Thermal stress

(mechanics) Mechanical stress induced in a body when some or all of its parts are not free to expand or contract in response to changes in temperature.

Mechanical stress induced in a body when some or all of its parts are not free to expand or contract in response to changes in temperature. In most continuous bodies, thermal expansion or contraction cannot occur freely in all directions because of geometry, external constraints, or the existence of temperature gradients, and so stresses are produced. Such stresses caused by a temperature change are known as thermal stresses.

Problems of thermal stress arise in many practical design problems, such as those encountered in the design of steam and gas turbines, diesel engines, jet engines, rocket motors, and nuclear reactors. The high aerodynamic heating rates associated with high-speed flight present even more severe thermal-stress problems for the design of spacecraft and missiles. See also Stress and strain.

Stress introduced by uniform or nonuniform temperature change in a structure or material which is constrained against expansion or contraction.