Effect of boundary conditions and convection on thermally induced motion of beams subjected to internal heating

Abstract

Numerical exercises are presented on the thermally induced motion of internally heated beams under various heat transfer and structural boundary conditions. The dynamic displacement and dynamic thermal moment of the beam are analyzed taking into consideration that the temperature gradient is independent as well as dependent on the beam displacement. The effect of length to thickness ratio of the beam on the thermally induced vibration is also investigated. The type of boundary conditions has its influence on the magnitude of dynamic displacement and dynamic thermal moment. A sustained thermally induced motion is observed with progress of time when the temperature gradient being evaluated is dependent on the forced convection generated due to beam motion. A finite element method (FEM) is used to solve the structural equation of motion as well as the heat transfer equation. Springer-Verlag 2007.