Application of discrete shear quadrilateral element for static bending, free vibration and buckling analysis of functionally graded material plate

This paper presents a discrete shear quadrilateral (DSQ) element to study the static bending, free vibration, and buckling analysis of functionally graded material (FGM) plate structures. The effective properties of the FGM plate are computed using the rule of mixtures. The plate kinematics is based on Resinner-Mindlin plate theory with discrete shear constraints introduced to relate the kinematical and the independent shear strains. The efficacy of the present element is demonstrated with a few examples for Static bending, free vibration, and mechanical and thermal buckling. The influence of various parameters such as the plate aspect ratio, material gradient index, and boundary conditions are systematically studied. From the study, it is obvious that the DSQ element yields accurate results and converges optimally.