Thermal Expansion (for Constraints)

Add the subnode to a constraint (, , , or ) to prescribe a deformation of the constrained boundary caused by changes in temperature of the surroundings. This makes it possible to reduce the stresses caused by such boundary conditions.

The thermal strain depends on the coefficient of thermal expansion α, the temperature T, and the strain-free reference temperature Tref as

Shell Properties

This section is only present when the parent node has layer selection.

Table 6-33: Layer Selections; Thermal Expansion
Selection	Use All Layers	Selection of Individual Layers
Same level as parent	Same as parent selection when the node is added.	When Use all layers is not selected. Only a subset of the layers selected in the parent can be selected.

Interface Selection

This section is only present when the parent node has interface selection.

Select the interface or interfaces for which this thermal expansion is to be added.

Table 6-34: Interface Selections; Thermal Expansion
Selection	Apply To	Selection of Individual Interfaces
Same level as parent	Same as parent selection when the node is added.	When Selected Interfaces is selected. Only a subset of the interfaces selected in the parent can be selected.

•

All other settings for the node are described in the documentation for Thermal Expansion (for Constraints) in the Solid Mechanics interface.

•

For a general description of layer and interface selections, see The Shell Properties and Interface Selection Sections.

Location in User Interface

Context Menus

Ribbon

Physics tab with , , , or node selected in the model tree: