Thermal Buckling Analysis of Functionally Graded Euler-Bernoulli Beams with Temperature-dependent Properties

Thermal buckling behavior of functionally graded Euler-Bernoulli beams in thermal conditions is investigated analytically. The beam with material and thermal properties dependent on the temperature and position is considered. Based on the transformed-section method, the functionally graded beam is considered as an equivalent homogeneous Euler-Bernoulli beam with an effective bending rigidity under an eccentric thermal load. Then, the thermal elastic buckling equation associated with the bending deflection about the neutral axis is established. The easily usable closed-form solutions for the critical thermal buckling temperature of functionally graded beams under uniform and non-linear temperature rise are obtained and used to calculate the thermal buckling temperature. Some results are evaluated and compared with those by other investigators to validate the accuracy of the presented method. The effects of material compositions, temperature-dependent material properties, slenderness ratios and restraint conditions on thermal buckling behaviors are discussed. It is believed that the proposed model provides engineers and designers an easy and useful method to investigate the effects of various parameters affecting the thermal buckling characteristics of functionally graded beams.