A mesh-free method for analysis of the thermal and mechanical buckling of functionally graded cylindrical shell panels

The buckling response of functionally graded ceramic-metal cylindrical shell panels under axial compression and thermal load is presented here. The formulation is based on the first-order shear deformation shell theory and element-free kp-Ritz method. Thematerial properties of shell panels are assumed to vary through their thickness direction according to a power-law distribution of the volume fraction of constituents. Approximations of the displacement field are expressed in terms of a set of mesh-free kernel particle functions. A stabilized conforming nodal integration approach is employed to estimate the bending stiffness, and the shear and membrane terms are evaluated using a direct nodal integration technique to eliminate membrane and shear locking for very thin shells. The mechanical and thermal buckling responses of functionally graded shell panels are investigated, and the influences of the volume fraction exponent, boundary conditions, and temperature distribution on their buckling strengths are also examined. © Springer-Verlag 2009.