Free vibration of Euler and Timoshenko functionally graded beams by Rayleigh-Ritz method

Present investigation is concerned with the free vibration analysis of functionally graded material (FGM) beams subjected to different sets of boundary conditions. The analysis is based on the classical and first order shear deformation beam theories. Material properties of the beam vary continuously in the thickness direction according to the power-law exponent form. Trial functions denoting the displacement components of the cross-sections of the beam are expressed in simple algebraic polynomial forms. The governing equations are obtained by means of Rayleigh-Ritz method. The objective is to study the effects of constituent volume fractions, slenderness ratios and the beam theories on the natural frequencies. To validate the present analysis, comparison studies are also carried out with the available results from the existing literature.