Practical Considerations for Thermal Stresses Induced by Surface Heating

Rapid surface heating can induce large stresses in solids. A relatively simple model, assuming full constraint in two dimensions and no constraint in the third dimension, can adequately model stresses in a wide variety of situations. This paper derives this simple model, and supports it with criteria for its validity. Phenomena that are considered include non-zero penetration depths for the heat deposition, spatial non-uniformity in the surface heating, and elastic waves. Models for each of these cases, using simplified geometries, are used to develop quantitative limits for their applicability.