A state space meshless method for the 3D analysis of FGM axisymmetric circular plates

A state space differential reproducing kernel (DRK) method is developed for the three-dimensional (3D) analysis of functionally graded material (FGM) axisymmetric circular plates with simply-supported and clamped edges. The strong formulation of this 3D elasticity axisymmetric problem is derived on the basis of the Reissner mixed variational theorem (RMVT), which consists of the Euler-Lagrange equations of this problem and its associated boundary conditions. The primary field variables are naturally independent of the circumferential coordinate, then interpolated in the radial coordinate using the early proposed DRK interpolation functions, and finally the state space equations of this problem are obtained, which represent a system of ordinary differential equations in the thickness coordinate. The state space DRK solutions can then be obtained by means of the transfer matrix method. The accuracy and convergence of this method are examined by comparing their solutions with the accurate ones available in the literature.