Stability analysis of porous FG sandwich plates under thermomechanical loads via integral HySDT

The thermomechanical buckling of imperfect sandwich plates made of functionally graded material (FGM) is addressed analytically in this study. A novel hyperbolic four-variable integral shear deformation theory is used to arrive at the solution. Sandwich plates come in two varieties: the first with homogeneous core and FG face sheets and the second with the opposite. The displacement field is constructed using undetermined integrals in order to reduce the number of unknown variables which consequently reduces the calculation time unlike other similar theories. The proposed model does not require a shear correction factor and ensures the free-stress at the upper and lower surfaces of structure. The materials properties of the structure are computed via power-law function with considering the porosity effect which may appear during manufacturing due to the difference in solidification temperature of the constituents (ceramic/metal). Four types of geometric imperfection are examined with even, uneven, logarithmic uneven and linear uneven distributions. On the basis of the minimal total potential energy concept, the governing equations are developed. The Navier’s method is used to solve these equations for simply supported plates. The results of simply supported FGM sandwich plates' critical buckling load and temperature increment are contrasted with the available solutions in the literature. Even, uneven, linear uneven and logarithmic uneven models of distribution are taken into consideration and studied in order to incorporate porosity in the FG face sheet and core. Investigation is conducted into the effects of layer thickness, porosity models, porosity coefficients and geometrical parameters on the thermomechanical buckling response of imperfect FG sandwich plates.