Nonlinear bending analysis of FGM circular plates based on physical neutral surface and higher-order shear deformation theory

In this paper, a model of the FGM circular plates is successfully established by physical neutral surface and higher-order shear deformation theory. The primary material properties are assumed to be temperature-dependent and vary along the thickness, while Poisson's ratio depends weakly on temperature change and position and is assumed to be a constant. It is worth noting that the displacements have special forms, there are no stretching–bending couplings in constitutive equations, and governing equations have the simple forms, so the solution procedure is similar to that of the homogeneous isotropic plate. The validity of this new model is confirmed by comparison with related researchers' results. Multi-term Ritz method is novel for nonlinear bending analysis of FGM circular plates, and influences played by different supported boundaries, thermal environmental conditions and volume fraction index are discussed in detail.