Decomposition of the Deformation Gradient in Thermoelasticity

Abstract

The deformation gradient of a thermoelastic solid undergoing large deformations is decomposed into elastic and thermal components, corresponding to an intermediate configuration which is assumed to be stress-free. This decomposition is shown to be unique only to within a rigid-body motion of the intermediate configuration. An alternate decomposition is proposed in which this arbitrariness is removed. The thermoelastic theory developed on the basis of these decompositions is linearized, resulting in familiar expressions of linear thermoelasticity. The stress response function is further specialized for the particular case of isotropic linear solids.