Bending and free vibration analyses of antisymmetrically laminated carbon nanotube-reinforced functionally graded plates

In this paper, a simple four-variable first-order shear deformation theory is further applied to solve the bending and free vibration problems of antisymmetrically laminated functionally graded carbon nanotube (FG-CNT)-reinforced composite plates. The adopted four-variable theory contains only four unknowns in its displacement field which is less than the Reddy’s first-order theory. The equations of motion are derived from the Hamilton’s principle with the help of specific boundary conditions. Laminated FG-CNT-reinforced plates with different distribution types of carbon nanotube through the thickness are considered. The material properties of individual layer are estimated by using the extended rule of mixture. Analytical solutions of various simply supported antisymmetric cross-ply and angle-ply laminates are given for case study. The effects of carbon nanotube volume fraction, length to width ratio and thickness to width ratio on the non-dimensional fundamental frequency and the central deflection are investigated for antisymmetrically laminated FG-CNT-reinforced plates.