Influence of Material Stochasticity on Buckling Characteristics of Initially Imperfect Higher-Order Shear Deformable Gradient Plates

Abstract

This paper demonstrates the influence of material stochasticity on buckling characteristics of higher-order shear deformable gradient plates with initial geometric imperfections. The gradient plates are assessed by smooth variation in the volume fraction of the constituents (i.e. ceramic and metal) as power-law distribution function in the thickness direction. The effective material properties are achieved by means of the Voigt model. Plate kinematic based on Reddy’s higher-order shear deformation theory (HSDT) associated with initial geometric imperfection in the transverse direction is employed. The governing differential equation is produced using a variational approach. The mean and standard deviation of the critical buckling load are evaluated using finite element method and a mean-centered first-order perturbation technique in order to highlight the variation in buckling response. Numerical results are compared both in deterministic and probabilistic frameworks along with convergence in support of efficacy and performance of the proposed model. Based on the results, it can be concluded that the combined influence of geometric imperfection and uncertain material properties prominently affect the buckling response of the gradient plates.