Abstract
The electro-mechanical buckling response for functionally graded piezoelectric plates subjected to external electric voltage is analyzed based on a quasi-3D refined plate theory. The plate material properties possess continuous graded variation across the thickness based on the power-law form. The total potential energy principle is used to obtain the equilibrium equations. Navier's procedure is applied to derive the solution for the buckling of a simply supported functionally graded piezoelectric plate. A numerical example is presented to validate the accuracy of the present analysis. The critical buckling of actuated FGP plates is determined. The influence of external electric voltage, the geometry of the plate, and material exponent on the critical buckling are reported.
•The electro-mechanical buckling for functionally graded piezoelectric plates is presented.•The plate is subjected to external electric voltage and analyzed based on a quasi-3D refined theory.•The critical buckling of actuated FGP plates is determined and a validation example is given.•The influences of different parameters are investigated.