Static and dynamic analyses of FGPM cylindrical shells with quadratic thermal gradient distribution

Abstract Functionally graded material (FGM) has great potential in the application of thin-walled structures, since delamination failure can be suppressed. Functionally graded piezoelectric material (FGPM) is a special kind of FGM, which couples with elastic and electric fields. The modeling of FGPM coupled smart structures under nonlinear thermal load is still a challenge task. This paper develops an electro-thermo-elastic finite element (FE) model of FGPM integrated smart structures based on the first-order shear deformation hypothesis. The FE model proposes two different nonlinear configurations of thermal gradient distribution through the thickness, which are compared with linear thermal gradient distribution. An eight-node quadrilateral shell element is developed for finite element analysis . The present FE model is firstly validated by a PVDF bimorph beam under nonlinear thermal loads. Later, the model is applied to the static and dynamic simulation of FGPM cylindrical shells . The results show that thermal distribution configurations have great impact on structural response, which should be carefully chosen in the simulation of thermal coupled problems.