Hygro-thermal buckling analysis of FG plate using CUF

This article investigates the hygro-thermal buckling of the FG plate. One side of the plate is rich ceramic and the other side is fully metal. The properties between the two sides are a combination of both materials and are gradually changed through the thickness direction. Since the FG plate is created from a hybrid of ceramic and metal, it makes a balance between the thermal and mechanical properties. The low thermal conductivity and high thermal strength of ceramics and the great strength of metals are consequential properties of these materials. The moisture concentration and temperature distribution can be considered uniform or non-uniform. The governing equations are achieved by employing the virtual work principle. Here, FEM based on a higher-order plate theory called Carrera Unified Formulation (CUF), is used to obtain the critical buckling load under thermo-humidity conditions. Also, the effects of some parameters, like geometry aspect ratio, volume fraction index, and the order of expansion functions of the plate on the hygro-thermal buckling load, have been examined.