Dynamic stability of functionally graded carbon nanotube-reinforced composite beams

This article presents a dynamic stability analysis of functionally graded nanocomposite beams reinforced by single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) based on Timoshenko beam theory. The material properties of functionally graded carbon nanotube-reinforced composites (FG-CNTRCs) are assumed to vary in the thickness direction and are estimated through the rule of mixture. The differential quadrature method is employed to convert the governing differential equations into a linear system of Mathieu-Hill equations from which the boundary points on the unstable regions are determined by Bolotin's method. Free vibration and elastic buckling are also discussed as subset problems. A parametric study is conducted to investigate the influences of nanotube volume fraction, slenderness ratio, and end supports on the dynamic stability characteristics of FG-CNTRC beams. Numerical results for composite beams reinforced by uniformly distributed carbon nanotube are also provided for comparison.