An efficient hyperbolic shear deformation theory for bending, buckling and free vibration of FGM sandwich plates with various boundary conditions

In this research, a simple hyperbolic shear deformation theory is developed and applied for the bending, vibration and buckling of powerly graded material (PGM) sandwich plate with various boundary conditions. The displacement field of the present model is selected based on a hyperbolic variation in the in-plane displacements across the plate\'s thickness. By splitting the deflection into the bending and shear parts, the number of unknowns and equations of motion of the present formulation is reduced and hence makes them simple to use. Equations of motion are obtained from Hamilton\'s principle. Numerical results for the natural frequencies, deflections and critical buckling loads of several types of powerly graded sandwich plates under various boundary conditions are presented. The accuracy of the present formulation is demonstrated by comparing the computed results with those available in the literature. As conclusion, this theory is as accurate as other theories available in the literature and so it becomes more attractive due to smaller number of unknowns.