Finite element approach of axial bending coupling on static and vibration behaviors of functionally graded material sandwich beams.

This study deals with the analysis of multilayer composite and functionally graded materials (FGM) structures. The material properties of the FGM beam are assumed to vary according to the power law distribution of its constituent's volume fraction over the cross section. The analytical analysis seems to be cumbersome. A finite element approach is investigated in this work for the static and free vibration behaviors of the 2D FGM beams with variable constituents over the cross section. The analyses are carried out in arbitrary axes and the axial, bending and shear couplings are considered. In this study, the classical beam theory, Timoshenko first-order and higher order shear models are described and implemented. The different models are compared to benchmark solutions found in the literature. Effects of boundary conditions, slenderness ratio, and the FGM power law parameter are investigated under static and free vibration analyses. FGM and multilayer sandwich beams are also analyzed. It is proven that the axial bending and shear coupling affect the behavior of the FGM beams in both statics and dynamics. In the presence of short beams, shear effect is important and leads to cross-section warping. The classical beam theory fails in this context. All models are close in the case of slender beams. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]