Applied Mathematics and Mechanics (English Edition), 2007, 28(1):5967

c
Editorial
Committee of Appl. Math. Mech., ISSN 0253-4827

Thermal post-bunkling analyses of functionally graded material rod

ZHAO Feng-qun ()1,2 , WANG Zhong-min ()1 , LIU Hong-zhao ()2

(1. School of Science, Xian University of Technology, Xian 710048, P. R. China;
2. School of Mechanical and Instrument Engineering, Xian University of Technology,
Xian 710048, P. R. China)
(Communicated by SHEN Hui-shen)
Abstract
The non-linear governing dierential equations of immovably simply supported functionally graded material (FGM) rod subjected to thermal loads were derived.
The thermal post-buckling behaviors of FGM rod made of ZrO2 and Ti-6A1-4Vwere analyzed by shooting method. Firstly, the thermal post-buckling equilibrium paths of the
FGM rod with dierent gradient index in the uniform temperature eld were plotted,
and compared with the behaviors of the homogeneous rods made of ZrO2 and Ti-6A1-4V
materials, respectively. For given value of end rotation angles, the inuence of gradient
index on the thermal post-buckling behaviors of FGM rod was discussed. Secondly, the
thermal post-buckling characteristics of the FGM rod were analyzed when the temperature dierence parameter is changed while the bottom temperature parameter remains
constant, and when the bottom temperature parameter is changed while the temperature
dierence parameter remains constant, and compared with the characteristics of the two
homogeneous material rods.
Key words

functionally graded material rods, thermal post-buckling, shooting method

Chinese Library Classification O343

2000 Mathematics Subject Classification 74G16
Digital Object Identifier(DOI) 10.1007/s 10483-007-0107-z

Introduction
Beams, plates and shells are the basic structures in engineering applications. The non-linear
stability analysis of these structures subjected to mechanical and thermal loads has received
intensive attention. Post-buckling behaviors of extensible homogeneous rods subjected to mechanical load were already studied by many researchers, such as Stemple[1] , Pai[2], Cummadi[3] ,
Sampaio[4] , Filipich[5] . The thermal post-buckling properties of elastic homogeneous rods were
investigated by Li[6,7] , Con[8] . Functionally graded material (FGM) is an inhomogeneous
composite material[9] , and has extensively application foreground in many engineering applications, such as the aerospace, aircraft, automobile, biomedical and nuclear industries. The
research of thermal post-buckling problem for FGM structures is primarily concentrated on
FGM plates and shells[10] . For example, Wu[11] studied the thermal post-buckling problems of
simply supported moderately thick rectangular FGM plate. Shen[12] investigated the thermal
post-buckling behaviors of FGM cylindrical shells subjected to a uniform distributed thermal
load. Chakraborty and Gopalakrishnan[13] investigated the governing dierential equation of
FGM beam under a high temperature load by using stress function. Liviu et al.[14] studied
the vibration and stability of FGM beam under a high temperature environment. In this paper, based on Kirchhos large deformation theory, nonlinear governing dierential equations
Received Nov.3, 2005; Revised Oct.13, 2006
Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No.50575180) and the
Natural Science Foundation of Shaanxi Province of China (No.2005A18)
Corresponding author ZHAO Feng-qun, Professor, E-mail: zhaofq@xaut.edu.cn

60

ZHAO Feng-qun, WANG Zhong-min and LIU Hong-zhao

of immovably simply supported FGM rod in temperature eld are established. Thermal postbuckling behaviors of the FGM rod are discussed by shooting method. Thermal post-buckling
equilibrium paths of FGM rods under dierent temperature states are plotted and compared
with the equilibrium paths of metal rod and ceramic rod respectively. For given value of end
rotation angles, the inuence of gradient index on the thermal post-buckling behaviors of FGM
rod is discussed.

Functionally graded material and its material properties

FGM is a new type of microscopically inhomogeneous composite. By gradually varying

the volume fraction of the constituent materials, its material properties exhibit a smooth and
continuous change with respect to the spatial location, thus avoid or reduce interface problems
that are usually associated with ber-reinforced composites and with less severe thermal stress
concentrations. For studying of FGM structures, it is necessary to understand the equivalent
material properties (elastic modulus, coecient of thermal expansion, coecient of thermal
conductivity, etc.) of FGM rstly. The usual method is to forecast the equivalent material
properties of FGM by the achievements of microscopic mechanics. The simple form is based on
the linear mixture rule of Voigts equal strain hypothesis as follows:
X=

k


Xj Vj ,

(1)

j=1

where Xj and Vj are the material property and volume fraction of the j-th material, respectively,
k is the number of the constituent materials, and satises
k


Vj = 1.

(2)

j=1

y
Ceramic
O

Metal
l

Fig.1

h
b

Immovably simply supported FGM rod


Vc =

y + h/2
h

n

Assuming that k = 2, namely, the FGM

is composed with two materials, such as ceramic and metal. Take x-coordinate along
the axial line of the rod, y-coordinate along
the thickness, as shown in Fig.1. Materials in top surface and in bottom surface of
the rod are ceramic and metal, respectively.
Suppose the volume fraction of ceramic material satises[10]


h
h
y
,
(3)
2
2

where h is the thickness of the rod, and n is the gradient index of FGM. From Eqs.(1), (2) and
(3), the equivalent material property of FGM is shown as follows:
X = Xc Vc + Xm (1 Vc )



n
n 
y + h/2
y + h/2
+ Xm 1
,
= Xc
h
h

(4)

where Xc and Xm denote the material properties of ceramic and metal, respectively.
Usually FGM rod is in the non-uniform thermal eld, and the temperature at ceramic side
rises much higher than that at the metal side. We suppose the temperature distributions at

Thermal post-bunkling analyses of rod

61

the two sides are uniform, and Tc and Tm denote the temperatures, respectively. In this case,
the temperature in the FGM rod changes through thickness only, and satises the following
heat-conduction equation and boundary conditions:





d
h
dT
h

<
y
<
k(y)
=
0,

,
dy
dy
2
2

 

(5)

h
h

T
= Tc , T
= Tm ,
2
2
where T (y) is the temperature distribution function, k(y) is the equivalent coecient of thermal
conduction of the FGM, and obtained from Eq.(4):



n
n 
y + h/2
y + h/2
+ km 1
,
(6)
k(y) = kc
h
h
where kc and km are the coecients of thermal conduction of ceramic and metal, respectively.
The solution of Eq.(5) can be obtained by polynomial series method as follows:

where Td = Tc Tm , G(y) =

1
C

(7)
T (y) = Tm + Td G(y),


in+1


(kc km )i
(kc km )i
y+h/2
(1)i (in+1)k
,C=
(1)i (in+1)k
i
i .
h

i=0

i=0

Systems of governing dierential equations

Assume l is the length of the rod, (x, 0), x [0, l] is a point of the axial line of the undeformed rod. When the rod is in thermal bending or buckled state, (x, 0) moves to point
(x+u, w), in which u(x) and w(x) are the displacements of point (x, 0) along x- and y-directions,
respectively. Assume that the deformed central line of the rod is still in xOy plane, and the
deformation obeys Kirchhos hypothesis. s(x) is the arc length function of the deformed axial
line, R(x) is the extension rate of the axial line, and (x) is the angle between the tangent
line of deection curve and x-axis. Then based on the large deformation theory for extensible
rod[1,2] , the geometrical relationships are obtained as

ds
du
dw

dx = R(x), dx = R(x) cos 1, dx = R(x) sin ,


(8)
2 
2

dw
du

+
.
1+
R =
dx
dx
According to the above assumption, normal strain at any point of the rod is given as


h
h
d
y
y
(x, y) = R 1
.
dx
2
2

(9)

The thermal stress-strain relation of FGM rod is

(x, y) = E(y)[(x, y) (y)T (y)],

(10)

where E(y) and (y) are elastic modulus and coecient of thermal expansion of FGM rod,
respectively. According to Eq.(4), they are



n
n 
y + h/2
y + h/2
+ Em 1
E(y) = Ec
,
h
h



n
n 
y + h/2
y + h/2
+ m 1
,
(y) = c
h
h

62

ZHAO Feng-qun, WANG Zhong-min and LIU Hong-zhao

where Ec and c are elastic modulus and coecient of thermal expansion of ceramic material,
respectively, Em and m are elastic modulus and coecient of thermal expansion of metal
material, respectively.
Axial force N and bending moment M are




d
y (y)(Tm + Td G(y)) dA,
dA =
E(y) R 1
(11)
N=
dx
A
A




d
M=
y (y)(Tm + Td G(y)) dA.
ydA =
E(y)y R 1
(12)
dx
A

Note
Em
,
Ec
 1

e1 =
A1 =
A4 =

1
 1
1
1

e2 =

m
,
c

f (t, n, e1 )dt,

km
,
kc
 1
A2 =
f (t, n, e1 )tdt,

e3 =

f (t, n, e1 )f (t, n, e2 )tdt,


A5 =


A6 =


A3 =

f (t, n, e1 )f (t, n, e2 )dt,

f (t, n, e1 )t2 dt,

1
1


f (t, n, e1 )f (t, n, e2 )t2 dt,

A7 =

f (t, n, e1 )f (t, n, e2 )g(t, n, e3 )dt,

where




n
n 
t+1
t+1
+ ei 1
, i = 1, 2 (1 t 1),
2
2

in+1

t+1
(1 e3 )i
1 
i
g(t, n, e3 ) =
(1)
.
C i=0
2
(i n + 1)ei3

f (t, n, ei ) =

Then Eqs.(11) and (12) can be rewritten as

bEc hA1
bEc h2 A2 d
bEc hA3 c
bEc hA4 c
(R 1)

Tm
Td ,
2
4
dx
2
2
2
3
2
2
bEc h A2
bEc h A5 d
bEc h A6 c
bEc h A7 c
M=
(R 1)

Tm
Td .
4
8
dx
4
4
N=

(13)
(14)

Internal force N and bending moment M satisfy the following equilibrium equations:
N + p cos = 0,

(15)

M pw = 0,

(16)

where p is an end-constrained force in the horizontal direction. Substituting Eqs.(13) and (14)
into Eqs.(15) and (16), we have


4A2
1
2A5
p cos +
R = 1+ 2
pw ,
(A2 A6 A3 A5 )c Tm +(A2 A7 A4 A5 )c Td +
A2 A1 A5
Ec bh
Ec bh2
(17)


2(A1 A6 A3 A2 )
1
d
2(A1 A7 A4 A2 )
8A1
4A2
= 2
c Tm +
c Td +
pw+
p
cos

.
dx
A2 A1 A5
h
h
Ec bh3
Ec bh2
(18)

Thermal post-bunkling analyses of rod

63

By introducing non-dimensional quantities as follows,

=

x
,
l

s
s = ,
l

u =

u
,
l

w
=

w
,
l

l
,
h

p =

12l2 p
,
h3 bEc

m = 12 2 c Tm ,

d = 12 2 c Td .

One can obtain the following non-dimensional equations from Eqs.(8) and (18):

d
s
d
u
dw

d = R, d = R cos 1, d = R sin ,


1
A2
A1 A7 A2 A4
2A1
A1 A6 A2 A3
d

= 2
m +
d +
pw
+
p cos .
d
A2 A1 A5
6
6
3
3

(19)

From Eq.(17), one can obtain



1
A2 A6 A3 A5
A5
A2 A7 A4 A5
A2
R=1+ 2
p

+
p

cos

.
m
d
A2 A1 A5
12 2
12 2
3
6 2
Considering the symmetry of the post-buckled deformation of the rod, the boundary conditions can be written in dimensionless forms as
s(0) = 0, u
(0) = 0, w(0)

= 0,
 
 
1
1
u

= 0,
= 0.
2
2

(20a)
(20b)

In above boundary problem, there are three parameters: non-dimensional bottom surface
temperature m , temperature dierence d and end constrained force in the horizontal direction
p.

Numerical results and discussions

Let (0) = , here is the rotation angle of the end cross-section. The method for solving
the above boundary problem is as follows. Given and one of the three parameters m , d , p,
solve initial value problems (19) and (20a) by Runge-Kutta method, then let the solution satisfy
condition (20b), namely, satisfy the following non-linear equations:


1

,
,

,
p

= 0,
m
d

2

(21)


, , m , d , p = 0.
2
Solving Eq.(21) we can obtain the solution of Eqs.(19) and (20), and the relationship of , m ,
d , and p.
For numerical purpose we choose the constituent materials of FGM rod made of ZrO2
and Ti-6Al-4V. ZrO2 has the material properties as Ec = 151.0 GPa, c = 10.0 106 K1 ,
kc = 2.09 Wm1 K1 , and Ti-6Al-4V has the material properties as[15] Em = 116.7 GPa, m =
9.5 106 K1 , km = 7.50 Wm1 K1 . Thus e1 = Em /Ec = 0.7728, e2 = m /c = 0.95,
e3 = km /kc = 3.5885, f = w(1/2)

which denotes the non-dimensional deection at the center

point of the buckled rod.
From above context we know that, the gradient index n = 0 corresponding to ceramic rod
and n corresponding to metal rod. Let , p, f be the end rotation angle of the end
cross-section, non-dimensional end constrained force in the horizontal direction and deection
at the center point of FGM rod, respectively, c , pc , fc be the corresponding values of ceramic
rod, respectively, m , pm , fm be the corresponding values of metal rod, respectively.

64

ZHAO Feng-qun, WANG Zhong-min and LIU Hong-zhao

When the temperature in ceramic surface is equal to that in metal surface, namely, the nondimensional temperature dierence parameter d = 0, with the increase of non-dimensional
temperature parameter m , the post-buckling equilibrium paths of ZrO2 rod, Ti-6Al-4V rod
and FGM rod are calculated and plotted in Fig.2. In Figs.2(a)(c), the gradient index of FGM
rod is n = 0.5, and in Figs.2(d)(f), it is n = 5. The unit of is degree, and all non-dimensional
quantities relative to ceramic rod are given. The thermal post-buckling behaviors of ceramic
elastic rod are in excellent agreement with those of homogenous elastic rod in Ref.[6], where the
critical temperature parameter is (m )cr = 9.8696. It can be seen from Figs.2(a) and (b) and
Figs.(d) and (e) that, for homogeneous material rod, the buckling deformation occurs when
m > (m )cr , while for FGM rod, even if the temperature dierence parameter d = 0, the
buckling deformation occurs when temperature parameter m > 0. It can be seen from Fig.2(a)
that, the non-dimensional center point deection f of FGM rod (n = 0.5) is larger than fm of
metal rod and fc of ceramic rod when m < 15.014, and between fm and fc when m > 15.014;
while f of FGM rod (n = 5) is between fm and fc with m varying in interval [11.578, 15.771],
and is smaller than fm and fc when m > 15.771 (as shown in Fig.2(d)). It can be seen in
Fig.2(b) that, the end rotation angle of FGM rod (n = 0.5) is larger than m of metal rod
and c of ceramic rod when m < 17.665, and between m and c when m > 17.665; while
of FGM rod (n = 5) is between m and c with m varying in [11.913, 19.812], and is almost
the same as m when m > 19.812 (as shown in Fig.2(e)). It can be seen in Figs.2(c) and (f)
that the end constrained force parameter p of FGM rod is almost between pm of metal rod and
pc of ceramic rod.
0.8
0.6

f 0.4

10 15

20
m

25

30

10

ZrO2
Ti-6Al-4V
FGM(n=0.5)

0.2

35

(a) Curve of f -m

25

30

35

10 15

20 25
m
(d) Curve of f -m

30

20
m

25

30

35

10 15

20 25
m
(e) Curve of -m

30

6
4

ZrO2
Ti-6Al-4V
FGM(n=5)

1
35

15

ZrO2
Ti-6Al-4V
FGM(n=5)

10

10

0.2

(c) Curve of p-m

0.4

Fig.2

20
m

0.6

10 15

ZrO2
Ti-6Al-4V
FGM(n=0.5)

(b) Curve of -m

0.8

ZrO2
Ti-6Al-4V
FGM(n=0.5)

ZrO2
Ti-6Al-4V
FGM(n=5)

2
35

10

15

20 25
m
(f) Curve of p-m

30

35

Post-buckling equilibrium paths of immovable simple supported ZrO2 rod, Ti-6Al-4V rod and
FGM rod (d = 0)

It can be seen from above discussions that for the dierent gradient index, the thermal postbuckling behaviors of FGM rod are dierent. Figures 3(a) and (b) give the variation curves of
n-m and n-
p when d = 0 and = 1 , 2 , 4 . The gure 3 shows that, in uniform thermal eld,
for smaller end rotation angle (i.e., = 1 ), temperature parameter m and end constrained

Thermal post-bunkling analyses of rod

65

force p of FGM rod with dierent gradient index n may swing around the corresponding values
of the two homogenous material rods, and tend to limit values with n ; while for larger end
rotation angle (i.e., = 4 ), temperature parameter m and end constrained force p of FGM rod
with dierent gradient index n are between the corresponding values of the two homogenous
material rods, and rise from the values of ceramic rod to the values of metal rod with the
increase of n.
24

= 4

9.5

20
m

8.5

16

= 4

= 2

12

= 1

8
0

8 10 12 14 16 18 20
n
(a) Curve of n-m

7.5

= 2

6.5
0

= 1
4

8 10 12 14 16 18 20
n
(b) Curve of n-p

Variation curves of n-
p and n-m (d = 0, = 1 , 2 , 4 )

Fig.3

For the given temperature dierence parameter d = 10, Figs.4(a)(c) give the thermal postbuckling equilibrium paths of ceramic rod, metal rod and FGM (n = 0.5) rod with the increase
of temperature parameter m . In this case, homogenous material rods have no instability critical
values already. It can be seen in Figs.4(a) and (b) that for the same temperature parameter m ,
the deformation of FGM rod is smaller than those of the two homogenous material rods. End
constrained force p is smaller than pm and pc when m < 1.133, and between pm and pc when
m > 1.133. The numerical results show that, the larger the temperature dierence parameter
d is, the larger the buckling deformation is.
0.9

0.7
f 0.5
ZrO2
Ti-6Al-4V
FGM(n=0.5)
0

10

15

20

(a) Curve of f -m

Fig.4

6
p

0.3
0.1
5

25

ZrO2
Ti-6Al-4V
FGM(n=0.5)

30

1
5

10

15

20

(b) Curve of -m

25

ZrO2
Ti-6Al-4V
FGM(n=0.5)

2
30

0
5

10

15
m

20

25

30

(c) Curve of p-m

Post-buckling equilibrium paths of immovable simple supported ZrO2 rod, Ti-6Al-4V rod and
FGM rod (d = 10)

For some prescribed values of temperature parameter m (m = 0, m = 5, m = 10),

Figs.5(a)(c) show post-buckling equilibrium paths of FGM (n = 0.5) under temperature dierence d rising. The numerical results show that, for the same temperature dierence parameter
d , the larger the temperature parameter m is, the larger the buckling deformation is. It can
be seen in Fig.5(c) that, for given m = 0, when d [0, 20.0442], with the increase of d , end
constrained force p increases; when d > 20.0442, with the increase of d , end constrained force
p decreases on the contrary. For the given value m = 5, the situation is similar. However

66

ZHAO Feng-qun, WANG Zhong-min and LIU Hong-zhao

for m = 10, with the increase of temperature dierence parameter d , end constrained force p
decreases all the way.
6
0.8

0.6
f

0.2
0
10

10

30

40

d
(a) Curve of f -d

Fig.5

20

50

m=0
m=5
m=10

0.4

1
0
10

m=0
m=5
m=10

60

m=0
m=5
m=10

10

20

30

40

d
(b) Curve of -d

50

4
2

60

0
10

10

20

30 40
d
(c) Curve of p-d

50

60

For some prescribed values of m , post-buckling equilibrium paths of FGM rod

Conclusions

(i) When temperature dierence is zero, the thermal post-buckling equilibrium paths of the
two homogeneous material rods and FGM rod with temperature rising are analyzed. It can be
seen that, when the deformation is larger, the post-buckling temperature, end constrained force
and deection at the center point of FGM rod are between the corresponding values of the two
homogenous material rods, and increase to the values of metal rod with the increase in n.
(ii) When temperature dierence is not zero, the thermal post-buckling equilibrium paths
of the two homogeneous material rods and FGM rod with temperature rising are analyzed.
It can be seen that, under the same temperature condition, the deformation of immovably
simply supported FGM rod is smaller than those of the two homogenous material rods. End
constrained force of FGM rod is smaller than the corresponding values of the two homogenous
material rods with the small deformation. Accordingly, the stability of FGM rod is higher than
those of the two homogenous material rods when there is a temperature dierence.
(iii) For given value of temperature on metal surface, thermal post-buckling behaviors of
FGM rod with temperature dierence rising are discussed. The ability of bearing thermal load
of immovably simply supported FGM rod for dierent temperature dierence is analyzed. It
can be seen that the inuence of temperature dierence on the post-buckling behaviors of FGM
rod is remarkable.

References
[1] Stemple T. Extensible beam-columns: an exact theory[J]. International Journal of Non-linear
Mechanics, 1990, 25(6):615623.
[2] Pai P F, Palazotto A N, Greer Jr J M. Polar decomposition and appropriate strains and stresses
for nonlinear structural analysis[J]. Comput Struct, 1998, 66:823840.
[3] Gummadi L N B, Palazotto A N. Large strain analysis of beams and arches undergoing large
rotations[J]. International Journal of Non-linear Mechanics, 1998, 33:615645.
[4] Sampaio R, Almeida M P. Buckling of extensible rods[J]. Revista Brasileira de Ciencias Mecanicas,
1985, 7:373385 (in Portuguese).
[5] Filipich C P, Rosales M B. A further study on the post-buckling of extensible elastic rods[J].
International Journal Non-linear Mechanics, 2000, 35(6):9971022.
[6] Li Shirong, Cheng Changjun. Analysis of thermal post-buckling of heated elastic rods[J]. Applied
Mathematics and Mechanics (English Edition), 2000, 21(2):133140.

Thermal post-bunkling analyses of rod

67

[7] Li Shirong, Cheng Changjun, Zhou Youhe. Thermal post-buckling of an elastic beams subjected
to a transversely non-uniform temperature rising[J]. Applied Mathematics and Mechanics (English
Edition), 2003, 24(5):514520.
[8] Con D W , Bloom F. Elastica solution for the hydrothermal buckling of beam[J]. International
Journal of Non-linear Mechanics, 1999, 34(6):934947.
[9] Koizumi M. The concept of FGM. Ceramic Transitions[J]. Functionally Gradient Materials, 1993,
34:310.
[10] Shen Huishen. Bending, buckling and vibration of functionally graded plates and shells[J]. Advances in Mechanics, 2004, 34(1):5360 (in Chinese).
[11] Wu Lanhe. Thermal buckling of simply supported moderately thick rectangular FGM plate[J].
Composite Structures, 2004, 64:211218.
[12] Shen Huishen. Thermal postbuckling behavior of functionally graded cylindrical shells with
temperature-dependent propertied[J]. International Journal of Solids and Structures, 2004,
41:19611974.
[13] Chakraborty A, Gopalakrishnan S. A spectrally formulated nite element for wave propagation
analysis in functionally graded beams[J]. International Journal of Solids and Structures, 2003,
40:24212448.
[14] Liviu Librescu, Sang-Yong Oh, Ohseop Song. Thin-walled beams made of functionally graded
materials and operating in a high temperature environment: vibration and stability[J]. Journal
of Thermal Stresses, 2005, 28:649712.
[15] Obata Y, Noda N. Unsteady thermal stresses in a functionally gradient material plate (analysis
of one-dimensional unsteady heat transfer problem)[J]. Trans J SME, 1993, 59(560):10901096.