Large deflections of tapered cantilever beams made of axially functionally graded material

Abstract

The nonlinear bending equation for a slender, tapered cantilever beam made of axially functionally graded material (FGM) with a transverse load applied at the tip, undergoing large deflections, is solved by the Runge-Kutta method. Solutions are obtained for round cross-sections, for varying degrees of both taper and Young's modulus and are compared with existing values obtained in previous research. Sets of deflection and stress curves are also obtained, from which the deflection and stress at any point in the beam may be computed.