Vibration and buckling analyses of functionally graded plates based on refined plate theory using airy stress function

In this paper, an approach based on the refined plate theory and Airy stress function has been proposed to investigate the vibration and buckling behaviors of functionally graded (FG) rectangular plates. The significant feature of the proposed approach is considering only two unknowns in the displacement field in which the contribution due to shear and bending to the total transverse displacement are clarified. Using the extended Hamilton's principle and defining an Airy stress function corresponding to the compatibility equation, the equations of motion, which do not explicitly include the in-plane displacements, are derived. The accuracy and effectiveness of the current model is shown by comparing the natural frequencies and buckling loads of various FG rectangular plates calculated by the proposed approach with even three-dimensional (3-D) and quasi-3D solutions. Besides, the exact dynamic response of a square FG plate due to a harmonic central force is investigated using modal analysis. This approach is capable of handling quasi-3D models, by selecting proper functions in the displacement field to consider the thickness stretching effect. By doing this, behavior of FG square plates with various coefficient functions are compared with each other. Therefore, through implementing the Airy stress function, the number of variables is reduced, in turn, simplifying the dynamic model. Consequently, it can be used for wide range study of static and dynamic behaviors of FG plates.