Nonlinear buckling analysis of FGM plates stiffened by different FGM stiffener types

In this paper, the nonlinear buckling behavior of functionally graded material (FGM) plates subjected to an axial compression is analytically investigated. Assuming that the plates are stiffened by FGM rectangular, I- and T-stiffeners. The formulations are established by using the classical plate theory considering the geometrical nonlinearities of von Karman. The Lekhnitskii’s smeared stiffener technique is developed for different types of FGM stiffeners. The Galerkin method is utilized to obtain the nonlinear algebraically equation system, then, solve it to determine the explicit expressions of critical buckling loads and postbuckling load–deflection curves of plates. Numerical examples validate the effects of different types of FGM stiffeners, material and geometrical parameters on nonlinear behavior of plates.