Buckling Analysis of Functionally Graded Tapered Microbeams via Rayleigh-Ritz Method

In the present study, the buckling problem of nonhomogeneous microbeams with a variable cross-section is analyzed. The microcolumn considered in this study is made of functionally graded materials in the longitudinal direction and the cross-section of the microcolumn varies continuously throughout the axial direction. The Bernoulli-Euler beam theory in conjunction with modified strain gradient theory are employed to model the structure by considering the size effect. The Rayleigh-Ritz numerical solution method is used to solve the eigenvalue problem for various conditions. The influences of changes in the cross-section and Young's modulus, size dependency, and non-classical boundary conditions are examined in detail. It is observed that the size effect becomes more pronounced for smaller sizes and differences between the classical and non-classical buckling loads increase by increasing the taper ratios.