Nonlinear analysis of sandwich plates with FGM face sheets resting on elastic foundations

Nonlinear vibration, nonlinear bending and postbuckling analyses are presented for a sandwich plate with FGM face sheets resting on an elastic foundation in thermal environments. The material properties of FGM face sheets are assumed to be graded in the thickness direction according to a simple power law distribution in terms of the volume fractions of the constituents. The governing equation of the plate that includes plate-foundation interaction is solved by a two-step perturbation technique. The thermal effects are also included and the material properties of both FGM face sheets and homogeneous core layer are assumed to be temperature-dependent. The numerical results reveal that the foundation stiffness and temperature rise have a significant effect on the natural frequency, buckling load, postbuckling and nonlinear bending behaviors of sandwich plates. The results also reveal that the core-to-face sheet thickness ratio and the volume fraction distribution of FGM face sheets have a significant effect on the natural frequency, buckling load and postbuckling behavior of the sandwich plate, whereas this effect is less pronounced for the nonlinear bending, and is marginal for the nonlinear to linear frequency ratios of the same sandwich plate. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.