Thermal Stresses in an Orthotropic Elastic Slab Due to Prescribed Surface Temperatures

The stresses in an orthotropic, elastic slab resulting from a stationary, two-dimensional temperature field are examined. A general method of solution based upon displacement potentials is presented for the case of prescribed surface temperatures. Both the plane-strain and plane-stress problems are discussed. As an illustrative example, the stresses resulting from a uniform temperature rise over a portion of one face of the slab are computed; numerical results are given for a fiber-reinforced composite material.