Hygrothermal Buckling of Smart Graphene/Piezoelectric Nanocomposite Circular Plates on an Elastic Substrate via DQM

Abstract

This paper aims to study the hygrothermal buckling of smart graphene/piezoelectric circular nanoplates lying on an elastic medium and subjected to an external electric field. The circular nanoplates are made of piezoelectric polymer reinforced with graphene platelets that are uniformly distributed through the thickness of the nanoplate. The material properties of the nanocomposite plate are determined based on the modified Halpin-Tsai model. To capture the nanoscale effects, the nonlocal strain gradient theory is applied. Moreover, the principle of virtual work is employed to establish the nonlinear stability equations in the framework of classical theory. The differential quadrature method is utilized to solve the governing equations. Among the important aims of the paper is to study the influences of various parameters such as graphene weight fraction, elastic foundation parameters, external applied electric field, humid conditions, and boundary conditions on the thermal buckling of the smart nanocomposite circular nanoplates. It is found that the increase in graphene components and elastic foundation stiffness enhances the strength of the plates; therefore, the buckling temperature will increase.