Thermoelasticity

Summary

Thermoelasticity is the theory of elastic bodies in which deformation and temperature interact. A change of temperature makes a body expand or contract, and when this expansion is prevented thermal stresses arise; conversely, fast deformation changes the temperature. Its constitutive law is the Duhamel–Neumann law, which adds a thermal term to Hooke's law. The theory couples the equations of linear elasticity with the heat equation. It explains cracking of glass under sudden heating, the design of expansion joints, and thermoelastic damping.