Thermal-stress analysis with electrical equivalents

An electrical-equivalent method that can help to improve the conceptual understanding of thermal-stress problems is introduced. It is useful for a first-order analysis of thermal stresses in layered structures or laminates. The thermal expansion and the elasticity of each laminate layer are modeled as components in a three-terminal electrical equivalent circuit. A model of the laminate is developed by connecting the electrical equivalent circuits of the layers in a network. Currents and voltages are obtained by a network analysis. The thermal stresses in the laminate are derived from the branch currents. The local thermal expansion coefficients for the surfaces or for internally bonded interfaces are given by the node voltages