Imperfection sensitivity in the nonlinear vibration of functionally graded plates

In this paper, the nonlinear partial differential equations of nonlinear vibration for an imperfect functionally graded plate (FGP) in a general state of arbitrary initial stresses are presented. The derived equations include the effects of initial stresses and initial imperfections size. The material properties of a functionally graded plate are graded continuously in the direction of thickness. The variation of the properties follows a simple power-law distribution in terms of the volume fractions of the constituents. Using these derived governing equations, the nonlinear vibration of initially stressed FGPs with geometric imperfection was studied. Present approach employed perturbation technique, Galerkin method and Runge–Kutta method. The perturbation technique was used to derive the nonlinear governing equations. The equations of motion of the imperfect FGPs was obtained using Galerkin method and then solved by Runge–Kutta method. Numerical solutions are presented for the performances of perfect and imperfect FGPs. The nonlinear vibration of a simply supported ceramic/metal FGP was solved. It is found that the initial stress, geometric imperfection and volume fraction index greatly affect the behaviors of nonlinear vibration.