Transient Thermoelastic Deformations of a Thick Functionally Graded Plate

We study transient thermoelastic deformations of a thick functionally graded plate with edges held at a uniform temperature and either simply supported or clamped. Either the temperature or the heat flux is prescribed on the top surface of the plate with the bottom surface of the plate kept at either a uniform temperature or thermally insulated. Stresses and deformations induced due to the simultaneous application of the transient thermal and mechanical loads are also computed. The problem is solved by using a higher order shear and normal deformable plate theory and a meshless local Petrov–Galerkin method. Only nodal coordinates are needed, and neither nodal connectivity nor a background mesh is employed. The validity of the method and of the computer code is established by comparing computed results with the analytical solution of the three-dimensional thermoelasticity equations for a simply supported plate. Results are then computed for clamped plates. It is found that the centroidal deflection and the axial stress induced at the centroid of the top surface of the plate are significantly influenced by boundary conditions at the plate edges.