Stochastic Finite element analysis of the free vibration of functionally graded material plates

The superior properties of functionally graded materials (FGM) are usually accompanied by randomness in their properties due to difficulties in tailoring the gradients during manufacturing processes. Using the stochastic finite element method (SFEM) proved to be a powerful tool in studying the sensitivity of the static response of FGM plates to uncertainties in their material properties. This tool is yet to be used in studying free vibration of FGM plates. The aim of this work is to use both a First Order Reliability Method (FORM) and the Second Order Reliability Method (SORM), combined with a nine-noded isoparametric Lagrangian element based on the third order shear deformation theory to investigate sensitivity of the fundamental frequency of FGM plates to material uncertainties. These include the effect of uncertainties on both the metal and ceramic constituents. The basic random variables include ceramic and metal Young's modulus and Poisson's ratio, their densities and ceramic volume fraction. The developed code utilizes MATLAB capabilities to derive the derivatives of the stiffness and mass matrices symbolically with a considerable reduction in calculation time. Calculating the eigenvectors at the mean values of the variables proves to be a reasonable simplification which significantly increases solution speed. The stochastic finite element code is validated using available data in the literature, in addition to comparisons with results of the well-established Monte Carlo simulation technique with importance sampling. Results show that SORM is an excellent rapid tool in the stochastic analysis of free vibration of FGM plates, when compared to the slower Monte Carlo simulation techniques.