On the variable length scale parameter in functionally graded non-porous and porous microplate/nanoplate

In this article, the solution for free vibration and static bending of nonporous and porous square microplate/nanoplate is studied by practicing the modified couple stress theory (MCST). The impact of incorporating the length scale parameter of MCST is confirmed by comparing the results to that of molecular dynamics simulations. This study is aimed at investigating the influence of implementing a variable length scale parameter on the static and dynamic behavior of the small-scaled plates. Results are obtained adopting the analytical technique and compared to cases of presupposing constant numerical values of material length scale throughout each plate. The novelty of this theoretical study is the approach employed to achieve the formulation of the material length scale parameter, which varies along the thickness of both porous and nonporous plates. The results indicate that the inclusion of the variable length scale parameter increases the fundamental frequency and stiffness of plates. When comparing two cases of variable length scale parameter, one approximating the scale parameter of each constituent based on the bending parameter and Poisson's ratio of the material, and the other adopting the numerical values estimated by prior experimental studies, reveals that the latter gives higher results and is chosen correspondingly.