Hybrid Thermoelastic Stress Analysis

Solids, like a confined gas, experience an increase in temperature when compressively loaded and a temperature decrease when stressed in tension. While such stress-induced temperature changes at a point in a solid are related to a linear combination of the local changes in the normal stresses, it is often necessary to know the individual stress components. An effective means to determine the individual stresses in engineering structures is to combine the measured thermal data with Airy stress function relevant mechanics information or analyses. Results demonstrate the ability of this general concept to provide reliable, full-field stresses in a range of engineering situations involving cracks or geometric discontinuities in isotropic or orthotropic composite materials.