Implications of Stress Dependency of the Thermal Expansion Coefficient on Thermal Buckling

Abstract

A thermosolid mechanics analysis based on sound thermodynamic and mechanical principles is derived for a thermoelastic solid in which the elastic coefficient is temperature-dependent, and thus the TEC (thermal expansion coefficient) must be stress-dependent. The theory is applied to the case of slender elastic members with full axial restraint and subjected to a uniform increase in temperature. Numerical results are presented for a wide range of materials and slenderness ratios.