Abstract: The exact relationship between the bending solutions of functionally graded material (FGM) beams based on the Levinson beam theory and those of the corresponding homogenous beams based on the classical beam theory is presented for the material properties of the FGM beams changing continuously in the thickness direction. The deflection, the rotational angle, the bending moment, and the shear force of FGM Levinson beams (FGMLBs) are given analytically in terms of the deflection of the reference homogenous Euler-Bernoulli beams (HEBBs) with the same loading, geometry, and end supports. Consequently, the solution of the bending of non-homogenous Levinson beams can be simplified to the calculation of transition coefficients, which can be easily determined by variation of the gradient of material properties and the geometry of beams. This is because the classical beam theory solutions of homogenous beams can be easily determined or are available in the textbook of material strength under a variety of boundary conditions. As examples, for different end constraints, particular solutions are given for the FGMLBs under specified loadings to illustrate validity of this approach. These analytical solutions can be used as benchmarks to check numerical results in the investigation of static bending of FGM beams based on higher-order shear deformation theories.

Key words: Euler-Bernoulli beam theory (EBBT), bending solution, functionally graded material (FGM) beam, Levinson beam theory