Eur. Phys. J. Plus (2021) 136: 796
https://doi.org/10.1140/epjp/s13360-021-01751-y

Regular Article

Nonlinear pyrocoupled deflection of viscoelastic sandwich shell with CNT reinforced magneto-electro-elastic facing subjected to electromagnetic loads in thermal environment

Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Institute of Technology, 788010, Silchar, Assam, India

^a vinyas.mahesh@gmail.com, vinyas@mech.nits.ac.in

Received: 31 March 2021
Accepted: 13 July 2021
Published online: 2 August 2021

Abstract

The current work puts forward a finite element (FE)-based numerical formulation to evaluate the nonlinear deflections of multifunctional sandwich composite (MSC) shells. These shells possess a viscoelastic core, and face sheets made of functionally graded carbon nanotube-reinforced magneto-electro-elastic (FG-CNTMEE) materials. The viscoelastic core is considered to be temperature-dependent and is modelled via the complex modulus approach. Two different forms of viscoelastic cores, such as Dyad 606 and EC 2216, are considered in this study. The shell kinematics is realized with the aid of the higher-order shear deformation theory (HSDT). Furthermore, Donnell's nonlinear strain displacement relations are incorporated to account for the nonlinear behaviour. The total potential energy principle is utilized to get the global equations of motion which are solved using direct iterative method. Predominant emphasis is also placed to assess the impact of pyroeffects, coupling fields and electromagnetic (EM) boundary restrictions on the nonlinear deflections of MSC shells working in the thermal environment and subjected to EM loads, which is first of its kind. Also, parametric studies dealing with the shell geometries, CNT distributions and volume fractions, core-to-face sheet thickness ratio, aspect ratio, curvature ratio has been discussed in detail. The results of this work are believed to be unique and serve as a guide for the design engineers towards developing sophisticated smart structures for various engineering applications.