Mater. Res. Express 6 (2019) 115707 https://doi.org/10.

1088/2053-1591/ab48a9

PAPER

Free vibration and buckling of porous power-law and sigmoid

RECEIVED
18 July 2019
functionally graded sandwich plates using a simple higher-order
REVISED
11 September 2019
shear deformation theory
ACCEPTED FOR PUBLICATION
27 September 2019
PUBLISHED
Ahmed Amine Daikh1 and Ashraf M Zenkour2,3
11 October 2019 1
Mechanics of structures and solids Laboratory, Faculty of Technology, University of Sidi Bel Abbes, Algeria
2
Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia
3
Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Science, Kafrelsheikh University, Kafrelsheikh 33516, Egypt
E-mail: [email protected]

Keywords: porous sandwich plate, P-FGM, S-FGM, free vibration, buckling, simple higher-order shear deformation theory

Abstract
Free vibration and mechanical buckling of porous functionally graded (FG) sandwich plates is studied
in this paper by using a new and simple higher-order shear deformation theory (SHSDT). The present
theory accounts for the distribution of transvers shear stresses that satisfy the free transverse shear
stress conditions on the upper and lower surfaces of the sandwich plate. The FG sandwich plate is
composed of three layers, an isotropic core and two FG face layers. Four porosities distribution and
new model of FG sandwich plates based on a sigmoid function are presented. The boundary
conditions for the FG sandwich plate are assumed to be simply-supported. Navier’s solution is used to
obtain the closed-form solutions of FG sandwich plates. The effect of porosity, sandwich plate
geometry and inhomogeneity parameter on the buckling and free vibration of FG sandwich plate is
investigated.

1. Introduction

The functionally graded materials (FGMs) are new type of composite materials. The FGMs are proposed by
material scientists in Japan [1] in 1984 because of failure of the traditional composite materials when used in
high temperature environments, also to reduce the local stress concentrations created by abrupt transitions in
material properties across the interface between discrete materials [2]. With the developments in manufacturing
processes, the FGMs are considered in the sandwich structure industries. FG sandwich structures are used to
solve several engineering problems due to the gradual variation of material properties at the interfaces between
the face layers and the core. Aerospace, automobile, shipbuilding, and biomedical applications are some of the
areas that are benefitting from these new materials. The key limitation in using FG sandwich structures in
traditional industries is because of the high cost of production of this material.
Due to its exceptional mechanical and thermal properties, much research has been done to investigate the
buckling and vibration of FG sandwich plates. Zenkour [3–9] used the sinusoidal shear deformation plate theory
(SSDT) to analyze the bending, buckling and vibration problem of FG plates by considering the effects of
rotatory inertia and elastic foundations. Three-dimensional (3D) vibration of simply-supported and clamped
FG sandwich plates are carried out by Li et al [10]. They analyzed two types of FG sandwich plates. Mahi et al [11]
presented a new hyperbolic shear deformation theory (HSDT) for free vibration and bending of isotropic,
functionally graded, sandwich and laminated composite plates. Instability of FG sandwich plate under
mechanical and thermal loads and resting on two parameters elastic foundation was reported by Kiani et al [12].
QUAD-8 shear flexible element in conjunction of the higher-order structural theory is used to examine
vibration and bending of FG sandwich plates [13]. Neves et al [14] employed HSDT for linear buckling analysis
of FG sandwich using Carrera’s unified formulation. Mohammadi and Khalili [15] used analytical method to
discuss the vibration of simply-supported FG sandwich plates under different thermal loads. Dozio [16]

© 2019 IOP Publishing Ltd

Mater. Res. Express 6 (2019) 115707 A A Daikh and A M Zenkour

discussed a formulation of advanced 2D Ritz-based models for vibration of sandwich plates with FG core. Xiang
et al [17] performed the vibration analysis of FG sandwich plates using meshless global collocation method.
The three-dimensional (3D) elasticity theory is used by Kamarian et al [18] to examine three-parameter FG
sandwich plates resting on elastic foundation. Loja et al [19] presented the B-spline finite strip element models
for the static and vibration of FG sandwich plates with piezoelectric skins. Zenkour and Sobhy [20] analyzed the
buckling of various types of FG sandwich plates under different boundary conditions. Pandey and Pradyumna
[21] investigated vibration of FG sandwich plates in thermal environment using finite element method (FEM).
They have also used the layerwise finite element formulation for vibration analysis of FG sandwich plates under
nonlinear thermal load with temperature dependent material properties [22]. Fu et al [23] analyzed buckling and
post-buckling of FG sandwich plates with interfacial damage, considering the elasto-plastic deformation and by
using the FDM and the iterative method. Malekzadeh and Heydarpour [24] employed semi analytical approach
using a layerwise-differential quadrature method for 3D vibration and static analyses of FG carbon nanotube-
reinforced composite plates.
Based on the first-order shear deformation theory (FSDT), Nguyen et al [25] discussed vibration and
buckling of FG sandwich plates using refined transverse shear stiffness. Dat et al [26] used FEM based on third-
order shear deformation theory (TSDT) for FG sandwich plates with stiffeners. A new kind of FG sandwich
plates, namely, both FG face sheets and FG flexible core is studied by Liu et al [27] using a refined HSDT.
Fazzolari [28] investigated thermal stability and vibration of FG sandwich plates subjected to thermal loads.
Nguyen et al [29] investigated an analytical approach for nonlinear dynamic response of imperfect eccentrically
stiffened FG sandwich plate resting on elastic foundation. Alibeigloo and Alizadeh [30] employed 3D theory of
elasticity and differential quadrature method (DQM) to study bending and vibration response of FG sandwich
plates.
Rasool and Hosein [31] used new refined HSDT for static analysis of simply-supported FG carbon
nanotube-reinforced nanocomposite sandwich plates under biaxial in-plane compressive loads. Mantari and
Monge [32] investigated an analytical solution for linear buckling, vibration and bending of FG sandwich plates
under transverse and axial mechanical loads with simply-supported boundary conditions. The HSDT is used by
Nguyen et al [33] to investigate static and vibration behaviors of isotropic and FG sandwich plates. Free vibration
and buckling analyses of an FG skew sandwich plate with viscoelastic core was carried out by Joseph and
Mohanty [34] using FEM based on FSDT. They have also investigated the effect of temperature on the buckling
and free vibration of FG sandwich plate with viscoelastic core [35].
Tossapanon and Wattanasakulpong [36] used Chebyshev collocation method and FSDT for flexural
vibration of FG sandwich plates resting on Winkler and Pasternak elastic foundations. Liu et al [37] employed
HSDT and mixed layer-wise theory to study free vibration response of sandwich plates with non-monotonically
graded flexible core. Based on von Karman’s assumptions, the geometrically nonlinear formulation is used by
Belalia [38] to study free vibration of FG sandwich plates. He employed the p-version of the FEM for nonlinear
vibration of bi-FG material sandwich plates considering the effects of transverse shear deformation and of
rotatory inertia [39]. Mehar et al [40] analyzed nonlinear eigen frequency response of the FG single-walled
carbon nanotube reinforced sandwich structure under uniform thermal environment with temperature
dependent properties. Thai et al [41] investigated bending, vibration and buckling responses of FG isotropic and
sandwich microplates based on the modified couple stress theory and the refined HSDT.
Moita et al [42] proposed a finite element model to study the vibration response and passive damped of FG
viscoelastic sandwich plates and cylindrical panels. Utilizing the modified couple stress theory, Trinha et al [43]
examined static, free vibration and buckling behaviors of FG sandwich plates based on a refined HSDT and the
state-space Levy solution. Using the FEM, Tomar and Talha [44] analyzed flexural and vibration response of
imperfection sensitive higher order FG skew sandwich plates under different boundary conditions and subjected
to thermal loads. Wang and Shen [45] investigated the nonlinear vibration of graphene-reinforced FG sandwich
plates resting on elastic foundation under thermal environmental conditions with temperature-dependent
material properties.
Several researchers proposed a new higher-order shear deformation plate theory to analyze free vibration
and bending response of FG sandwich plates and its accuracy was verified by comparing the obtained results
with those in the literature [46–53]. A simple refined shear deformation theory with four unknown functions has
been proposed by Meziane et al [47] to investigate buckling and free vibration of exponentially graded sandwich
plates under different boundary conditions. Thai et al [48] used four-unknown shear and normal deformations
theory to investigate bending, free vibration and buckling of functionally graded material isotropic and
sandwich plates. Akavci [49] analyzed mechanical response of two types of FG sandwich plates using new
hyperbolic shear deformation plate theory. Zenkour and his colleagues [50–53] discussed the free vibration
analysis, mechanical and thermal buckling of advanced, multilayered composite, and soft core sandwich plates
resting on foundations or in a hygrothermal environment.

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Mater. Res. Express 6 (2019) 115707 A A Daikh and A M Zenkour

In the present article, new SHSDT based on polynomial function is used to investigate the vibration and
mechanical buckling of two types of FG sandwich plates based on power-law and sigmoid function, considering
the effect of porosity. In the aspect of mathematics, the polynomial form is the simplest and most convenient
function, thus be employed to facilitate mathematical difficulty of higher order shear deformation theories in
closed-form solution. One of the major problems of studying the response of FG structures, is limitation of the
used software (MATLAB for example), especially in thermal environment conditions [54–56]. The use of simple
formulations can speed up calculations such as the polynomial theories. Four models of porosities distribution
are used, where the porosities are related with the FG sandwich scheme. The material properties such as Young’s
modulus vary continuously through-the-thickness according to power function or sigmoid function. The
boundary conditions for the FG sandwich plate are assumed to be simply-supported. The closed-form solutions
of FG sandwich plates are obtained using Navier’s solution.

2. Sandwich FG plates

Let us consider a rectangular FG sandwich plate with a uniform thickness linked to a rectangular coordinate
system (x, y, z). The upper and lower faces of the sandwich plate are at z = h /2. The vertical positions of the
bottom, the two interfaces and the top are denoted by h 0 = -h /2, h1, h2 and h3 = h /2, respectively. Two types
of sandwich plates are used: power-law functionally graded sandwich plates P-FGM and sigmoid functionally
graded sandwich plates S-FGM.

2.1. Power-law FG sandwich plate

The present plate is made of three layers, an isotropic core and two FG layers based on a power-law function (P-
FGM). The face layers are graded from metal to ceramic while the core layer is made of ceramic. The volume
fraction V (n) of layer n (n = 1, 2, 3) can be expressed as

⎛ z - h 0 ⎞k
V (1) (z ) = ⎜ ⎟, h 0  z  h1,
⎝ h1 - h 0 ⎠
V (2) (z ) = 1, h1  z  h2 ,
⎛ z - h3 ⎞k
V (3) (z ) = ⎜ ⎟ , h2  z  h3 , (1)
⎝ h2 - h3 ⎠

where k denotes volume fraction index, which takes values greater than or equal to zero.

2.2. Sigmoid FG sandwich plate

Here the volume fraction varies according to a sigmoid function through-the-thickness as follows

1 ⎛ z - h0 ⎞
k
V1(1) (z ) = ⎜ ⎟, h 0  z  hm ,
2 ⎝ hm - h 0 ⎠
1 ⎛ z - h1 ⎞
k
V 2(1) (z ) = 1 - ⎜ ⎟, hm  z  h1,
2 ⎝ hm - h1 ⎠
V (2) (z ) = 1, h1  z  h2 ,
1 ⎛ z - h2 ⎞
k
V1(3) (z ) = 1 - ⎜ ⎟, h2  z  hn ,
2 ⎝ hn - h2 ⎠
(2)
1 ⎛ z - h3 ⎞
k
V 2(3) (z ) = ⎜ ⎟, hn  z  h3 ,
2 ⎝ hn - h3 ⎠

where hm = (h1 + h2 ) /2 and hn = (h2 + h3 ) /2 denotes the middle surface positions of the lower and the top
layer, respectively.

3. Porosity-dependent functionally graded sandwich plates

Several models of porosities distribution have been proposed by the researchers to compute the effective
material properties of porous FG plate [57–59]. In this research paper, the porosities are distributed
independently in each FG layer of the sandwich plate. Four models of porosity distribution are used [60]:

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Mater. Res. Express 6 (2019) 115707 A A Daikh and A M Zenkour

3.1. Imperfect FGM with even porosities (Imperfect I)

In this model, the porosities uniformly distributed over the FG sandwich layers, while the core layer is
nonporous (perfect) and fabricate of ceramic. By using the rule of mixture, the effective material properties P (n)
of FG layer n (n = 1, 3), with evenly distributed porosities (imperfect I), are stated as
⎧ (1) x
⎪ P (z ) = Pm + (Pc - Pm ) V (z ) - 2 (Pc + Pm) ,
(1)
⎪
⎨ (3)
⎪ P (3) (z ) = P + (P - P ) V (3) (z ) - x (P + P ) ,
⎪
⎩
m c m c m
2
where x denotes the porosity coefficient (x  1) and Pm and Pc denote the corresponding properties of the
metal and ceramic, respectively. The value x = 0 indicates the nonporous FG sandwich plate.

3.2. Imperfect FGM with uneven porosities (Imperfect II)

The porosities can be functionally expanded along the thickness direction of the FG sandwich plate as indicated
below
⎧ x ⎡ ∣ 2z - (h 0 + h1 )∣ ⎤
⎪ P (1) (z ) = Pm + (Pc - Pm ) V (1) (z ) - (Pc + Pm) ⎢1 - ⎥,
⎪ 2 ⎣ h1 - h 0 ⎦
⎨ (4)
⎪ (3) x ⎡ ∣ 2z - (h3 + h2 )∣ ⎤
⎪ P (z ) = Pm + (Pc - Pm ) V (z ) - 2 (Pc + Pm) ⎢⎣1 - ⎥.
(3)
⎩ h3 - h2 ⎦

3.3. Imperfect FGM with logarithmic-uneven porosities (Imperfect III)

The third model of porosity distribution is based on a logarithmic function and it is expressed as
⎧ ⎛ x⎞ ⎡ ∣ 2z - (h 0 + h1 )∣ ⎤
⎪ P (1) (z ) = Pm + (Pc - Pm ) V (1) (z ) - log ⎜1 + ⎟ (Pc + Pm) ⎢1 - ⎥,
⎪ ⎝ 2 ⎠ ⎣ h1 - h 0 ⎦
⎨ (5)
⎪ (3) ⎛ x⎞ ⎡ ∣ 2z - (h3 + h2 )∣ ⎤
⎪ P (z ) = Pm + (Pc - Pm ) V (z ) - log ⎝⎜1 + 2 ⎠⎟ (Pc + Pm) ⎢⎣1 - ⎥,
(3)
⎩ h3 - h2 ⎦

3.4. Imperfect FGM with linear-uneven porosities (Imperfect IV)

In this model, the density of porosity is low at the outer surfaces of the sandwich and high at the two interfaces
positions, and change across the FG layers with linear function as
⎧ x ⎡ z - h1 ⎤
⎪ P (1) (z ) = Pm + (Pc - Pm ) V (1) (z ) - (Pc + Pm) ⎢1 - ⎥,
⎪ 2 ⎣ h 0 - h1 ⎦
⎨ (6)
⎪ x ⎡ z - h3 ⎤
⎪ P (z ) = Pm + (Pc - Pm ) V (z ) - 2 (Pc + Pm) ⎢⎣ h - h ⎥⎦.
(3) (3)
⎩ 2 3

4. Basic equations

The displacement field using the higher-order shear deformation theory can be given as follows
¶w0
u (x , y , z ) = u 0 - z + f (z ) j1,
¶x
¶w
v (x , y , z ) = v 0 - z 0 + f (z ) j2 ,
¶y
w ( x , y , z ) = w 0, (7)

where f (z ) is the shape function determining the distribution of the transverse shear strains and stresses along
the plate thickness. Different theories are proposed by the researchers. For example, Reddy [61] proposed a
( 4z 2
) h z
TSDT by setting f (z ) = z 1 - 3h2 . A SSDT is presented by Touratier [62] by setting f (z ) = p sin h . For ()
the CPT, the displacement field is obtained by setting f (z ) = 0, and f (z ) = z gives displacement field based on
the FSDT.
The present polynomial shape function accounts for the distribution of transverse shear stresses that satisfy
the free transverse shear stress condition on the upper and lower surfaces of the sandwich plate. It is useless to
use the shear correction factors. The present SHSDT is obtained by setting

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Mater. Res. Express 6 (2019) 115707 A A Daikh and A M Zenkour

⎛ 3z 2 2z 4 ⎞
f ( z ) = z ⎜1 - 2 + 4 ⎟. (8)
⎝ 2h 5h ⎠

The deformations associated with the displacements are of the form

1 ⎛ ¶w ⎞
2
¶u 1 ⎛ ¶w ⎞2 ¶v ¶w
exx = + ⎜ ⎟ , eyy = + ⎜ ⎟, ezz = ,
¶x 2 ⎝ ¶x ⎠ ¶y 2 ⎝ ¶y ⎠ ¶z
¶v ¶u ¶w ¶w ¶w ¶v ¶w ¶u
gxy = + + , gyz = + , gxz = + . (9)
¶x ¶y ¶x ¶y ¶y ¶z ¶x ¶z

The deformations can be expressed as

⎧ e0 ⎫ ⎧ e1 ⎫ ⎧ e2 ⎫
⎧
⎪
exx ⎫
⎪ ⎪ xx ⎪ ⎪ xx ⎪ ⎪ xx ⎪
eyy e
⎨ ⎬ = ⎨ yy ⎬ + z ⎨ yy ⎬ + f (z ) ⎨ e 2yy ⎬,
0
e1
⎪ ⎪
⎩ gxy ⎭ ⎪
⎪ 0 ⎪ ⎪ 1 ⎪ ⎪ 2 ⎪
⎩ g xy ⎪
⎭ ⎪
⎩ g xy ⎪
⎭ ⎪
⎩ g xy ⎪
⎭
gyz ⎧g0 ⎪
df ( z ) ⎪ ⎫
ezz = 0, { }
gxz =
dz ⎪
⎨ yz
⎬,
⎩ g xz ⎭
0 ⎪
(10)

with
⎧ ¶u 0 ⎫ ⎧ ¶ 2w0 ⎫
⎪ ⎪ ⎪ ⎪
⎧ e0 ⎫ ⎪ ¶x ⎪ ⎧ e1 ⎫ ⎪ ¶x 2 ⎪
⎪ ⎪xx
⎪ ¶v0 ⎪ ⎪ xx ⎪ ⎪ ¶ 2w0 ⎪
⎨ e yy ⎬ = ⎨
0
⎬, ⎨ e1yy ⎬ = - ⎨ ⎬,
⎪ ⎪ ⎪ ¶y ⎪ ⎪ ⎪ ⎪ ¶y 2 ⎪
⎪
⎩ g xy ⎪
0
⎪ ¶v0 ⎪
⎩ g xy ⎪
1
⎭ ¶u 0 ⎪ ⎭ ⎪ ¶ 2w0 ⎪
⎪ + ⎪ ⎪2 ⎪
⎩ ¶x ¶y ⎭ ⎩ ¶x ¶y ⎭
⎧ ¶j1 ⎫
⎪ ⎪
⎧ e2 ⎫ ⎪ ¶x ⎪
⎪ xx ⎪ ⎪ ¶j2 ⎪ ⎧g0 ⎪ ⎫ jx
⎨ e yy ⎬ = ⎨
⎪
⎪
2

⎪ ⎪ ¶y
⎬,
⎪
⎪
⎨ yz
⎬ =
⎩ g xz ⎭
⎪ 0 ⎪ {} jy . (11)
⎩ g xy ⎪
2
⎭ ⎪ ¶j2 ¶j1 ⎪
⎪ + ⎪
⎩ ¶x ¶y ⎭

The linear constitutive relations are

⎧ sxx ⎫(n) ⎡Q11 Q12 0 0 0 ⎤(n) ⎧ exx ⎫

s
⎪ yy ⎪ ⎢Q Q 22 0 0 0 ⎥⎥ ⎪ e ⎪
⎪ ⎪ ⎢ 12 ⎪ yy ⎪
s
⎨ yz ⎬ = ⎢ 0 0 Q44 0 0 ⎥ ⎨ gyz ⎬ (12)
⎪ sxz ⎪ ⎢0 0 0 Q55 0 ⎥ ⎪ gxz ⎪
⎪
⎩ sxy ⎪ ⎢⎣ 0 ⎪ ⎪
⎭ 0 0 0 Q66 ⎥⎦ ⎩ gxy ⎭

where
E (n) (z ) E (n) (z )
(n)
Q11 = Q22
(n)
= , Q (n)
12 = u Q (n)
11 , Q (n)
44 = Q (n)
55 = Q (n)
66 = (13)
1 - u2 2 (1 + u )
The total in-plane force resultants (Nxx , Nyy , Nxy ) and total moment resultants (Mxx , Myy , Mxy ) are defined as
⎧ Nxx ⎫ ⎧ sxx ⎪
⎫(n) ⎧ Mxx ⎫ ⎧ sxx ⎪
⎫(n)
⎪ ⎪ 3 hn ⎪ ⎪ ⎪ 3 hn ⎪
s s
⎨ Nyy ⎬ = å
⎪ Nxy ⎪ n = 1
ò ⎨ yy ⎬ dz ,
hn - 1 ⎪ sxy ⎪
⎩ ⎭
⎨ Myy ⎬ = å
⎪ Mxy ⎪ n = 1
ò ⎨ yy ⎬ z dz .
hn - 1 ⎪ sxy ⎪
⎩ ⎭
(14)
⎩ ⎭ ⎩ ⎭
There are additional stress couples (Pxx , Pyy , Pxy ) associated with the in-plane normal and tangential stress
effects and another stress resultants (R yz , R xz ) associated with the transverse shear stress. They are defined as
⎧ Pxx ⎫ ⎧ sxx ⎪
⎫(n)
⎪ ⎪ ⎧R ⎫
{ss }
hn ⎪ hn (n) df ( z )
å ò ⎨ syy ⎬ f (z ) dz , ⎨ yz ⎬ = K å n = 1 òh
3 3 yz
⎨ Pyy ⎬ = n= 1 h
dz , (15)
⎪ Pxy ⎪ n-1 ⎩ sxy ⎭
⎪ ⎪ ⎩ R xz ⎭ n-1
xz dz
⎩ ⎭
where K represents the shear correction factor of FSDT (K = 5/6). Also, the stress resultants of the sandwich
plate can be written as

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Mater. Res. Express 6 (2019) 115707 A A Daikh and A M Zenkour

⎧{N}⎫ ⎡[A] [B] [C ] ⎤ ⎧{e0}⎫ ⎧ 0⎫

⎪ ⎪ ⎪ ⎪ ⎧R ⎫ ⎡ J 0 ⎤ ⎪ g yz ⎪
⎨{M}⎬ = ⎢ [B] [D] [F ] ⎥ ⎨{e1}⎬ , ⎨ yz ⎬ = ⎢ 44 ⎥ ⎨ ⎪ ⎬, (16)
⎪ ⎪ ⎢ ⎥⎪ ⎪ ⎩ Rxz ⎭ ⎣ 0 J55 ⎦ ⎪ g 0
⎩ {P} ⎭ ⎣[C ] [F ] [H ]⎦ ⎩{e }⎭
2 ⎩ xz ⎭

where
T T T
{N} = { Nxx Nyy Nxy } , {M} = { Mxx Myy Mxy } , {P} = { Pxx Pyy Pxy } ,
T T T
{
{e0} = e0xx e0yy g 0xy }, {
{e1} = e1xx e1yy g1xy }, {
{e 2} = e 2xx e 2yy g 2xy }. (17)

The expressions Aij , Bij , Dij , Cij , Fij , and Hij are given by
hn
å n= 1 òh
3
{A ij , Bij , Dij , C ij , Fij , Hij} = Qij (n) {1, z , z 2, f (z ) , zf (z ) , f (z )2} dz ,
n-1

hn ⎡ df ( z ) ⎤ 2
Js = K å n = 1 òh
3
Qss (n) ⎢ (i , j = 1, 2, 6, s = 4, 5).
⎣ dz ⎥⎦
dz , (18)
n-1

5. Governing equations

The Hamilton’s energy principle is applied here to obtain the equations of motion of the FG sandwich plate
t2
d òt
1
(U - V - T ) dt = 0, (19)

where U, V, T are the strain energy, the potential energy of the applied loads and the kinetic energy of the FG
sandwich plate, respectively.
The variation of the strain energy of the plate is written as

dU = òV [s xxn exx + s yyn eyy + s xyn gxy + s yzn gyz + s xzn gxz ] dV .
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
(20)

Also, the variation of potential energy of the applied loads is expressed as

⎡ ⎤
0 ¶w0 ¶dw0 0 ¶w0 ¶dw0
dV =
A
ò
q d w dA +
A⎣
⎢N xx ò
¶x ¶x
+ N yy
¶y ¶y ⎦
⎥ dA , (21)

0 0
where q is the transverse applied load and N xx and N yy are the in-plane loads.
Finally, the kinetic energy of the plate at any moment can be expressed as
1 ⎡⎛ ¶u ⎞2 ⎛ ¶v ⎞2 ⎛ ¶w ⎞2⎤
T=
2 òV r ( z ) ⎢⎜ ⎟ + ⎜ ⎟ + ⎜
⎣⎝ ¶t ⎠ ⎝ ¶t ⎠
⎟ ⎥ dV .
⎝ ¶t ⎠ ⎦
(22)

where t and r denotes the time and the mass density, respectively.
Using equations (20)–(22) into equation (19), one can derive the governing equations of motion of a plate
0 0
subjected to a system of uniform in-plane compressive loads N xx and N yy in the form
¶Nxx ¶Nxy ¶ 2u ¶3w0 ¶ 2j
+ = I0 20 - I1 + I3 2x ,
¶x ¶y ¶t ¶x ¶t 2 ¶t
¶Nxy ¶Nyy ¶ 2v ¶3w0 ¶ 2jy
+ = I0 20 - I1 + I3 ,
¶x ¶y ¶t ¶y ¶t 2 ¶t 2
¶ 2Mxx ¶ 2Mxy ¶ 2Myy 0 ¶ w0
2
0 ¶ w0
2 ¶ 2w0
+ 2 + + q + N xx + N yy = I 0
¶x 2 ¶x ¶y ¶y 2 ¶x 2 ¶y 2 ¶t 2
⎛ ¶3u 0 ¶3v0 ⎞ ⎛ ¶ 4w0 ¶ 4w0 ⎞ ⎛ ¶3j ¶3jy ⎞
+ I1 ⎜ + ⎟ - I2 ⎜ + ⎟ + I 4 ⎜⎜ x
+ ⎟⎟ ,
⎝ ¶x ¶t 2 ¶y ¶t 2 ⎠ ⎝ ¶x 2¶t 2 ¶y 2¶t 2 ⎠ ⎝ ¶x ¶t 2 ¶y ¶t 2 ⎠
¶Pxx ¶Pxy ¶ 2u ¶3w0 ¶ 2jx
+ - Rxz = I3 20 - I4 + I5 ,
¶x ¶y ¶t ¶x ¶t 2 ¶t 2
¶Pxy ¶Pyy ¶ 2v ¶3w0 ¶ 2jy
+ - R yz = I3 20 - I4 + I5 , (23)
¶x ¶y ¶t ¶y ¶t 2 ¶t 2

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Mater. Res. Express 6 (2019) 115707 A A Daikh and A M Zenkour

where
hn
å n= 1 òh
3
{I0, I1, I2, I3, I4, I5} = r (n) (z ){1, z , z 2, f (z ) , zf (z ) , f (z )2} dz . (24)
n-1

6. Navier’s solution

The present rectangular sandwich plate is classified with the simply-supported conditions. These boundary
conditions are given by
v01 = w01 = j12 = Nxx
1
= Mxx
1
= Pxx
1
= 0 at x = 0, a ,
u 01 = w01 = j11 = Nyy
1
= Myy
1
= Pyy
1
= 0 at y = 0, b. (25)

The functions of the displacements that satisfy boundary conditions equations are developed as Fourier
series as follows
¥
¥
{u 0, jx } = å m = 1 å {Umn , Xmn} cos (lx ) sin (by ) e iwt ,
n= 1
¥ ¥
{v0, jy} = å å {Vmn , Ymn} sin (lx ) cos (by ) e iwt ,
m = 1n = 1
¥ ¥
w0 = å å Wmn sin (lx ) sin (by ) e iwt , (26)
m = 1n = 1

where l = mp /a, m = np /b and Umn 1 1

, Xmn 1
, Vmn 1
, Ymn 1
and Wmn denote arbitrary parameters. Substituting
equation (26) into equation (23), one gets
⎧Umn ⎫ ⎧ 0⎫
⎪V ⎪ ⎪ ⎪
⎪ mn ⎪ ⎪ 0⎪
([L] - w [M ]) ⎨Wmn ⎬ = ⎨ 0⎬ ,
2 (27)
⎪ Xmn ⎪ ⎪ 0⎪
⎪ ⎪ ⎪ ⎪
⎩Ymn ⎭ ⎩ 0⎭
where [L] and [M ] are stiffness and mass matrices, respectively.
⎡ L11 L12 L13 L14 L15 ⎤ ⎡ M11 M12 M13 M14 M15 ⎤
⎢L L 22 L 23 L 24 L 25 ⎥ ⎢M M22 M23 M24 M25 ⎥
⎢ 12 ⎥ ⎢ 21 ⎥
[L] = ⎢ L13 L 23 L33 L34 L35 ⎥ , [M ] = ⎢ M13 M23 M33 M34 M35 ⎥ , (28)
⎢ L14 L 24 L34 L44 L45 ⎥ ⎢ M14 M24 M34 M44 M45 ⎥
⎢⎣ L15 L 25 L35 L45 L55 ⎥⎦ ⎢⎣ M15 M25 M35 M45 M55 ⎥⎦
in which the elements of the matrix [L] and [M] are given as
L11 = A11 l2 + A66 m2, L12 = lm (A12 + A66 ) ,
L13 = - B11 l3 - lm2 (B12 + 2B66) , L14 = C11 l2 + C 66 m2,
L15 = lm (C12 + C 66) , L 22 = A66 l2 + A22 m2,
L 23 = - B22 m3 - ml2 (B12 + 2B66) , L 24 = L15,
L 25 = C 66 l2 + C 22 m2, L33 = D11 l4 + (2D12 + 4D66 ) l2m2 + D22 m4 + l2N xx
0
+ m2N yy
0
,
(29)
L34 = - F11 l3 - lm2 (F12 + 2F66) , L35 = - F22 m3 - ml2 (F12 + 2F66) ,
L44 = J44 + H11 l2 + H66 m2, L45 = lm (H12 + H66) ,
L55 = J55 + H66 l2 + H22 m2,

where
M11 = I0, M12 = 0, M13 = - lI1, M14 = I3, M15 = 0, M22 = I0,
M23 = - bI1, M24 = 0, M25 = I3, M33 = I0 - I2 (l2 + b 2) , M34 = - lI4,
M35 = - bI4, M44 = I5, M45 = 0, M55 = I5. (30)
For the classical plate theory (CPT):
L14 = L15 = L 24 = L 25 = L34 = L35 = L44 = L45 = L55 = 0,
M14 = M15 = M24 = M25 = M34 = M35 = M44 = M45 = M55 = 0. (31)

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Mater. Res. Express 6 (2019) 115707 A A Daikh and A M Zenkour

7. Results

The present sandwich plate is made of mixture of metal and ceramic and subjected to in-plane load in two
0
directions (N xx = Ncr , N yy
0
= cNcr ). The properties of both metal (Aluminum-Al) and ceramic
(Alumina-Al2O3) materials are represented as
Aluminum - Al: Em = 70 Gpa, nm = 0.3, rm = 2707 kg m-3.
Alumina - Al2O3 : Ec = 380 Gpa, nm = 0.3, rm = 3800 kg m-3.
It is to be noted that several kinds of sandwich plates are considered [3, 4]:

7.1. The (1–0–1) FG sandwich plate

There is no core in this structure. The plate is only made of two equal thickness FG face layers. That is
h1 = h2 = 0. (32)

7.2. The (1–1–1) FG sandwich plate

In this case the plate is made of three equal-thickness layers. That is
h1 = - h / 6, h2 = h / 6. (33)

7.3. The (1–2–1) FG sandwich plate

Here the core thickness is twice the thickness of each face layer. That is
h1 = - h / 4, h2 = h / 4. (34)

7.4. The (2–1–2) FG sandwich plate

Now, the core thickness is half the thickness of each face layer. That is
h1 = - h / 10, h2 = h / 10. (35)

7.5. The (2–2–1) FG sandwich plate

Here, non-symmetric sandwich plate is considered. In this case, the core thickness equals the thickness of one
face and twice the thickness of the other. So, one gets
h1 = - h / 10, h2 = 3h / 10. (36)

7.6. The (2–1–1) FG sandwich plate

Additional non-symmetric sandwich plate is presented here. In which, the core thickness equals the thickness of
one face and half the thickness of the other. So, one gets
h1 = 0, h2 = h / 4. (37)
For convenience, the following dimensionless variables are applied to illustrate some numerical results
graphically and reported the other in tabular form.
Non-dimensional frequency:
wa 2 r0
w= . (38)
h E0
Non-dimensional critical buckling load:
Ncr a 2
N = , (39)
100h3E 0
in which the reference values of Young’s modulus and material density are taken as E 0 = 1 GPa
and r0 = 1 kg/m3.
Tables 1 and 2 show the effects of volume fraction index, the scheme of the sandwich and the side-to-
thickness ratio a /h on the non-dimensional frequency and critical buckling load of two models of FG sandwich
plates using CPT, FPT, TSDT, SSDT [4] and the present SHSDT theory. It can be seen from these tables that the
non-dimensional frequency and critical buckling load decrease with increasing of volume fraction index k . The
higher results are obtained for the scheme (1–2–1). Also, it is observed that the results computed by the proposed

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Mater. Res. Express 6 (2019) 115707 A A Daikh and A M Zenkour

Table 1. Effects of volume fraction index on the non-dimensional frequencies of an FG square sandwich plate.

k Theory 1–0–1 1–1–1 1–2–1 2–1–2 2–2–1 2–1–1

Power-law Functionally Graded Material 0 Present 1.82447 1.82447 1.82447 1.82447 1.82447 1.82447
SSDT [4] 1.82452 1.82452 1.82452 1.82452 1.82452 1.82452
TSDT [4] 1.82445 1.82445 1.82445 1.82445 1.82445 1.82445
FPT [4] 1.82442 1.82442 1.82442 1.82442 1.82442 1.82442
CPT [4] 1.87359 1.87359 1.87359 1.87359 1.87359 1.87359
0.5 Present 1.44430 1.51924 1.57450 1.48413 1.54716 1.50643
SSDT [4] 1.44436 1.51927 1.57450 1.48418 1.55202 1.51258
TSDT [4] 1.44424 1.51922 1.57451 1.48408 1.55199 1.51253
FPT [4] 1.44168 1.51695 1.57274 1.48159 1.55001 1.51035
CPT [4] 1.47157 1.54903 1.60722 1.51242 1.58374 1.54264
1 Present 1.24328 1.35336 1.43931 1.30017 1.39567 1.33343
SSDT [4] 1.24335 1.35339 1.43931 1.30023 1.40792 1.34894
TSDT [4] 1.24320 1.35333 1.43934 1.30011 1.40789 1.34888
FPT [4] 1.24031 1.35072 1.43722 1.29729 1.40555 1.34637
CPT [4] 1.26238 1.37521 1.46497 1.32023 1.43247 1.37150
5 Present 0.94616 1.04474 1.17398 0.98197 1.10902 1.03066
SSDT [4] 0.94630 1.04481 1.17399 0.98207 1.14741 1.07445
TSDT [4] 0.94598 1.04466 1.17397 0.98184 1.14731 1.07432
FPT [4] 0.94256 1.04183 1.17159 0.97870 1.14467 1.07156
CPT [4] 0.95844 1.05565 1.18867 0.99190 1.16195 1.08797
Sigmoid Functionally Graded Material 0 Present 1.51724 1.50604 1.53048 1.50462 1.52921 1.52180
SSDT 1.51728 1.50623 1.53060 1.50482 1.52933 1.52190
TSDT 1.51722 1.50583 1.53035 1.50440 1.52907 1.52169
FPT 1.52379 1.50763 1.53238 1.50712 1.53168 1.52522
CPT 1.55809 1.53602 1.56035 1.53716 1.56069 1.55569
0.5 Present 1.33340 1.40125 1.46735 1.36549 1.43757 1.39403
SSDT 1.33348 1.40132 1.46738 1.36558 1.43762 1.39409
TSDT 1.33330 1.40116 1.46733 1.36538 1.43752 1.39398
FPT 1.33506 1.40260 1.46961 1.36662 1.43963 1.39591
CPT 1.35796 1.42539 1.49423 1.38892 1.46365 1.41917
1 Present 1.24328 1.35336 1.43931 1.30017 1.39567 1.33343
SSDT 1.24335 1.35339 1.43931 1.30023 1.40792 1.34894
TSDT 1.24320 1.35333 1.43934 1.30011 1.40789 1.34888
FPT 1.24031 1.35072 1.43722 1.29729 1.40555 1.34637
CPT 1.26238 1.37521 1.46497 1.32023 1.43247 1.37150
5 Present 1.09907 1.28138 1.39817 1.19966 1.33272 1.23950
SSDT 1.09912 1.28135 1.39811 1.19967 1.33270 1.23950
TSDT 1.09902 1.28142 1.39825 1.19966 1.33276 1.23949
FPT 1.09884 1.28277 1.40083 1.20027 1.33455 1.24045
CPT 1.11152 1.30013 1.42211 1.21530 1.35362 1.25669

theory are in good agreement with the results of other HSDTs. The present model is simple and can theoretically
cover the existing polynomial models [63]. Also, we can see that the difference between the shear deformation
theories and the CPT decreases as the volume fraction index increases.
In table 3, the effect of the four models of porosities distribution on free vibration frequency of square
P-FGM and S-FGM sandwich plates is illustrated using the present higher order shear deformation theory.
Whereas table 4 presents the effect of porosities distribution on critical buckling loads of square P-FGM and
S-FGM sandwich plates. The porosity coefficient is chosen as x = 0.1, 0.2. It is observed that the non-
dimensional frequency and critical buckling load obtained for imperfect plates with porosity coefficient x = 0.2
is smaller than that for x = 0.1 regardless the porosity model.
The main problem of the sandwich structures is discussed here. The variation of Young’s modulus E of
both P-FGM and S-FGM sandwich plates through the plate thickness is presented in figure 1 using the scheme
(1–1–1). In the case of P-FGM sandwich plates, we can see that Young’s modulus have smooth variation in the
interfaces just for the values of k < 1. The problem in this structure (k < 1) is the high quantity of ceramic
whereas volume fraction index decreases, the ceramic constituent increases. To eliminate this inconvenient,
we present a new form of FG sandwich structure based on a sigmoid function. As we see in figure 1(b), Young’s
modulus with volume fraction (k > 1) have a perfect distribution in the interfaces. Also, ceramic has 50% of
the volume of each FG layer while the remaining 50% is metal wherever the inhomogeneity parameter k is.

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Mater. Res. Express 6 (2019) 115707 A A Daikh and A M Zenkour

Table 2. Effects of volume fraction index on the non-dimensional biaxial buckling loads of an FG square sandwich plate (c = 1, a /h = 10).

k Theory 1–0–1 1–1–1 1–2–1 2–1–2 2–2–1 2–1–1

Power-law Functionally Graded Material 0 Present 6.50266 6.50266 6.50266 6.50266 6.50266 6.50266
SSDT [4] 6.50303 6.50303 6.50303 6.50303 6.50303 6.50303
TSDT [4] 6.50248 6.50248 6.50248 6.50248 6.50248 6.50248
FPT [4] 6.50224 6.50224 6.50224 6.50224 6.50224 6.50224
CPT [4] 6.86896 6.86896 6.86896 6.86896 6.86896 6.86896
0.5 Present 3.68250 4.21836 4.60832 3.97068 4.40504 4.11249
SSDT [4] 3.68284 4.21856 4.60835 3.97097 4.40519 4.11269
TSDT [4] 3.68219 4.21823 4.60841 3.97042 4.40499 4.11235
FPT [4] 3.66866 4.20517 4.59758 3.95660 4.39336 4.10007
CPT [4] 3.82699 4.39032 4.80762 4.12798 4.59127 4.28112
1 Present 2.58391 3.23252 3.75317 2.92032 3.47479 3.09713
SSDT [4] 2.58423 3.23270 3.75314 2.92060 3.47490 3.09731
TSDT [4] 2.58357 3.23237 3.75328 2.92003 3.47472 3.09697
FPT [4] 2.57118 3.21946 3.74182 2.90690 3.46286 3.08510
CPT [4] 2.66624 3.34075 3.89203 3.01366 3.59831 3.20195
5 Present 1.32960 1.79007 2.36739 1.52169 2.05625 1.70202
SSDT [4] 1.33003 1.79032 2.36744 1.52203 2.05644 1.70224
TSDT [4] 1.32910 1.78978 2.36734 1.52129 2.05605 1.70176
FPT [4] 1.31921 1.77979 2.35737 1.51126 2.04642 1.69269
CPT [4] 1.36540 1.82866 2.42859 1.55352 2.10619 1.74209
Sigmoid Functionally Graded Material 0 Present 3.85056 4.00623 4.24593 3.91443 4.17386 4.03626
SSDT 3.85048 4.00595 4.24573 3.91416 4.17366 4.03609
TSDT 3.85015 4.00373 4.24429 3.91193 4.17220 4.03492
FPT 3.85001 3.98355 4.22488 3.89540 4.15531 4.02204
CPT 4.06714 4.17091 4.41737 4.08956 4.35189 4.22296
0.5 Present 2.97317 3.46635 3.90142 3.22227 3.68731 3.38584
SSDT 2.97307 3.46624 3.90135 3.22214 3.68722 3.38576
TSDT 2.97226 3.46542 3.90105 3.22113 3.68670 3.38519
FPT 2.95983 3.45013 3.88727 3.20606 3.67314 3.37220
CPT 3.08651 3.58980 4.04963 3.33643 3.82591 3.51231
1 Present 2.58391 3.23252 3.75317 2.92032 3.47479 3.09713
SSDT 2.58423 3.23270 3.75314 2.92060 3.47490 3.09731
TSDT 2.58357 3.23237 3.75328 2.92003 3.47472 3.09697
FPT 2.57118 3.21946 3.74182 2.90690 3.46286 3.08510
CPT 2.66624 3.34075 3.89203 3.01366 3.59831 3.20195
5 Present 2.01885 2.89709 3.54081 2.48563 3.16785 2.67578
SSDT 2.01879 2.89710 3.54087 2.48561 3.16786 2.67576
TSDT 2.01841 2.89738 3.54160 2.48557 3.16813 2.67570
FPT 2.00832 2.88776 3.53326 2.47555 3.15859 2.66576
CPT 2.06585 2.98496 3.66689 2.55257 3.27090 2.75256

Table 3. Effects of porosity on the non-dimensional frequencies of FG square sandwich plate (a /h = 10, k = 2).

Porosity ξ 1–0–1 1–1–1 1–2–1 2–1–2 2–2–1 2–1–1

P-FGM Perfect 0 1.06155 1.18847 1.30244 1.12248 1.24391 1.16529
Imperfect I 0, 1 0.98258 1.12071 1.24933 1.04712 1.18195 1.09355
0, 2 0.87867 1.04201 1.19156 0.95491 1.11054 1.00557
Imperfect II 0, 1 1.03235 1.15768 1.27723 1.09008 1.21572 1.13481
0, 2 1.00033 1.12524 1.25140 1.05528 1.18609 1.10199
Imperfect III 0, 1 1.03308 1.15844 1.27785 1.09089 1.21642 1.13558
0,2 1.00347 1.12837 1.25386 1.05867 1.18894 1.10519
Imperfect IV 0, 1 1.05559 1.17079 1.28422 1.10840 1.22699 1.15122
0, 2 1.05213 1.15260 1.26581 1.09394 1.20966 1.13763
S-FGM Perfect 0 1.16167 1.31191 1.41547 1.24266 1.35940 1.27976
Imperfect I 0, 1 1.10335 1.25953 1.37180 1.18624 1.31132 1.22616
0, 2 1.03153 1.20114 1.32556 1.12076 1.25800 1.16384
Imperfect II 0, 1 1.14009 1.28758 1.39430 1.21795 1.33708 1.25665
0, 2 1.11723 1.26253 1.37295 1.19214 1.31413 1.23246
Imperfect III 0, 1 1.14063 1.28818 1.39481 1.21856 1.33763 1.25722
0, 2 1.11944 1.26492 1.37496 1.19462 1.31632 1.23479
Imperfect IV 0, 1 1.16154 1.29917 1.40066 1.23401 1.34703 1.27124
0, 2 1.16205 1.28644 1.38597 1.22546 1.33465 1.26281

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Mater. Res. Express 6 (2019) 115707 A A Daikh and A M Zenkour

Figure 1. Variation of Young’s modulus through FG sandwich plate thickness.

Table 4. Effects of porosity on the non-dimensional critical buckling loads of FG square sandwich
plate (c = 1, a /h = 10, k = 2).

Porosity ξ 1–0–1 1–1–1 1–2–1 2–1–2 2–2–1 2–1–1

P-FGM Perfect 0 1.77856 2.40449 2.99342 2.08228 2.67334 2.27031
Imperfect I 0, 1 1.36232 1.99718 2.62234 1.66484 2.27248 1.84884
0, 2 0.96028 1.60465 2.26539 1.26208 1.88149 1.43604
Imperfect II 0,1 1.59310 2.20637 2.80978 1.88413 2.47895 2.07218
0, 2 1.41228 2.01348 2.63113 1.69110 2.28858 1.87774
Imperfect III 0, 1 1.59753 2.21110 2.81416 1.88887 2.48360 2.07692
0, 2 1.42906 2.03137 2.64770 1.70901 2.30628 1.89584
Imperfect IV 0, 1 1.66599 2.25705 2.84094 1.94846 2.52551 2.13292
0, 2 1.56327 2.11343 2.69275 1.81818 2.38124 2.00199
S-FGM Perfect 0 2.25541 3.03718 3.62957 2.66727 3.29630 2.85260
Imperfect I 0, 1 1.83103 2.62151 3.25008 2.24164 2.89349 2.42936
0, 2 1.42240 2.22216 2.88613 1.83230 2.50299 2.01812
Imperfect II 0, 1 2.06392 2.83268 3.43972 2.46280 3.09872 2.65126
0,2 1.87776 2.63418 3.25558 2.26422 2.90607 2.45469
Imperfect III 0, 1 2.06848 2.83755 3.44424 2.46768 3.10344 2.65607
0, 2 1.89501 2.65256 3.27263 2.28262 2.92395 2.47295
Imperfect IV 0, 1 2.14288 2.88444 3.47161 2.52875 3.14549 2.71371
0, 2 2.03263 2.73592 3.31846 2.39370 2.99851 2.57812

Figure 2 plots Young’s modulus of FG sandwich plates through the thickness direction with different
distribution of porosities. The porosity coefficient is chosen as x = 0.2. The Imperfect I FG sandwich plate (even
distribution) has the smallest values of Young’s modulus while the perfect FG sandwiches have the biggest
values. Some similar results are obtained for Imperfect II and Imperfect III FG sandwiches.
Figures 3 and 4 show the vibration of frequencies and critical buckling loads (c =0, 1) versus the volume
fraction index using the present HSDT. As it is seen, the increase of volume fraction index produces a reduction
in the frequencies and critical buckling loads values. This observation stands for all types FG sandwiches. The
critical buckling load is nearly constant when k > 5. Note that the non-dimensional frequencies and the critical
buckling loads of P-FGM and S-FGM sandwich plates with 1–2–1 scheme are noticeably greater than values
obtained on other FG sandwiches.

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Mater. Res. Express 6 (2019) 115707 A A Daikh and A M Zenkour

Figure 2. Variation of Young’s modulus of perfect and porous FG sandwich plate.

Figure 3. Non-dimensional frequency of FG sandwich plate versus volume fraction index (a/h=10, a/b=1).

The effects of volume fraction index and porosity models on the frequencies and critical buckling loads of FG
square sandwich plates are plotted in figures 5 and 6. The porosity coefficient is chosen as x = 0.2. The
Imperfect I (even distribution) FG sandwiches has the smallest results while the perfect FGM has the biggest one.
Some similar results are obtained for Imperfect II (uneven distribution) and Imperfect III (logarithmic-uneven
distribution) FG sandwiches. The impact of volume fraction index on the response of P-FGM sandwich plate is
greater than for S-FGM sandwich plates.
In figures 7 and 8, the non-dimensional frequencies and critical buckling loads versus the side-to-thickness
ratio a /h for different porosity models is presented. It is seen that the results of frequencies and critical buckling
loads increase with increasing of side-to-thickness ratio.

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Mater. Res. Express 6 (2019) 115707 A A Daikh and A M Zenkour

Figure 4. Non-dimensional critical buckling load of square FG sandwich plate versus volume fraction index (a/h=10).

Figure 5. Non-dimensional frequency of perfect and porous square FG sandwich plate versus volume fraction index (a/h=10).

The effect of aspect ratio a /b on the vibration and buckling response of square FG plates is illustrated in
figures 9 and 10. The increasing of aspect ratio increase vibration frequencies and critical buckling loads. It is
clear that the difference between perfect and imperfect sandwich plates increase with increasing of aspect ratio.
The influence of porosity coefficient on the free vibration frequencies and critical buckling loads of square
FG sandwich plate is plotted in figures 11 and 12. The porosity coefficient has an important effect on the
response of the plate mainly for even distribution model (Imperfect I) where the increasing of porosity
coefficient decreases the non-dimensional frequencies and critical buckling loads. The existence of the porosities
leads to an important change in material properties such as Young’s modulus (see figure 2), Thus, the increase of

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Mater. Res. Express 6 (2019) 115707 A A Daikh and A M Zenkour

Figure 6. Non-dimensional critical buckling load of perfect and porous square FG sandwich plate versus volume fraction index (a/
h=10).

Figure 7. Non-dimensional frequency of perfect and porous square FG sandwich plate versus side-to-thickness ratio (k=2).

porosities decreases the plate stiffness. The variation of non-dimensional critical buckling loads for value of
c =0 is always higher than that for c =1.

8. Conclusions

In this paper, we present free vibration and mechanical buckling of porous FG sandwich plates using a simple
higher-order shear deformation theory. Two types of FG sandwich plates are proposed, P-FGM and S-FGM

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Mater. Res. Express 6 (2019) 115707 A A Daikh and A M Zenkour

Figure 8. Non-dimensional critical buckling load of perfect and porous square FG sandwich plate versus side-to-thickness ratio (k=2).

Figure 9. Non-dimensional frequency of perfect and porous square FG sandwich plate versus aspect ratio (k=2).

Figure 10. Non-dimensional critical buckling load of perfect and porous square FG sandwich plate versus aspect ratio (k=2).

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Mater. Res. Express 6 (2019) 115707 A A Daikh and A M Zenkour

Figure 11. Effect of porosity coefficient on non-dimensional frequency of square FG sandwich plate (k=2, a/h=10).

Figure 12. Effect of porosity coefficient on non-dimensional critical buckling load of square FG sandwich plate (k=2, a/h=10).

sandwich plates with four models of porosity distribution taking into account composition and the scheme of
the sandwich plate. The explicit governing equations of simply supported FG sandwich plate are derived by
using the generalized higher-order shear deformation plate theory. Navier solution technique is used to obtain
the closed form solutions. The influence of porosity, sandwich plate geometry and inhomogeneity parameter on
the buckling and free vibration of FG sandwich plate is examined.
The main results of our analysis are expressed as follows:

• Increase in inhomogeneity parameter k of FG sandwich plates decreases the free vibration frequencies and
critical buckling loads.
• The aspect ratio a /b and side-to-thickness ration a /h has a significant influence on the free vibration
frequencies and critical buckling loads, where the increasing of these geometrical parameters increases the
non-dimensional frequencies and critical buckling loads.
• The non-dimensional frequencies and the critical buckling loads are maximums for non-porous FG sandwich
plates and decrease when the porosity coefficient increase regardless the porosity type.
• An excellent agreement can be seen between the current theory and previous theories.

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Mater. Res. Express 6 (2019) 115707 A A Daikh and A M Zenkour

ORCID iDs

Ahmed Amine Daikh https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4666-2750

References
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Applications (New York: Springer) 978-0-412-60760-8 (https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-5301-4)
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