An isogeometric finite element formulation for thermal buckling analysis of functionally graded plates

We address in this paper an isogeometric finite element approach (IGA) in combination with the third-order deformation plate theory (TSDT) for thermal buckling analysis of functionally graded material (FGM) plates. TSDT accounts shear deformation effect without requiring any shear correction factors. The IGA utilizes non-uniform rational B-spline (NURBS) as basis functions, resulting in both exact geometric representation and high order approximations. It enables to achieve easily the smoothness with arbitrary continuous order. The present method hence fulfills the C-1-requirement of TSDT model. The material properties of FGM plates are assumed to vary according to power law distribution of the volume fraction of constituents. The temperature field through the plate thickness is described by a polynomial series. The influences of length to thickness ratio, aspect ratio, boundary conditions and material property on the temperature critical buckling are investigated. Numerical results of circular and rectangular plates are provided to validate the effectiveness of the proposed method. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.