y 
The equilibrium equations associated with the present
 y   x 
first order computational model are Q y   
  '  
N x N xy  *   Ew 0   E w . (14)
u o :   0, (6) Q y     0
x y  y   x 

International Journal of Earth Sciences and Engineering

ISSN 0974-5904, Vol. 06, No. 04, August 2013, pp. 633-637
 635 K SWAMINATHAN and D T NAVEENKUMAR

Where the matrices [A], [A’], [B], [B’], [D], [D’], [E],  
[E’] are the matrices of plate stiffness whose elements P  Pz mn sinxsiny.

z (22)
are defined as, m 1n 1

 Q11 Q12 Q11z Q12 z  m n

Where,  and   .
h /2 
Q Q Q z Q22 z  a b
A   Q 12z Q 22z Q 12z 2 Q12 z 2 
dz, Substituting eqn. (15)-(22) in in eqn. (6)-(10) and
 h /2 11 12 11
 2  collecting the coefficients, we can obtain
Q12 z Q 22 z Q12 z Q 22 z 2  u 0  0 
h/2
Q Q44 Q44 z Q44 z     
B   Q 44z Q44 z Q44 z 2 Q44 z 2 
dz, v 0  0 
 44
 h/2    
   
h/2 X55 w 0   Pz  (23)
D   Q66 Q66 dz,    
 h/2 x  0 
h/2    
E   Q55 Q55 dz,  y 
51
0 
51
 h/2
For any fixed values of m and n. The elements of
[A' ]  [B' ]  [C' ]  [D' ]  0.
coefficient matrix are given as,
The Navier Solutions: X11  (A112  B112 ),
The following boundary conditions are imposed for a X12  (A12  B12 ),
simply supported rectangular FGM plate having
thickness h with sides a and b. X13  0,
At edges x=0 and x=a;
X14  (A132  B132 ),
v0  0; w 0  0; y  0;
(15) X15  (A14  B14),
M x  0; N x  0; X22  (A222  B122 ),
At edges y= 0 and y = b
X23  0,
u 0  0; w 0  0; x  0;
(16) X24  (A23  B13),
M y  0; N y  0; X25  (A242  B142 ),
The displacement variables are assumed to satisfy the X33  (2 D12  2 E12 ),
above boundary conditions and can be expressed in
following forms, X34  (D11 ),
 
X35  (E11 ),
u 0  u 0 mn cosxsiny, (17)
m 1n 1 X44  (A332  B232  D11 ),
 
v0  v0 mn sinxcosy, (18)
X45  (A34  B24),
m 1n 1 X55  (A442  B242  E11 ),
 
w 0  w 0 mn sinxsiny, (19) Xij  X ji , i, j  1 to 5.
m 1n 1
  Numerical Results and Discussion:
x  x mn cosxsiny, (20) In this section, the numerical example solved is
m 1n 1 described and discussed. Numerical results are
 
y  y mn sinxcosy.
presented using a shear correction coefficient of 5/6 for
(21) a simply supported rectangular FGM plate under
m 1n 1
sinusoidal load and Uniformly Distributed Load (UDL)
And the transverse mechanical loading term can be using the following material properties,
expressed as,
International Journal of Earth Sciences and Engineering
ISSN 0974-5904, Vol. 06, No. 04, August 2013, pp. 633-637
 Computational Model for the Transverse Stress Analysis of FGM Plates 636
– An Assessment
Ec / E m  6, a / b  1, p  2.    

Graphical results are presented for a simply supported

σ x =σ x  h  , σ y =σ y  h ,
P a P a
 0   0 
rectangular FGM plate under UDL using the following
   
material properties,
xy =xy  h , xz =xz  h ,
Ec / E m  6, a / b  1, a / h  10, p  2. P a
 0 
P a 
 0 
Results are reported using the following non-  
dimensional form. yz = yz  h . .
P a
100h 3E c  10h 3E c   0 
u  u 4 , w  w 4 
,
 P0a   P0a 
Table1: Non-dimensional transverse deflection, in-plane and transverse stresses

a/h Load Type w x y xy xz yz

Sinusoidal 1.6470 0.7346 -0.2338 -0.3956 0.2253 0.2517
2
UDL 2.4928 1.0685 -0.3400 -0.7238 0.4652 0.5198

Sinusoidal 0.9802 1.4693 -0.4675 -0.7912 0.2253 0.2517

4
UDL 1.5229 2.1370 -0.6800 -1.4477 0.4652 0.5198

Sinusoidal 0.7935 3.6732 -1.1688 -1.9779 0.2253 0.2517

10
UDL 1.2513 5.3426 -1.6999 -3.6191 0.4652 0.5198

Sinusoidal 0.7668 7.3465 -2.3375 -3.9558 0.2253 0.2517

20
UDL 1.2126 10.6851 -3.3998 -7.2383 0.4652 0.5198

Sinusoidal 0.7593 18.3662 -5.8438 -9.8895 0.2253 0.2517

50
UDL 1.2017 26.7128 -8.4995 -18.0957 0.4652 0.5198

Sinusoidal 0.7582 36.7325 -11.6876 -19.779 0.2253 0.2517

100
UDL 1.2000 53.4257 -16.9991 -36.1914 0.4652 0.5198

Unless otherwise specified within the table the location

(i.e. x, y and z coordinates) for the values of stresses
reported are as follows:
In-plane displacement (u): (0, b/2, h/2),
Transverse displacement (w): (a/2, b/2, 0),
In-plane normal stress (σx): (a/2, b/2, h/2),
In-plane normal stress (σy): (a/2, b/2,-h/2),
In-plane shear stress (τxy): (0, 0, h/2),
Transverse shear stress (τxz): (0, b/2, 0),
Transverse shear stress (τyz): (a/2, 0, h/6).

Fig1: Through-the-thickness variation of In-plane

displacement: u(0, b/2)

International Journal of Earth Sciences and Engineering

ISSN 0974-5904, Vol. 06, No. 04, August 2013, pp. 633-637
 637 K SWAMINATHAN and D T NAVEENKUMAR
Fig2: Through-the-thickness variation of In-plane
normal stress: σx(a/2,b/2)
Fig3: Through-the-thickness variation of In-plane shear
stress: τxy(0, 0)
Fig4: Through-the-thickness variation of Transverse
shear stress: τxz(0, b/2)
Table 1 shows the non-dimensional values of transverse
deflection, in-plane and transverse stresses for various
International Journal of Earth Sciences and Engineering
ISSN 0974-5904, Vol. 06, No. 04, August 2013, pp. 633-637
values of thickness to side ratio. It is observed that the
transverse shear stress is constant irrespective of the
plate thickness whereas in-plane normal and shear
stresses are found to increase with decrease in plate
thickness. Further, transverse deflection is higher in the
case UDL. Fig. 1-4 shows the through-the-thickness
distribution of in-plane deflection, in-plane normal
stress, in-plane shear stress and transverse shear stress.
Conclusions:
Analytical formulations and solutions to study the static
response of simply supported FGM rectangular plates
using a first-order computation model are presented.
The maximum and through the thickness variation of
transverse displacement, in-plane normal stress, in-
plane shear stress and transverse shear stress are
investigated. Numerical results presented herein will
provide a good reference to researchers working in the
area of analysis of FGM plates.
References:
[1] Cheng Z Q and Batra R C (2000), Deflection
relationships between the homogeneous Kirchhoff
plate theory and different functionally graded plate
theories, Archive of Applied Mechanics, Vol. 52,
pp.143–58.
[2] Chi S H and Chung Y L (2006), Mechanical
behavior of functionally graded material plates
under transverse load—Part I: Analysis, Solids and
Structures, Vol. 43, pp. 3657-3674.
[3] Kashtalyan M (2004), Three- dimensional elasticity
solution for bending of functionally graded
rectangular plates, European Journal of Mechanics -
A/Solids, Vol. 23, pp. 853–64.
[4] Nguyen, T K, Sab K and Bonnet G. (2008), First-
order shear deformation plate models for
functionally graded materials, Composite
Structures, Vol. 83, pp. 25–36.
[5] Reddy J N et al (1999), Axisymmetric bending of
functionally graded circular and annular plates,
European Journal of Mechanics - A/Solids, Vol. 18,
pp. 185-199.
[6] Saidi A R and Jomehzadeh E (2009), on analytical
approach for the bending/stretching of linearly
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two opposite edges simply supported, Journal of
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[7] Zenkour A M (2006), generalized shear
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