Abstract
•Design optimization of FG sandwich plates under thermo-mechanical loadings.•Symmetric and non-symmetric sandwich plates with ceramic-metal-ceramic FG core.•Thermal and mechanical problems fully coupled using a layerwise mixed model.•FG core z-continuous effective properties described by high-order z-expansions.•Minimizing mass, deformation and stress, as measured by Tsai-Hill failure criteria.
This work explores the multiobjective design optimization of symmetric and non-symmetric sandwich plates with ceramic-metal-ceramic functionally graded (FG) core, along with ceramic faces (if included), under thermo-mechanical loadings. The FG core is made of two functionally graded material (FGM) layers, each with the volume fractions of the constituent phases defined by a power-law function through-thickness, with the interface between them metal-rich and the core outer surfaces ceramic-rich. In line with symmetric or non-symmetric sandwich plates, the design variables involve the thickness of each FGM layer of the core and the index of its power-law function, along with the thickness of each ceramic face. The thermal and mechanical problems are fully coupled using a layerwise mixed least-squares model with multi-field independent variables, including, most importantly, displacements, temperature and transverse stresses. The FG core z-continuous effective properties are also fully described by high-order z-expansions, as demonstrated adopting the rule of mixtures. The multiobjective optimization problem is solved by Direct MultiSearch derivative-free method, minimizing mass, transverse displacement and the stress field, measured by Tsai-Hill failure criteria, all together. Numerical results provide optimal symmetric and non-symmetric sandwich plates with ceramic-metal-ceramic FG core, considering distinct constituent materials and including three-dimensional approximate solutions for validation.