Thermo-mechanical post-buckling of thick FGM plates resting on elastic foundations with tangential edge constraints

Abstract

This paper investigates the effects of tangential edge consữaints and elastic foundations on the buckling and postbuckling behavior of thick PGM rectangular plates resting on elastic foundations and subjected to thermal and thermomechanical loading conditions. Material properties are assumed to be temperature dependent, and graded in (he thickness direction according to a simple power law distribution in terms of the volume fractions of constituents. Goveming equations are based on the higher order shear deformation plate theory incorporating the von Kannan geometrical nonlinearity, initial geometrical imperiection, tangential edge cọnstraints and Pastemak type elastic foundations. Approximate Solutions are assumed to satisfy simply supported bound- ary conditions and Galerkin procedure is applied to derive expressions of buckling loads and load-deflection relations. In thermal postbuckling analysis, an iteration algorithm is employed to determme critical buckling temperatures and postbuckling temperature- derection equilibrium paths. The separate and simultaneous effects of tangential edge resuaints, elastic foundations and temperature dependence of material propertles on the buckling and postbuckling responses of higher order shear deformable PGM plates are analyzed and discussed.