Nonlinear deformation and stress responses of a graded carbon nanotube sandwich plate structure under thermoelastic loading

The large deformation and stresses (normal and shear) of the graded nanotube-reinforced sandwich structure are numerically investigated under the influence of mechanical loading and a uniform temperature field. A higher-order nonlinear finite element model in conjunction with the direct iterative technique has been adopted for the solution purpose. Also, the structural distortion was modeled via the full-scale geometrical nonlinearity (Green–Lagrange strain) in the framework of higher-order displacement functions. Further, to replicate the actual operational conditions, the temperature-dependent properties of the individual material constituents (i.e., carbon nanotube and polymer) have been implemented in the current material modeling steps. The final deflections and stress values are evaluated via an own developed computer code using the currently proposed nonlinear mathematical formulation. The model accuracy and solution stability are checked by comparing the responses (deflection and stress) with available published results. Lastly, a variety of numerical examples is solved for different design parameters and deliberated in detail.