ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the Bernoulli-Euler hypothesis is used to calculate thermal stresses in beams. Thermal stresses in rectangular beams are presented for four cases: built-in ends; free expansion and restrained bending; restrained expansion and free bending; free expansion and free bending. Thermal stresses are considered in composite beams with various boundary conditions, including composite multi-layered beams and non-homogeneous beams. The chapter discusses the strain and the stress in beams subjected not to thermal loads but to mechanical loads. When the beam is subjected to a bending moment, it will be deformed. Solutions are developed for an arbitrary steady temperature change T (x, y, z). Thermal deflections in beams subjected to a symmetrical thermal load, T (x, y), are derived for both simply supported and built-in edges. Finally, solutions for stresses and strains in curved beams and in beams on an elastic foundation are presented.
