Pre- and post-buckling analysis of functionally graded beams subjected to statically mechanical and thermal loads.

In this paper, the pre- and post-buckling behavior of beams made of Functionally Graded Materials (FGMs), a mixture of ceramic and metal, under separate mechanical and thermal loading, is studied. To this end, the finite element formulation is established, based on the Euler-Bernoulli beam theory. The effects of geometrical nonlinearity and imperfection are taken into account. The arc-length algorithm is employed to obtain the secondary path beyond the bifurcation point. The influences of material index, imperfection, geometrical parameters and different boundary conditions of simplysupported, clamped-simply and clamped-clamped, on the post-buckling characteristics of FGM beams, are thoroughly investigated. The results generated are compared with the existing data in the literature and good agreements are achieved. The investigation undertaken here proves the necessity of performing post-buckling analysis on FGM beams, especially with simply-supported end conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]