Free vibration and static analysis of sandwich composite plate with auxetic core and GPLRC facing sheets in hygrothermal environment

The main objective of this study is to investigate the vibration and static analysis of a sandwich composite plate in the hygrothermal environment. The plate consists of three layers such as an Aluminum auxetic core and Graphene platelet-reinforced composite (GPLRC) facing sheets. Based on the Halpin-Tsai theory and Gibson's model, the macro mechanical properties of facing sheets and auxetic core are derived. Via Reddy's third-order shear deformation theory (TSDT), the equations of motion of the sandwich plate are obtained and solved by both Navier and the generalized differential quadrature method (GDQM). The current formulation is validated by comparing the numerical results with those that are reported in the literature. Finally, the influence of different parameters such as the inclined angle of auxetic cells, thickness to the length, and core to total thickness on the natural frequencies, deflection and stresses of the sandwich plate, is examined. Even though some studies have been conducted to investigate the bending or vibration behavior of sandwich structures with negative Poisson's ratio (NPR) cores, the bending and vibration behavior of such structures in the hygrothermal environment is remained unexplored. Additionally, the analysis of stress component variations along the thickness of the plate was a novel feature that has not been addressed in prior studies on the similar structure.