Free Vibration Response of Functionally Graded Porous Metallic Plates Embedded with Piezoelectric Layers

Abstract

The objective of this study is to determine the natural frequencies of Functionally Graded (FG) metallic plates comprising piezoelectric layers on both the top and bottom surfaces. The material characteristics of the FG plates are expected to exhibit a gradual variation along the thickness direction in accordance with a power-law model along with porosity. The governing equations are derived using the principle of virtual displacements, taking into account the first-order shear deformation plate theory. A commercial finite element programme in ANSYS Parametric Design Language (APDL) is developed to compute the natural frequency and mode shapes of functionally graded porous plates embedded with piezoelectric layers. The obtained natural frequencies results are used for different boundary condition to show their variations with respect to the constituent volume fractions, boundary condition, and piezoelectric thickness for the parameteric study. The present paper highlights some important characteristics of Functionally Graded Materials (FGM) plate embedded with piezoelectric layers that can be advantageous in the design of smart structures.