Stresses of orthotropic laminated beams subjected to high temperature and mechanical load

Thermo-elastic analysis of simply-supported orthotropic laminated beams subjected to high temperature and mechanical load is presented on the basis of the exact two-dimensional thermoelasticity theory. The beam is composed of several orthotropic layers, each with temperaturedependent material properties. The governing equation for each layer is analytically solved using the state space method. The displacement and stress solutions of the beam are obtained using the transfer-matrix method. A numerical example is included to study the effects of temperature on the mechanical responses of a sandwich beam. The results reveal two main effects of temperature:(i) inducing deformations and stresses by itself;(ii) affecting the deformations and stresses induced by the mechanical load.