Free vibration and buckling of tapered columns made of axially functionally graded materials

This paper presents a unified model to analyze the free vibration and buckling of axially functionally graded Euler-Bernoulli columns subjected to an axial compressive force. The material properties vary linearly along the longitudinal direction, and column with circular and square cross sections is linearly tapered. The governing differential equations of the problem are derived and solved using the direct integral method combined with the determinant search technique. The computed results are compared with those reported in the literature and obtained from the finite element software ADINA. Numerical examples for natural frequency, buckling load and their corresponding mode shapes are given to highlight the effects of modular ratio, taper ratio and cross sectional shape as well as the end condition.