On the bending behavior of porous functionally graded plates under hygrothermo-mechanical loads

This investigation focuses on the static behavior of an advanced porous functionally graded (FG) plate with varying material composition, subjected to combined mechanical, thermal, and moisture loads while resting on a viscoelastic foundation. A modified first-order shear deformation theory (FSDT), enhanced by a shear distribution function, is employed to more accurately capture out-of-plane shear deformation. The variation of elastic properties through the plate's thickness is described using a power-law distribution. The effects of temperature and moisture on the material properties are assumed to be linear and are incorporated into the analysis to evaluate their influence on the plate's bending behavior. The viscoelastic foundation is modeled using three parameters: Winkler's modulus, Pasternak's shear coefficient, and a damping coefficient. The governing equations are derived using the principle of virtual displacement and solved analytically using the Navier method under simply supported boundary conditions. The nondimensional numerical results are validated through comparison with existing literature. A detailed parametric study is conducted to examine the effects of the gradient index, porosity index, temperature variation, moisture concentration, and damping coefficient on the bending response of the FG plate. The results demonstrate the complex interactions between these parameters and confirm the robustness and effectiveness of the proposed model in evaluating the mechanical performance of FG structures under realistic environmental and mechanical loading conditions.