Thermomechanical bending analysis of sandwich plates with both functionally graded face sheets and functionally graded core

In this paper, thermomechanical bending analysis of functionally graded material (FGM) sandwich plates is performed by using a four-variable refined plate theory. A new type of FGM sandwich plates, namely, both FGM face sheets and FGM hard core are considered. Containing only four unknown functions, the governing equations are deduced based on the principle of virtual work and then these equations are solved via Navier approach. Analytical solutions are obtained to predict the deflections and stresses of simply supported FGM sandwich plates. Comparative studies for a degradation model (functionally graded face sheets and homogeneous core) are conducted to verify the accuracy and efficiency of the present approach. The influences of volume fraction distribution, geometrical parameters and thermal load on thermomechanical bending behavior of the FGM sandwich plates are studied.