In this paper, the finite element method is used to analyze the static response of the functionally graded porous (FGP) sandwich beams subjected to uniformly distributed loads along the beam span. The core of the beam is made up of functionally graded porous material while the top and bottom layers are made up of isotropic homogenous materials. Uniform distribution and symmetric distribution of pores are used as two different types of porous material. Shear deformation is considered in the analysis by utilizing BEAM189 in ANSYS which is a finite element package program. This element is based on the first-order shear deformation theory. The influence of porosity coefficient, boundary conditions, and type of the porous material on the static response of the considered structures is presented in detail. The results demonstrate that the porosity coefficient has an important impact on the static response of the FGP sandwich beams.

Functionally graded materials are composite materials used to build a variety of structures. These structures are used in ships industries, marine, automotive, high building structures, energy engineering applications, and many more. The porosity made in these materials may negatively affect some behavior aspects like stiffness, and strength, but it may provide superior performance in other fields like vibration reduction, thermal isolation, energy absorption, and others. In this paper, we will discuss the effect of porosity on the natural frequencies for functionally graded porous (FGP) sandwich beams. The mechanical properties of the FGP sandwich beams are changing with the porosity in the thickness direction. The free vibration of the beams is examined with the effect of porosity. The analysis is carried out for four different beam supporting types (hinged – hinged, fixed – fixed, fixed – free, fixed – hinged). Various porosity ratios are considered with a range from (0.1 – 0.9). Forty–four samples are analyzed for each type of core material distribution which is the symmetric material constitutive relationships (SMCR) and uniform core material. The results gained from the analysis show that the porosity constant has a significant effect on the natural frequencies of the FGP sandwich beams.