The THERMAL BENDING OF SANDWICH FG POROSITY PLATES UNDER THE NONLINEAR THERMAL DISTRIBUTION EFFECT ON WITH ZIGZAG QUASI 3D THEORY USING THE NURBS BASIS FUNCTIONS

Abstract

With their exceptional mechanical properties, functionally graded materials (FGMs) are investigated among the most attractive reinforcement materials for industrial applications. This paper investigates the bending response of thick, porous, functionally graded (FG) rectangular sandwich plates based on the proposed approximate 3D zig-zag shear deformation theory. Two functions, f(z) and g(z) are incorporated into the analysis, representing higher-order shear deformation and transverse shear strain through the thickness of the FG plate, respectively. Additionally, the compatibility conditions of shear stress between layers in the present method address significant challenges in analyzing the thermal bending of thick FG plates. The proposed model ensures that the transverse shear stress compatibility conditions at the interfaces of adjacent layers are satisfied. An improved transverse shear stress field is obtained and integrated into the proposed approximate 3D theory. Analytical solutions derived from various models, including higher-order analytical methods, are utilized to evaluate the performance of the proposed Quasi 3D zig-zag model. Using Hamilton's principle, equilibrium equations for porous FG sandwich plates are formulated. Numerical results demonstrate that the proposed model delivers promising results for thick sandwich plates, achieving excellent accuracy compared to analytical solutions. Moreover, the effects of volume fractions, aspect ratios, span-to-thickness ratios, boundary conditions, and typical linear and nonlinear temperature distributions across the plate thickness on the thermomechanical bending response of FG plates are investigated in detail. In conclusion, the proposed method can be considered a potential solution for accurately evaluating the behavior of structures under thermal loading and temperature distribution through the thickness.