Dynamic Response of Spatially Curved Thermoelastic Thin-Walled Beams of Generic Open Profile Subjected to Thermal Shock

Abstract

The dynamic behavior of thermoelastic spatially curved open section beams has been analyzed. The theory of discontinuities and the method of ray expansions, which allow one to find the desired fields behind the fronts of the transient waves in terms of discontinuities in time-derivatives of the values to be found, are used as the methods of solution for short-time dynamic processes. Using these methods, it is possible to obtain from the three-dimensional equations of the theory of thermoelasticity the recurrent relationships for determining the discontinuities in arbitrary order time-derivatives of the desired values, which, in contrast to the Timoshenko like theories, do not involve shear coefficients depending on geometrical parameters of thin-walled beams of open section. The approach proposed permits to solve analytically different dynamic boundary-value problems of thermoelasticity dealing with thermal as well as thermo-mechanical impact upon a spatially curved thermoelastic thin-walled beam of general open section making allowance for the beam's translatory and rotational motions, warping, rotary inertia, shear deformation, and coupling of the temperature and strain fields.