Presented herein is a comprehensive study on the buckling and postbuckling analysis
of microbeams made of functionally graded materials (FGMs) based on the modified
strain gradient theory. The present model is developed in the skeleton of the
Timoshenko beam theory and the von Karman geometric nonlinearity, and enables
one to consider size effects through introducing material length scale parameters.
Also, the current model can be reduced to the modified couple stress and classical
models if two or all material length scale parameters are set equal to zero,
respectively. Utilizing a power law function, the volume fraction of the ceramic and
metal phases of the functionally graded microbeam is expressed. The stability
equations and corresponding boundary conditions are derived using Hamilton’s
principle and then solved through the generalized differential quadrature (GDQ)
method in conjunction with a direct approach without linearization. The effects of
the length scale parameter, slenderness ratio, material gradient index and boundary
conditions on the buckling and postbuckling behavior of microbeams are
carefully studied. Furthermore, the non-dimensional critical axial load of
microbeams predicted by modified strain gradient and classical theories for the first
three postbuckling modes is investigated and it is observed that the classical
theory underestimates the non-dimensional critical axial load, especially
at higher postbuckling modes. In addition, the influence of imperfections
on the deflection of microbeams in prebuckled and postbuckled states is
discussed.