Influence of boundary conditions on the bending and free vibration behavior of FGM sandwich plates using a four-unknown refined integral plate theory

The influence of boundary conditions on the bending and free vibration behavior of functionally graded sandwich plates resting on a two-parameter elastic foundation is examined using an original novel high order shear theory. The Hamilton's principle is used herein to derive the equations of motion. The number of unknowns and governing equations of the present theory is reduced, and hence makes it simple to use. This theory includes indeterminate integral variables and contains only four unknowns in which any shear correction factor not used, with even less than the conventional theory of first shear strain (FSDT). Unlike any other theory, the number of unknown functions involved in displacement field is only four, as against five, six or more in the case of other shear deformation theories. Galerkin's approach is utilized for FGM sandwich plates with six different boundary conditions. The accuracy of the proposed solution is checked by comparing it with other closed form solutions available in the literature.