Three dimensional bending analysis of multi-directional functionally graded annular sector thick plates

In this paper, the three dimensional bending analysis of a multi-directional functionally graded annular sector plate is considered. The material properties are assumed to be graded in all three spatial directions following introduced power law functions. Governing Equations and boundary equations are derived based on three-dimensional theory of elasticity. The differential quadrature method is employed to discretize and solve the governing equations. Numerical results for different gradient indices are calculated. The results obtained from this research show that the direction of material variation has a noticeable effect on bending of an annular sector plate. In fact it indicates that the direction of material variation in a multi-directional annular sector plate can use as an effective variable for design optimization. Also the results of this paper can be used as benchmark for following studies. Moreover three dimensional bending analysis for an annular sector plate even for a common functionally graded plate (one directional FGM) has novelty and doesn’t considerate in literature. Comparisons are made with the solutions resulted by simulation in ABAQUS and show good agreement. Comparisons are made with the solutions resulted by simulation in ABAQUS and a good agreement was observed between the results.