Nonlinear Thermoelastic Analysis of Functionally Graded Plates Using the Third-order Shear Deformation Theory

Linear and nonlinear thermomechanical response of the functionally graded (metal-ceramic) plates subjected to static and dynamic loads is studied. The third-order plate theory of Reddy with the von Karman geometric nonlinearity is used for the kinematic and kinetic descriptions, and two constitutent power-law distribution through the plate thickness is employed. A displacement finite element model is developed with the Newmark time integration scheme, and the Newton-Raphson iterative procedure is used for the solution of nonlinear algebraic equations. While the model is general enough to be used for any boundary conditions, the simply supported and clamped boundary conditions are used to study the parametric effect of the power-law index and surface temperatures and mechanical loads on the thermomechanical response. The most significant finding of this study is that the deflection response does not fall intermediate to those of the metal or ceramic plates. This is due to the nonlinear coupling of mechanical and thermal contributions.