Bending of FGM rectangular plates resting on non-uniform elastic foundations in thermal environment using an accurate theory

This article presents the bending analysis of FGM rectangular plates resting on non-uniform elastic foundations in thermal environment. Theoretical formulations are based on a recently developed refined shear deformation theory. The displacement field of the present theory is chosen based on nonlinear variations in the in-plane displacements through the thickness of the plate. The present theory satisfies the free transverse shear stress conditions on the top and bottom surfaces of the plate without using shear correction factor. Unlike the conventional trigonometric shear deformation theory, the present refined shear deformation theory contains only four unknowns as against five in case of other shear deformation theories. The material properties of the functionally graded plates are assumed to vary continuously through the thickness, according to a simple power law distribution of the volume fraction of the constituents. The elastic foundation is modeled as non-uniform foundation. The results of the shear deformation theories are compared together. Numerical examples cover the effects of the gradient index, plate aspect ratio, side-to-thickness ratio and elastic foundation parameters on the thermo-mechanical behavior of functionally graded plates. Numerical results show that the present theory can archive accuracy comparable to the existing higher order shear deformation theories that contain more number of unknowns.