Investigation of thermal buckling properties of ceramic-metal FGM sandwich plates using 2D integral plate model

In this work, a simple four-variable integral plate theory is employed for examining the thermal buckling properties of functionally graded material (FGM) sandwich plates. The proposed kinematics considers integral terms which include the effect of transverse shear deformations. Material characteristics and thermal expansion coefficient of the ceramic-metal FGM sandwich plate faces are supposed to be graded in the thickness direction according to a "simple power-law" variation in terms of the "volume fractions" of the constituents. The central layer is always homogeneous and consists of an isotropic material. The thermal loads are supposed as uniform, linear, and nonlinear temperature rises within the thickness direction. The influences of geometric ratios, gradient index, loading type, and type sandwich plate on the buckling properties are examined and discussed in detail.