Abstract
The dynamic behavior of bi-dimensional functionally graded beams is investigated by using the continuous elements method. The material properties are assumed to vary exponentially along the beam thickness and length. First, the transfer matrix is developed. Second, the characteristic frequency equation of simply supported beams is obtained. The proposed method is assessed and validated through comparison with available results. Then, parametric studies are carried out to analyze the influences of the gradient indexes and the beam slenderness ratio on the natural frequencies of bi-dimensional functionally graded beams.