Thermo-elasticity in shell structures made of functionally graded materials

• Published in: Acta mechanica Vol. 227; no. 5; pp. 1307 - 1329
• Main Authors: Kugler, Stephan, Fotiu, Peter A., Murin, Justin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Vienna Springer Vienna 01.05.2016; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Boundary conditions; Classical and Continuum Physics; Composite materials; Computational efficiency; Computing time; Control; Dynamical Systems; Engineering; Engineering Thermodynamics; Functionally gradient materials; Heat and Mass Transfer; Materials elasticity; Mathematical analysis; Mathematical models; Mechanical analysis; Mechanics; Original Paper; Shear; Solid Mechanics; Theoretical and Applied Mechanics; Thermal conductivity; Vibration; Shell Element; Shell Structure; Neutral Surface; Convection Boundary Condition; Thickness Direction
• ISSN: 0001-5970; 1619-6937
• DOI: 10.1007/s00707-015-1550-9

An efficient low-order finite shell element is derived for the thermo-elastic analysis of shell structures made of functionally graded materials or multilayer composites. It is based on a one-way coupling between the thermal and the mechanical analysis. The thermal quantities are evaluated using a new iterative scheme that properly accounts for convection boundary conditions and large gradients of the thermal conductivity. The resulting non-constant temperature field with respect to the thickness direction gives nodal forces and couples, which are applied on a shear weak six-parameter shell formulation. Here, drill rotations are included, supplemented with a proper method for calculating effective elastic properties. Numerical results indicate the efficiency and accuracy of the proposed approach.