Nonlinear bending and vibration of functionally graded tubes resting on elastic foundations in thermal environment based on a refined beam model

Abstract This paper studies the nonlinear bending and vibration problems of functionally graded tubes with temperature-dependent material properties based on a refined beam model. The tubes are exposed to a uniform distributed temperature field and are placed on elastic foundation. The refined beam model for tubes can satisfy the stress boundary conditions on inner and outer surfaces. The governing equations of nonlinear bending and vibration for the functionally graded tubes are derived by using Hamilton's principle and are solved by introducing a two-step perturbation technique. Some comparisons for bending and vibration are presented to valid the correctness of present beam model and solution method. In numerical results, the effects of transverse shear deformation, the volume fraction, inner radius and elastic foundation stiffness as well as the temperature on the natural frequency, amplitude–frequency responses and nonlinear bending responses are discussed.