Composite Structures 93 (2010) 93–102

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Composite Structures
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/compstruct

Thermal buckling of various types of FGM sandwich plates

A.M. Zenkour a,b,*, M. Sobhy b
a
Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Science, King AbdulAziz University, P.O. Box 80203, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia
b
Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Science, Kafrelsheik University, Kafr El-Sheikh 33516, Egypt

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The sinusoidal shear deformation plate theory is used to study the thermal buckling of functionally
Available online 30 June 2010 graded material (FGM) sandwich plates. This theory includes the shear deformation and contains the
higher- and first-order shear deformation theories and classical plate theory as special cases. Material
Keywords: properties and thermal expansion coefficient of the sandwich plate faces are assumed to be graded in
Sinusoidal plate theory the thickness direction according to a simple power-law distribution in terms of the volume fractions
Thermal buckling of the constituents. The core layer is still homogeneous and made of an isotropic material. Several kinds
FGM sandwich plate
of symmetric sandwich plates are presented. Stability equations of FGM sandwich plates include the
thermal effects. The thermal loads are assumed to be uniform, linear and non-linear distribution
through-the-thickness. Numerical examples cover the effects of the gradient index, plate aspect ratio,
side-to-thickness ratio, loading type and sandwich plate type on the critical buckling for sandwich plates.
Ó 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Thermal buckling of composite structures has long been of vivid
interest to researchers because it is an undesired phenomenon and
some cases of it cannot be avoided under special conditions. Ther-
mal buckling of plates, beams and shells was numerously studied
in several reports based on the various plate theories, depending
upon the through-thickness displacement pattern considered. It
is well known that the classical plate theory, which is based on
Kirchhoff’s hypothesis, overestimates the buckling load when
applied to even moderately thick plates. This is particularly true
for composite plates in which transverse shear moduli are small
in comparison to the in-plane Young’s moduli. In such cases, it be-
comes necessary to take into account shear deformation effects.
Thus, various improved plate theories such as first- and higher-
order shear deformation plate theories and sinusoidal shear defor-
mation plate theory have been developed to predict the behavior of
plates with thickness shear deformation (for more details see, Noor
and Burton [1], Thornton [2] and Zenkour [3,4]). Shariyat [5] ana-
lyzed thermal buckling of rectangular composite multilayered
plates under uniform temperature rise using a layerwise plate the-
ory. A thermal postbuckling analysis was presented by Shen [6]
and Shen and Williams [7] for a simply supported plates using
first-order shear deformation plate theory and classical one. The
plates are subjected to uniform or non-uniform parabolic temper-
ature loading and resting on elastic foundations. Karlsson and Bott-
* Corresponding author at: Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Science, Kafr
El-Sheik University, Kafr El-Sheikh 33516, Egypt.
E-mail addresses: zenkour@kau.edu.sa, zenkour@sci.kfs.edu.eg (A.M. Zenkour).
ega [8] studied the behavior of uniformly heated plates for the
situation where a patch is adhered over a region of the structure.
Sandwich plates have been extensively used in construction of
many components in automotive, aerospace, aeronautic, ship,
underwater, and building structures. These plates are generally
fabricated from three layers. The two face sheets adhesively bonded
to the core. They are utilized for many purposes, among them:
avoiding noise or vibrations, thermal insulation, construction of
light-weight structures with higher strength to weight ratios, and
ease of manufacturing. Some reports have been performed to ana-
lyze the thermal buckling of sandwich plates. Shiau and Kuo [9]
developed a higher-order triangular plate element for the thermal
buckling analysis of a rectangular composite sandwich plate.
Dynamic buckling of imperfect sandwich plates subjected to
thermo-mechanical loads was investigated by Shariyat [10]. Based
on finite element method, thermal buckling and vibration of sand-
wich plates and beams with composite facings and viscoelastic core
were investigated by Ganesan and Pradeep [11,12], Vangipuram
and Ganesan [13] and Pradeep et al. [14]. However, Matsunaga
[15–17] employed the global higher-order deformation theory to
analyze the thermal buckling of composite sandwich plates and
shells.
The concept of FGM was proposed in 1984 by a group of mate-
rials scientists, in Sendai, Japan, for thermal barriers or heat shield-
ing properties [18]. Inhomogeneous materials such as functionally
graded materials (FGMs) have been developed and have attracted
technical interest as new functional and intelligent materials for
a super-high-temperature environment. Such inhomogeneous
materials are developed to be utilized as thin structural elements
such as a plate or shell. When the structural elements become thin

0263-8223/$ - see front matter Ó 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.compstruct.2010.06.012
94 A.M. Zenkour, M. Sobhy / Composite Structures 93 (2010) 93–102

due to weight requirements, evaluation of the instability phenom- z

ena for such structural elements is needed [19].
From this point of view, great attention has been paid to the ef-
fect of introducing a gradient in elastic properties on the indenta-
tion strength of materials. Zenkour [20] studied the bending Metal a y
response, buckling and free vibration of simply supported func- b
h3
tionally graded sandwich plate using the sinusoidal shear deforma-
h2
tion plate theory. Zenkour [21] derived the exact solution for FGM h Ceramic core
h1
plates using generalized sinusoidal shear deformation theory and
h0
presented numerical results on displacement and stress response Metal
of FGM plates under uniform loading. Zenkour [22] employed the x
refined trigonometric shear deformation plate theory to study
Fig. 1. Geometry of the FGM sandwich plate.
the bending response of simply supported FG plate. Based on the
refined sinusoidal plate theory, Zenkour et al. [23] presented an
investigation on the bending response of FGM viscoelastic beams bottom and top surfaces, i.e. the bottom (z = h/2) and top
resting on elastic foundations. Reddy [24] analyzed the static (z = +h/2) surfaces of the plate are metal-rich whereas the interfaces
behavior of FG rectangular plates based on his third-order shear (h1, h2) are ceramic-rich. The mechanical and thermal properties of
deformation plate theory. Brischetto and Carrera [25] investigated FGMs are determined from the volume fraction of the material con-
FGM plates subjected to a transverse mechanical load using the stituents. Poisson’s ratio m is assumed to be constant, while the
unified formulation and the Reissner’s mixed variational theorem. effective material properties for each layer n, like the modulus of
Due to the importance and wide engineering applications of elasticity E and the coefficient of thermal expansion a at a point
FGMs, the thermal buckling behavior of these materials has been are usually assumed to be given by the rule of mixture [4,20]
addressed by many investigators. For example, Shariat and Eslami
EðnÞ ðzÞ ¼ Em þ ðEc  Em ÞV ðnÞ ;
[26] presented the thermal buckling analysis of rectangular func- ð1Þ
tionally graded plates with geometrical imperfections using the aðnÞ ðzÞ ¼ am þ ðac  am ÞV ðnÞ ;
classical plate theory to derive the equilibrium, stability, and com-
where subscripts m and c refer to metal and ceramic, and V(n) is the
patibility equations of an imperfect FGM. A two-dimensional glo-
volume fraction of layer n which is equal to unity in the core (i.e.
bal higher-order deformation theory has been employed by
V(2) = 1, at h1 6 z 6 h2) while it follows a simple power law
Matsunaga [27] for thermal buckling of FGM plates. Zhao et al.
through-the-thickness of the bottom and top layers that takes the
[28] presented the mechanical and thermal buckling analysis of
form
FG ceramic–metal plates using the first-order shear deformation
plate theory, in conjunction with the Ritz method. Also, Fuchiyama  k
z  h0
and Noda [29] considered an FGM plate made of ZrO2 and Ti 6Al 4V V ð1Þ ¼ ; h0 6 z 6 h1 ;
h1  h0
under thermal loading.  k ð2Þ
Thermal buckling analysis of the FGM sandwich plates are very ð3Þ z  h3
V ¼ ; h2 6 z 6 h3 ;
rare in literature but may be not found. Thus, the purpose of this h2  h3
paper is to study the critical buckling temperature for FGM (Tita- where k is a parameter which denotes the power-law index and
nium–Zirconia/Zirconia/Zirconia–Titanium) sandwich plates. The takes values greater than or equal to zero. The core is independent
sinusoidal shear deformation plate theory is used to deduce the of the value of k which is fully ceramic. Note that the value of k
stability equations. The material properties as Young’s modulus equaling to zero represents a homogeneous isotropic ceramic plate
and coefficient of thermal expansion vary according to a power and the value of it equaling to infinity represents a metal–ceramic–
law form through-the-thickness coordinate. The governing equa- metal (m–c–m) sandwich plate. The above power law assumption
tions are solved analytically for a plate with simply-supported reflects a simple rule of mixtures used to obtain the effective prop-
boundary conditions and subjected to various type of temperature erties of the metal–ceramic sandwich plate (see Fig. 1). Also, note
rise. The results based on the sinusoidal theory are compared with that the volume fraction of the ceramic is high near the interfaces,
those obtained by the higher- and first-order shear deformation and that of the metal is high near the bottom and top surfaces.
plate theories and classical plate theory. The influences of several
parameters are discussed. 2.1. Various types of FGM sandwich plates

Fig. 2 shows the through-the-thickness variation of the volume

2. Sandwich structures fraction function of the material for k = 0.1, 0.5, 1,2, 5, 10. Note that
the core of the symmetric and nonsymmetric plates are fully cera-
Consider a composite structure made of three isotropic layers of mic while the bottom and top surfaces of the plate are metal-rich.
arbitrary thickness h, width b and length a as shown Fig. 1. The
FGM sandwich plate is supported at four edges defined in the 2.1.1. The (1–0–1) FGM sandwich plate
(x, y, z) coordinate system with x- and y-axes located in the middle Here there is no core, i.e. the plate is made of only two equal-
plane (z = 0) and its origin placed at the corner of the plate. The thickness FGM layers (see Fig. 2a). So, one obtains
external bounding planes of the sandwich plate are defined by
z = ±h/2. The vertical positions of the bottom surface, the two inter- h1 ¼ 0; h2 ¼ 0: ð3Þ
faces between the core and faces layers, and the top surface are de-
noted, respectively, by h0 = h/2, h1, h2 and h0 = h/2. 2.1.2. The (2–1–2) FGM sandwich plate
The face layers of the sandwich plate are made of a FGM with In this state the core of the plate is half the face thickness (see
material properties varying smoothly in the z (thickness) direction Fig. 2b). Thus,
only. The FGM are composed from a mixture of metal (Titanium al-
loy) and ceramic (Zirconia) while the core is fully Zirconia. We as- h h
h1 ¼  ; h2 ¼ : ð4Þ
sume that the composition is varied from the interfaces to the 10 10
 A.M. Zenkour, M. Sobhy / Composite Structures 93 (2010) 93–102 95

(a) (b)

(c) (d)

(e)

Fig. 2. Through-thickness distributions of volume fraction function for various values of the power-law index k and various types of FGM sandwich plates: (a) the (1–0–1)
FGM sandwich plate, (b) the (2–1–2) FGM sandwich plate, (c) the (1–1–1) FGM sandwich plate, (d) the (1–2–1) FGM sandwich plate, and (e) the (2–2–1) FGM sandwich plate.

2.1.3. The (1–1–1) FGM sandwich plate 2.1.4. The (1–2–1) FGM sandwich plate
As shown in Fig. 2c the plate is made of three equal-thickness Here the core thickness is twice the face thickness (see Fig. 2d).
layers. So, one gets Then
h h h h
h1 ¼  ; h2 ¼ : ð5Þ h1 ¼  ; h2 ¼ : ð6Þ
6 6 4 4
96 A.M. Zenkour, M. Sobhy / Composite Structures 93 (2010) 93–102

2.1.5. The (2–2–1) FGM sandwich plate where

Here the sandwich plate is nonsymmetric about the mid-plane 8 @w 2 9 9 8
8 ð0Þ 9 > @u0
þ 12 0 > 8 ð1Þ 9 > > @ 2 w0
> > > >
in which the core thickness equals the lower face thickness while it < exx >
> = >
< @x

@x
2 >
= < exx >
> = 2
>
= >
< @x2
is twice the upper face thickness (see Fig. 2e). Thus, we have ð0Þ
eyy ¼ @v 0 ð1Þ @ w0
eyy ¼  @y2 ; ð13Þ
> > > þ 12 @w 0
>
;
>
: ð0Þ ; >
>
@y @y
>
> : ð1Þ >; >
>
>
>
>
h 3h cxy : @ v 0 @u0 @w0 @w0 ; cxy : 2 @ 2 w0 >
;
þ þ
h1 ¼  ; h2 ¼ : ð7Þ 8
@x
9
@y @x @y @x@y
10 10 8 ð2Þ 9 @u1
> > ( )
< exx >
> = >
<
@x >
= ð0Þ
cyz

v1
ð2Þ @v 1
eyy ¼ @y ; ¼ : ð14Þ
3. Mathematical formulation >
: ð2Þ >; >
> > ð0Þ
cxz u1
c : @ v 1 þ @u1 >
;
xy @x @y
The displacements of a material point located at (x, y, z) in the
The stress–strain relationships accounting for transverse shear
plate may be written as follows
deformation in the plate coordinates can be written as
@w0
uðx; y; zÞ ¼ u0  z þ WðzÞu1 ; 8 9ðnÞ 2 3ðnÞ 08 9 8 9 1
@x >
> rxx >
> c11 c12 0 0 0 >
> exx >
> >
> 1>>
@w >
> >
> >
7 B> e > > >
> >
v ðx; y; zÞ ¼ v 0  z 0 þ WðzÞv 1 ; ð8Þ > > 6
0 7 B> > yy > >1> > C
@y < ryy >
> = 6 c12
6
c22 0 0
7 B<
>
= >
< > = C
C
ryz ¼6
6 0 0 c44 0 0 77 B>
B cyz  0 a T C;
ðnÞ
C
wðx; y; zÞ ¼ w0 ; >
> > > > >
>
>
> r >
> xz >
>
>
>
6
4 0 0 0 c55
7 B>
0 5 @> > cxz >
>
>
> >
>
>
>
>
>
> 0>
>
>
>
C
A
: ; >
: >
where u0, v0, w0 and u1, v1 have the same physical meaning as in the rxy ; 0 0 0 0 c66
:
cxy 0
;
first-order shear deformation plat theory (FPT); they denote the dis-
ð15Þ
placements and rotations of transverse normals on the plane z = 0,
respectively. Then the displacement field of FPT is obtained by set- where
ting W(z) = z, for the Reddy third-order shear deformation plate the-
ory (HPT) [24] it is equal to ðnÞ ðnÞ EðnÞ ðzÞ ðnÞ ðnÞ ðnÞ ðnÞ ðnÞ EðnÞ ðzÞ
c11 ¼ c22 ¼ ; c12 ¼ mc11 ; c44 ¼ c55 ¼ c66 ¼ ;
1  m2 2ð1 þ mÞ
 
4z2 ð16Þ
WðzÞ ¼ z 1  2
; ð9Þ
3h
and T(x, y, z) is the temperature rise through-the-thickness.
and for Zenkour sinusoidal shear deformation plate theory (SPT) The total potential energy of the FGM sandwich plate may be
[3,20] it is equal to written as
Z
1 h ðnÞ i
h pz U¼ rxx ðexx  aðnÞ TÞ þ rðnÞ ðnÞ ðnÞ ðnÞ ðnÞ
yy ðeyy  a TÞ þ rxy cxy þ ryz cyz þ rxz cxz dV:
2 V
WðzÞ ¼ sin : ð10Þ
p h ð17Þ

Moreover, the displacement of the classical plate theory (CPT) The principle of virtual work for the present problem may be
can easily be obtained by setting W(z) = 0. All of the generalized expressed as follows:
displacements u0, v0, w0, u1, v1 are independent of z. Z h
The non-linear von Karman strain–displacement equations are Nxx deð0Þ ð0Þ ð0Þ ð1Þ ð1Þ ð1Þ
xx þ N yy deyy þ N xy dcxy þ M xx dexx þ M yy deyy þ M xy dcxy
X
as follows: i
þ Pxx deð2Þ ð2Þ ð2Þ ð0Þ ð0Þ
xx þ P yy deyy þ P xy dcxy þ Q yz dcyz þ Q xz dcxz dX ¼ 0;
 2
@u 1 @w ð18Þ
exx ¼ þ ;
@x 2 @x
 2 where (Nxx, Nyy, Nxy) denote the total in-plane force resultants,
@ v 1 @w (Mxx, Myy, Mxy) denote the total moment resultants, (Pxx, Pyy, Pxy) are
eyy ¼ þ ;
@y 2 @y the additional stress couples associated with the transverse shear
@w effects and (Qyz, Qxz) are transverse shear stress resultants and they
ezz ¼ ; are defined as
@z ð11Þ
8 9 8
@ v @u @w @w > N
< xx > 3 Z hn >
r 9
< xx >
ðnÞ
cxy ¼ þ þ ; = X =
@x @y @x @y Nyy ¼ ryy dz;
>
: >
; n¼1 hn1 > : >
;
@w @ v Nxy rxy
cyz ¼ þ ;
@y @z 8 9 8
> M
< xx > = X 3 Z hn >
r 9
< xx > =
ðnÞ
@w @u
cxz ¼ þ : Myy ¼ ryy zdz;
@x @z > >
: ; n¼1 hn1 > : >
;
M xy rxy ð19Þ
On the basis of the displacement field given in Eq. (8), Eq. (11)
8 9 8
becomes > P
< xx > = X 3 Z hn >
r 9
< xx > =
ðnÞ

8 9 8 ð0Þ 9
8 ð1Þ 9 8 ð2Þ 9 Pyy ¼ ryy Wdz;
> exx > > > e >
exx > > e > >
: ; n¼1 hn1 >
> : >
;
>
< >
= >
< >
< xx >
>
== >
< xx >= Pxy rxy
eyy ¼ eyy þ z eyy þ WðzÞ eð2Þ
ð0Þ ð1Þ
yy ; ( ) ( )ðnÞ
>
> > > > > > > > 3 Z hn
:c > ; >
: ð0Þ >
; >
: ð1Þ >; >
: ð2Þ >
; Q yz X ryz dWðzÞ
xy cxy cxy cxy ð12Þ b
¼K dz;
( ) ( ) Q xz n¼1 h n1 r xz
dz
ð0Þ
cyz dWðzÞ cyz
ezz ¼ 0; ¼ ; b is the shear correction factor of FPT; hn and hn1 are the top
where K
cxz dz ð0Þ
cxz and bottom z-coordinates of the nth layers.
 A.M. Zenkour, M. Sobhy / Composite Structures 93 (2010) 93–102 97

The stress resultants are related to the strains by the relations where
8 9 2 38 9 8 T 9 3 Z
X hn
aðnÞ ðzÞEðnÞ ðzÞT
< fNg = ½A ½B ½C < feð0Þ g = >
< fN g >
= N0xx ¼ N0yy ¼  dz: ð27Þ
fMg ¼ 4 ½B ½D ½F 5 feð1Þ g  fM T g n¼1 hn1 1m
: ; : ð2Þ ; > : T > ;
fPg ½C ½F ½H fe g fP g ð20Þ For the CPT, the stability equations are reduced to the first three

( ð0Þ )
Q yz J 0 cyz equations of Eq. (26).
¼ 44 ;
Q xz 0 J 55 cð0Þ
xz
5. Trigonometric solution for the thermal buckling
where

fNg ¼ f Nxx Nyy Nxy gT ;

fMg ¼ f M xx M yy M xy g ;
T Rectangular plates are generally classified in accordance with
n oT the type of the used support. Here we are concerned with the exact
T
fPg ¼ f Pxx P yy Pxy g ; feð0Þ g ¼ eð0Þ
xx eð0Þ
yy cð0Þ
xy ; solutions of Eq. (26) for simply supported FGM sandwich plates.
n oT n oT The following boundary conditions are imposed for the shear
feð1Þ g ¼ eð1Þ
xx
ð1Þ
eyy cð1Þ
xy ; feð2Þ g ¼ eð2Þ
xx
ð2Þ
eyy cð2Þ
xy ; deformation plate theories at the side edges:
ð21Þ
v 10 ¼ w10 ¼ v 11 ¼ N1xx ¼ M1xx ¼ S1xx ¼ 0 at x ¼ 0; a;
T T T ð28Þ
and {N }, {M } and {P } are the thermal force and moment resultants u10 ¼ w10 ¼ u11 ¼ N1yy ¼ M1yy ¼ S1yy ¼ 0 at y ¼ 0; b:
3 Z
X hn 3 Z
X hn
fNT g ¼ fbgðnÞ Tdz; fM T g ¼ fbgðnÞ Tzdz; For the CPT, the boundary conditions are
n¼1 hn1 n¼1 hn1
8 9ðnÞ ð22Þ v 1
0 ¼ w10 ¼ N1xx ¼ M 1xx ¼ 0 at x ¼ 0; a;
3 Z
X hn < ðc11 þ c12 Þa = ð29Þ
fPT g ¼ fbgðnÞ T Wdz; fbgðnÞ ¼ ðc12 þ c22 Þa : u10 ¼ w10 ¼ N 1yy ¼ M 1yy ¼ 0 at y ¼ 0; b:
hn1 : ;
n¼1 0
The following representation for the displacement quantities,
Here Aij denote the extensional stiffnesses, Dij the bending stiffnesses, that satisfy the simply-supported boundary conditions, is appro-
Bij the bending-extensional coupling stiffnesses and Cij, Fij, Hij are the priate in the case of our problem:
stiffnesses associated with the transverse shear effects  1 1 X 1 n
1 X o
3 Z
X hn u0 ; u1 ¼ U 1mn ; X 1mn cosðkxÞ sinðlyÞ;
ðnÞ
fAij ; Bij ; Dij ; C ij ; F ij ; Hij g ¼ cij f1; z; z2 ; W; zW; W2 gdz; m¼1 n¼1
X1 X 1 n o
n¼1 hn1 
v v 1
0;
1
1 ¼ V 1mn ; Y 1mn sinðkxÞ cosðlyÞ; ð30Þ
ði; j ¼ 1; 2; 6Þ; ð23Þ
m¼1 n¼1
3 Z
X
2
hn
dWðzÞ X
1 X
1
b
J ii ¼ K
ðnÞ
cii dz; ði ¼ 4; 5Þ: ð24Þ w10 ¼ W 1mn sinðkxÞ sinðlyÞ;
n¼1 hn1 dz m¼1 n¼1

where k = mp/a, l = np/b and U 1mn ; X 1mn ; V 1mn ; Y 1mn and W 1mn are arbi-
4. Stability equations trary parameters. Substituting Eq. (30) into Eq. (26), one obtains
½SfKg ¼ 0; ð31Þ
The stability equations of the plate may be derived by the adja-
cent equilibrium criterion. Assume that the equilibrium state of the where {K} denotes the columns
FGM plate under thermal loads is defined in terms of the displace-
fKg ¼ fU 1 ; V 1 ; W 1 ; X 1 ; Y 1 gT ; ð32Þ
ment components (u00 ; v 00 ; w00 ; u01 ; v 01 ). The displacement compo-
nents of a neighboring stable state differ by (u10 ; v 10 ; w10 ; u11 ; v 11 ) for the shear deformation theories, and
with respect to the equilibrium position. Thus, the total displace-
fKg ¼ fU 1 ; V 1 ; W 1 gT ; ð33Þ
ments of a neighboring state are
for the CPT.
u0 ¼ u00 þ u10 ; v 0 ¼ v 00 þ v 10 ; w0 ¼ w00 þ w10 ;
ð25Þ The elements Sij of the symmetric matrix [S], for the shear defor-
u1 ¼ u01 þ u11 ; v 1 ¼ v 01 þ v 11 ; mation plate theories, are given by:
where the superscript 1 refers to the state of stability and the super- S11 ¼ ½2k2 þ ð1  mÞl2 A;
script 0 refers to the state of equilibrium conditions.
S12 ¼ ð1 þ mÞklA;
Substituting Eqs. (13), (14) and (25) into Eq. (18) and integrat-
ing by parts and then equating the coefficients of du10 ; dv 10 ; dw10 ; S13 ¼ 2kðk2 þ l2 ÞB;
du11 and dv 11 to zero, separately, the governing stability equations S14 ¼ ½2k2 þ ð1  mÞl2 C;
are obtained for the shear deformation plate theories as S15 ¼ ð1 þ mÞklC;
@N1xx @N 1xy S22 ¼ ½ð1  mÞk2 þ 2l2 A
þ ¼ 0;
@x @y S23 ¼ 2lðk2 þ l2 ÞB; S24 ¼ S15 ;
@N1xy @N 1yy ð34Þ
þ ¼ 0; S25 ¼ ½ð1  mÞk2 þ 2l2 C
@x @y S33 ¼ 2ðk2 þ l2 Þ2 D  2k2 N0xx  2l2 N0yy ;
@ 2 M1xx @ 2 M 1xy @ 2 M1yy @ 2 w10 @ 2 w10
þ2 þ þ N0xx þ N0yy ¼ 0; ð26Þ S34 ¼ 2kðk2 þ l2 ÞF;
@x 2 @x@y @y 2 @x 2 @y2
1 1 S35 ¼ 2lðk2 þ l2 ÞF;
@Sxx @Sxy
þ  Q 1xz ¼ 0; S44 ¼ ½2k2 þ ð1  mÞl2 H  2J;
@x @y
@S1xy @S1yy S45 ¼ ð1 þ mÞklH;
þ  Q 1yz ¼ 0: S55 ¼ ½ð1  mÞk2 þ 2l2 H  2J;
@x @y
98 A.M. Zenkour, M. Sobhy / Composite Structures 93 (2010) 93–102

where where
1m    3 Z
X
 
R12 ¼ mR; 2 1 ¼
hn
aðnÞ ðzÞEðnÞ ðzÞ
R11 ¼ R22 ¼ R; R66 ¼ R; P ¼ a2 þ b p2 ; b dz: ð38Þ
2 ð35Þ hn1 1m
n¼1
J 44 ¼ J 55 ¼ J; ðR ¼ A; B; C; D; F; HÞ: Also, for the CPT, the critical buckling DTcr can be obtained by solv-
For the CPT, the components of [S] are reduced to be 3  3 matrix ing the following equation:
with elements Sij (i, j = 1, 2, 3) and they are mentioned above in Eq.  
 S11 S12 S13 
(34). For non-trivial solution of Eq. (31), the determinant jSj should
 
 S12 S22 S23  ¼ 0; ð39Þ

be zero. S
13 S23 S33 

6. Thermal buckling solution Table 3

Critical buckling temperature Tcr of FGM sandwich square plates under uniform
In the following, the solution of the equation jSj = 0 for different temperature rise.
types of thermal loading conditions and by using various theories Scheme k Theory a/h = 5 a/h = 10 a/h = 15 a/h = 25 a/h = 50
is presented. The plate is assumed simply supported in bending
1–0–1 1/2 SPT 2.87276 0.80328 0.36504 0.13294 0.03340
and rigidly fixed in extension. The temperature change is varied HPT 2.87073 0.80313 0.36501 0.13294 0.03340
only through-the-thickness as the following. FPT 2.83506 0.80036 0.36444 0.13286 0.03339
CPT 3.34559 0.83639 0.37173 0.13382 0.03345
6.1. Buckling of FGM plates under uniform temperature rise
2 SPT 2.63459 0.71815 0.32462 0.11789 0.02958
HPT 2.63018 0.71783 0.32455 0.11788 0.02958
The plate initial temperature is assumed to be Ti. The tempera- FPT 2.57355 0.71357 0.32368 0.11776 0.02957
ture is uniformly raised to a final value Tf in which the plate buck- CPT 2.96200 0.74050 0.32911 0.11848 0.02962
les. The temperature change is DT = Tf  Ti. By solving the 2–1–2 1/2 SPT 2.83194 0.79232 0.36010 0.13116 0.03295
determinant HPT 2.83029 0.79220 0.36007 0.13115 0.03295
  FPT 2.79675 0.78959 0.35954 0.13108 0.03295
 S11 S12 S13 S14 S15 
 CPT 3.30065 0.82516 0.36673 0.13202 0.03300
S S22 S23 S24 S25 
 12
  2 SPT 2.39953 0.65098 0.29396 0.10671 0.02677
 S13 S23 S33 S34 S35  ¼ 0; ð36Þ
  HPT 2.39637 0.65075 0.29392 0.10670 0.02676
 S14 S24 S34 S44 S45 
 FPT 2.34733 0.64710 0.29317 0.10660 0.02676
S S25 S35 S45 S55  CPT 2.68016 0.67004 0.29779 0.10720 0.02680
15
1–1–1 1/2 SPT 2.83331 0.79463 0.36134 0.13164 0.03308
one can easily obtain the critical buckling temperature change DTcr
HPT 2.83224 0.79456 0.36132 0.13164 0.03308
as FPT 2.80230 0.79223 0.36084 0.13157 0.03307
CPT 3.31343 0.82835 0.36815 0.13253 0.03313
P2 ½ðAD  B2 ÞH  C 2 D  AF 2 þ 2BCF þ a2 b2 PðAD  B2 ÞJ
DT cr ¼ h i ;
2 2 2 2 SPT 2.36195 0.64253 0.29031 0.10541 0.02645
a2 b b 2
1 PðAH  C Þ þ a b AJ
HPT 2.35999 0.64238 0.29028 0.10540 0.02645
ð37Þ FPT 2.31737 0.63921 0.28963 0.10532 0.02644
CPT 2.64805 0.66201 0.29422 0.10592 0.02648
1–2–1 1/2 SPT 2.86992 0.80925 0.36841 0.13430 0.03376
Table 1
HPT 2.86971 0.80925 0.36841 0.13430 0.03376
Material properties of Zirconia ZrO2 and Titanium alloy Ti 6Al 4V.
FPT 2.84659 0.80745 0.36804 0.13425 0.03375
Properties Constituents CPT 3.38154 0.84538 0.37572 0.13526 0.03381

Metal: Ti 6Al 4V Ceramic: ZrO2

2 SPT 2.42899 0.66689 0.30189 0.10972 0.02754
Young’s modulus (GPa) 66.2 244.27 HPT 2.42873 0.66687 0.30189 0.10972 0.02754
Poisson’s ratio 0.3 0.3 FPT 2.39541 0.66436 0.30138 0.10966 0.02754
Coefficient of thermal expansion (1/°C) 10.3  106 12.766  106 CPT 2.75800 0.68950 0.30644 0.11032 0.02758

Table 2
Critical buckling temperature (103a0DTcr) of a homogeneous isotropic plate under uniform temperature rise.

b/a Theory a/h = 5 a/h = 10 a/h = 15 a/h = 25 a/h = 50

1/2 SPT 81.18684 27.73637 13.23204 4.94986 1.25824
HPT 81.09991 27.73011 13.23078 4.94970 1.25823
FPT 80.90487 27.72436 13.23020 4.94967 1.25823
CPT 126.53338 31.63334 14.05926 5.06133 1.26533
1 SPT 41.33313 11.97926 5.48643 2.00646 0.50500
HPT 41.31747 11.97824 5.48623 2.00643 0.50499
FPT 41.29710 11.97781 5.48619 2.00643 0.50499
CPT 50.61335 12.65333 5.62370 2.02454 0.50613
2 SPT 27.73637 7.63958 3.46069 1.25824 0.31588
HPT 27.73011 7.63917 3.46061 1.25823 0.31588
FPT 27.72436 7.63907 3.46060 1.25823 0.31588
CPT 31.63334 7.90833 3.51481 1.26533 0.31633
3 SPT 24.99607 6.81646 3.08144 1.11914 0.28083
HPT 24.99110 6.81614 3.08137 1.11913 0.28083
FPT 24.98695 6.81607 3.08137 1.11913 0.28083
CPT 28.11853 7.02963 3.12428 1.12474 0.28119
 A.M. Zenkour, M. Sobhy / Composite Structures 93 (2010) 93–102 99

then, we get where

3 Z  
PðAD  B2 Þ 2 ¼
X hn
aðnÞ ðzÞEðnÞ ðzÞ z 1 c
DT cr ¼ : ð40Þ b þ dz: ð43Þ
2
a2 b b 1m h 2
1A n¼1 hn1

However, for the CPT, DTcr is obtained as follows:

6.2. Buckling of FGM plates subjected to graded temperature change 1
PðAD  B2 Þ Ttb
across the thickness DT cr ¼ 2
þ  : ð44Þ
a2 b b 2A b2
We assume that the temperature of the top surface is Tt and the
temperature varies from Tt, according to the power law variation
7. Numerical results and discussions
through-the-thickness, to the bottom surface temperature Tb in
which the plate buckles. In this case, the temperature through-
To illustrate the proposed method, a ceramic–metal function-
the-thickness is given by
ally graded sandwich plate is considered. The combination of
 c
z 1 materials consists of Titanium and Zirconia. The Young’s modulus
TðzÞ ¼ DT þ þ Tt; ð41Þ and the coefficient of thermal expansion for Titanium and Zirconia
h 2
are given in Table 1. The general approach outlined in the previous
where the buckling temperature difference DT = Tb  Tt and c is the sections for the thermal buckling analysis of the homogeneous and
temperature exponent (0 < c < 1). Note that the value of c equal to FGM sandwich plates under uniform, linear and non-linear tem-
unity represents a linear temperature change across the thickness. perature rises through-the-thickness is illustrated in this section
While the value of c excluding unity represents a non-linear tem- using the sinusoidal shear deformation plate theory. The correla-
perature change through-the-thickness. tion between the present theory and different higher- and first-or-
Similar to the previous loading case, the critical buckling tem- der shear deformation theories and classical plate theory is
perature change DTcr can be deduced, for the shear deformation established. The shear correction factor for FPT is set equal to 5/
plate theories, as 6. For the linear and non-linear temperature rises through-the-
P2 ½ðAD  B2 ÞH  C 2 D  AF 2 þ 2BCF þ a2 b2 PðAD  B2 ÞJ T t b1 thickness, Tt = 25 °C.
DT cr ¼ 2
þ  ; In order to prove the validity of the present formulation, results
a2 b b 2 2 2 b2
2 ½PðAH  C Þ þ a b AJ
were obtained for homogeneous isotropic plates under uniform
ð42Þ temperature rise according to all theories. For a homogeneous

Table 4 Table 5
Critical buckling temperature Tcr of FGM sandwich square plates under linear Critical buckling temperature Tcr of FGM sandwich square plates under non-linear
temperature rise. temperature rise (c = 5).

Scheme k Theory a/h = 5 a/h = 10 a/h = 15 a/h = 25 a/h = 50 Scheme k Theory a/h = 5 a/h = 10 a/h = 15 a/h = 25 a/h = 50
1–0–1 1/2 SPT 5.69553 1.55657 0.68008 0.21589 0.01680 1–0–1 1/2 SPT 21.62877 5.91108 2.58262 0.81985 0.06380
HPT 5.69147 1.55627 0.68002 0.21588 0.01680 HPT 21.61337 5.90995 2.58239 0.81982 0.06380
FPT 5.62013 1.55073 0.67888 0.21573 0.01679 FPT 21.34245 5.88890 2.57804 0.81924 0.06376
CPT 6.64118 1.62279 0.69346 0.21764 0.01691 CPT 25.21986 6.16255 2.63342 0.82651 0.06422

2 SPT 5.21919 1.38631 0.59924 0.18578 0.00916 2 SPT 23.06830 6.12734 2.64858 0.82115 0.04051
HPT 5.21036 1.38566 0.59911 0.18576 0.00917 HPT 23.02926 6.12449 2.64800 0.82107 0.04052
FPT 5.09710 1.37714 0.59736 0.18553 0.00915 FPT 22.52869 6.08684 2.64029 0.82005 0.04044
CPT 5.87400 1.43100 0.60822 0.18696 0.00924 CPT 25.96247 6.32487 2.68827 0.82634 0.04083
2–1–2 1/2 SPT 5.61388 1.53464 0.67020 0.21231 0.01590 2–1–2 1/2 SPT 21.35073 5.83656 2.54893 0.80746 0.06048
HPT 5.61059 1.53440 0.67015 0.21231 0.01590 HPT 21.33821 5.83566 2.54875 0.80744 0.06048
FPT 5.54350 1.52919 0.66908 0.21216 0.01589 FPT 21.08306 5.81584 2.54466 0.80689 0.06044
CPT 6.55131 1.60032 0.68347 0.21405 0.01601 CPT 24.91597 6.08637 2.59941 0.81408 0.06090

2 SPT 4.74906 1.25196 0.53793 0.16341 0.00354 2 SPT 22.38252 5.90053 2.53532 0.77017 0.01668
HPT 4.74274 1.25150 0.53784 0.16340 0.00354 HPT 22.35275 5.89838 2.53488 0.77011 0.01668
FPT 4.64467 1.24420 0.53635 0.16320 0.00353 FPT 21.89054 5.86398 2.52785 0.76918 0.01662
CPT 5.31032 1.29008 0.54559 0.16441 0.00360 CPT 25.02775 6.08019 2.57139 0.77488 0.01698
1–1–1 1/2 SPT 5.61662 1.53926 0.67268 0.21329 0.01615 1–1–1 1/2 SPT 21.13243 5.79146 2.53095 0.80248 0.06078
HPT 5.61448 1.53912 0.67265 0.21328 0.01615 HPT 21.12437 5.79091 2.53084 0.80247 0.06078
FPT 5.55460 1.53446 0.67169 0.21315 0.01614 FPT 20.89907 5.77339 2.52722 0.80199 0.06075
CPT 6.57686 1.60671 0.68631 0.21507 0.01626 CPT 24.74530 6.04523 2.58225 0.80921 0.06121

2 SPT 4.67391 1.23506 0.53063 0.16082 0.00289 2 SPT 22.00152 5.81379 2.49783 0.75703 0.01363
HPT 4.66999 1.23477 0.53057 0.16081 0.00289 HPT 21.98303 5.81247 2.49756 0.75699 0.01363
FPT 4.58474 1.22842 0.52927 0.16064 0.00288 FPT 21.58175 5.78254 2.49144 0.75619 0.01358
CPT 5.24611 1.27402 0.53845 0.16184 0.00296 CPT 24.69501 5.99723 2.53467 0.76185 0.01393
1–2–1 1/2 SPT 5.68984 1.56851 0.68682 0.21860 0.01751 1–2–1 1/2 SPT 20.80527 5.73535 2.51143 0.79933 0.06402
HPT 5.68943 1.56850 0.68682 0.21860 0.01751 HPT 20.80375 5.73532 2.51144 0.79933 0.06402
FPT 5.64318 1.56490 0.68608 0.21850 0.01750 FPT 20.63465 5.72216 2.50871 0.79897 0.06400
CPT 6.71309 1.64077 0.70145 0.22052 0.01763 CPT 24.54685 5.99959 2.56491 0.80635 0.06446

2 SPT 4.80799 1.28377 0.55379 0.16944 0.00508 2 SPT 21.54917 5.75380 2.48205 0.75946 0.02279
HPT 4.80746 1.28375 0.55378 0.16944 0.00508 HPT 21.54679 5.75368 2.48202 0.75946 0.02279
FPT 4.74083 1.27872 0.55275 0.16931 0.00507 FPT 21.24818 5.73116 2.47740 0.75885 0.02275
CPT 5.46601 1.32900 0.56289 0.17064 0.00516 CPT 24.49836 5.95651 2.52284 0.76480 0.02312
100 A.M. Zenkour, M. Sobhy / Composite Structures 93 (2010) 93–102

(a) (b)

(c) (d)

Fig. 3. Critical buckling temperature difference Tcr versus the power-law index k for various types of FGM sandwich square plates (a/h = 10): (a) the (1–0–1) FGM sandwich
plate, (b) the (2–1–2) FGM sandwich plate, (c) the (1–1–1) FGM sandwich plate, and (d) the (1–2–1) FGM sandwich plate.

isotropic plate k = 0, E(z) = E0, a(z) = a0, m = 0.3. Critical buckling
temperature change (103a0DTcr) for different values of the side-
to-thickness ratio a/h and aspect ratio b/a of a homogeneous plate
is illustrated in Table 2. With the increase of the side-to-thickness
ratio a/h, severe decrement for critical buckling temperature can be
clearly observed. Also, it can be observed that the critical buckling
temperature for the homogeneous plate decreases gradually as the
plate aspect ratio b/a increases. The difference between the shear
deformation plate theories and the CPT decreases as the ratios
a/h or b/a increase because the plate becomes thin or long.
The critical buckling temperature difference (Tcr = 103 DTcr) for
various types of FGM sandwich plates versus the side-to-thickness
ratio a/h under uniform, linear and non-linear temperature rise
through-the-thickness are illustrated in Tables 3–5, respectively.
In these tables, the power-law index is set as k = 1/2,2. It is seen
that, regardless of the sandwich plate types and the thermal
loading cases, the critical temperature difference decreases mono-
tonically as the side-to-thickness ratio a/h increases. The critical
buckling predicted for k = 1/2 are upper bounds of that predicted
for k = 2 except the results of the non-linear thermal loading case
c = 5. It is important to observe that the disagreements among
the present theories decrease slightly with the increase of the
thickness of the core or, by another mean, with the increase of
the ceramic constituents in the plate. In general, the results of
the SPT is very agreement with those of the HPT. Moreover, similar
to the case of the homogeneous plate, the differences between the
higher-order shear deformation theories (SPT and HPT) and FPT are
lower than those between any of them and CPT.
Fig. 3 shows the effect of the inhomogeneity parameter k on the
critical buckling temperature Tcr for different types of sandwich
plates under uniform, linear and non-linear temperature change
through-the-thickness using the HPT. It is clear that the critical
buckling temperature Tcr for the plates under a non-linear temper-
ature change is higher than that for the plates under uniform tem-
perature change. While Tcr for the plates under linear temperature
change is intermediate to the two previous thermal loading cases.
It is further observed that, for the plate without core or the core of
the plate is half the face thickness, the critical buckling Tcr de-
creases rabidly to reach minimum values and then increases grad-
ually as the inhomogeneity parameter k increases as shown in
Fig. 3a and b. However, for the (1–1–1) and (1–2–1) FGM sandwich
plates, Tcr decreases smoothly as k increases (see Fig. 3c and d).
The critical buckling temperature change Tcr versus the aspect
ratio b/a of FGM sandwich plates under various thermal loading
types is exhibited in Fig. 4. It can be observed that with the
increase of the plate aspect ratio b/a, the critical buckling Tcr
 A.M. Zenkour, M. Sobhy / Composite Structures 93 (2010) 93–102 101

(a) (b)

Fig. 4. Critical buckling temperature difference Tcr versus the plate aspect ratio b/a for two types of FGM sandwich plates (k = 1, a/h = 10): (a) the (1–0–1) FGM sandwich plate
and (b) the (1–2–1) FGM sandwich plate.

(a) (b)

Fig. 5. Critical buckling temperature difference Tcr versus the side-to-thickness ratio a/h and the aspect ratio a/b of the nonsymmetric (2–2–1) sandwich plate.

decreases gradually wherever the loading type is. It is also noticed
from Fig. 4 that the Tcr increases with the increase of the non-lin-
earity parameter c.
Moreover, the results for the nonsymmetric FGM sandwich
plate is displayed in Fig. 5. It can be seen from this figure that,
regardless of the loading type and the power-law index k, the crit-
ical buckling temperature difference Tcr decreases as the side-to-
thickness ratio a/h and the aspect ratio b/a increase. The critical
buckling temperature for the ceramic plate is higher than that
for the FGM sandwich plate. This is because the ceramic plate is
stronger than the other. The differences between the loading types
decrease with the increase of a/h because the plate becomes thin.
8. Conclusions
Critical temperatures of simply supported homogeneous and
inhomogeneous composite plates have been analyzed by using
the sinusoidal shear deformation plate theory. The inhomogeneous
plates are considered as FGM sandwich plates. The upper layer and
lower one are made of FGM (Ti 6Al 4V+ZrO2) whereas the core is
still ZrO2. To clarify the effect of shear deformation on the critical
temperatures, the results obtained by SPT as well as HPT and FPT
are compared with those obtained by CPT. It is shown through
the numerical examples that the results of the shear deformation
plate theories are lower than those of the CPT, indicating the shear
deformation effect. The following conclusions may be drawn from
the present analysis:
 The critical buckling temperature difference decreases as the
side-to-thickness ratio and the plate aspect ratio increases.
 The critical buckling temperature differences of FGM sandwich
plates are generally lower than the corresponding values for
homogeneous ceramic plates.
 The critical buckling temperature of FGM sandwich plate under
non-linear temperature rise across the thickness increases as
the temperature exponent c increases.
 With the increase of the core thickness of the sandwich plates,
the critical buckling temperature decreases.
102 A.M. Zenkour, M. Sobhy / Composite Structures 93 (2010) 93–102

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