Static and free vibration of axially loaded functionally graded beams based on the first-order shear deformation theory

The first-order shear deformation beam theory for static and free vibration of axially loaded rectangular functionally graded beams is developed. In this theory, the improved transverse shear stiffness is derived from the in-plane stress and equilibrium equation and thus, associated shear correction factor is then obtained analytically. Equations of motion are derived from the Hamilton’s principle. Analytical solutions are presented for simply-supported functionally graded beams. The obtained results are compared with the existing solutions to verify the validity of the developed theory. Effects of the power-law index, material contrast and Poisson’s ratio on the displacements, natural frequencies, buckling loads and load–frequency curves as well as corresponding mode shapes are investigated.