Analytical solution for thermal buckling analysis of rectangular plates with functionally graded coatings

In this paper, an analytical solution is developed to investigate the thermal buckling behavior of the imperfect rectangular plates with functionally graded (FG) coatings under uniform temperature rise. Material properties of the FG coatings are assumed to be temperature-dependent and to continuously vary in the thickness direction using the power law distribution of volume fraction of metal and ceramic. Theoretical formulations are based on the classical plate theory with von-Karman nonlinear kinematic relations. The initial geometrical imperfections of plates are also accounted. By using the Galerkin method and the Airy stress function, the resulting equations are solved to obtain the closed form expressions for nonlinear equilibrium paths. Effects of power law index, imperfection, geometric parameters, and temperature distributions on the response of rectangular plates with FG coatings are discussed in details.