Thermal stresses in the stress tensor

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SUMMARY

This discussion focuses on incorporating thermal stresses into the mechanical stress tensor for viscous flow. The original equation presented is for an incompressible fluid, but the correct formulation for a compressible viscous fluid without thermal expansion is given by \boldsymbol{\sigma}=-(p+\frac{2\mu}{3 }\nabla \cdot \mathbf{u})\mathbf{I}+\mu(\nabla\mathbf{u}+(\nabla\mathbf{u})^{T}. When considering thermal expansion, the equation modifies to \boldsymbol{\sigma}=-(p+\frac{2\mu}{3 }(\nabla \cdot \mathbf{u}-\alpha \frac{D T}{Dt}))\mathbf{I}+\mu(\nabla\mathbf{u}+(\nabla\mathbf{u})^{T}. The discussion emphasizes the importance of coupling temperature with Navier's equations for applications like sintering.

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Mechanical engineers, materials scientists, and researchers involved in fluid dynamics and thermal analysis will benefit from this discussion, particularly those focusing on the interaction between thermal and mechanical stresses in materials.

hunt_mat
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TL;DR
How to I include thermal stresses in the stress tensor
Suppose I have a mechanical stress tensor \sigma. Say I have the stress tensor for viscous flow:
\boldsymbol{\sigma}=-p\mathbf{I}+\frac{1}{2}(\nabla\mathbf{u}+(\nabla\mathbf{u})^{T})
If the thermal flux is given by \boldsymbol{\sigma}_{th}=\alpha T\mathbf{I}, so I have a total flux as:
\boldsymbol{\sigma}=-p\mathbf{I}+\frac{1}{2}(\nabla\mathbf{u}+(\nabla\mathbf{u})^{T})+\alpha T\mathbf{I}
Is this correct?
 
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hunt_mat said:
TL;DR Summary: How to I include thermal stresses in the stress tensor

Suppose I have a mechanical stress tensor \sigma. Say I have the stress tensor for viscous flow:
\boldsymbol{\sigma}=-p\mathbf{I}+\frac{1}{2}(\nabla\mathbf{u}+(\nabla\mathbf{u})^{T})
If the thermal flux is given by \boldsymbol{\sigma}_{th}=\alpha T\mathbf{I}, so I have a total flux as:
\boldsymbol{\sigma}=-p\mathbf{I}+\frac{1}{2}(\nabla\mathbf{u}+(\nabla\mathbf{u})^{T})+\alpha T\mathbf{I}
Is this correct?
Your original equation is for an incompressible fluid.
 
The correct equation for a compressible viscous fluid without thermal expansion is \boldsymbol{\sigma}=-(p+\frac{2\mu}{3 }\nabla \centerdot \mathbf u)\mathbf{I}+\mu(\nabla\mathbf{u}+(\nabla\mathbf{u})^{T})
With thermal expansion, this becomes \boldsymbol{\sigma}=-(p+\frac{2\mu}{3 }(\nabla \centerdot \mathbf u-\alpha \frac{D T}{Dt}))\mathbf{I}+\mu(\nabla\mathbf{u}+(\nabla\mathbf{u})^{T})The thermal expansion term is usually considered negligible in determining the stress.
 
Last edited:
Chestermiller said:
The correct equation for a compressible viscous fluid without thermal expansion is \boldsymbol{\sigma}=-(p+\frac{2\mu}{3 }\nabla \centerdot \mathbf u)\mathbf{I}+\mu(\nabla\mathbf{u}+(\nabla\mathbf{u})^{T})
With thermal expansion, this becomes \boldsymbol{\sigma}=-(p+\frac{2\mu}{3 }\nabla \centerdot \mathbf u-\alpha \frac{\partial T}{\partial t})\mathbf{I}+\mu(\nabla\mathbf{u}+(\nabla\mathbf{u})^{T})The thermal expansion term is usually considered negligible in determining the stress.
Hi, thanks for your reply. I'm not interested in expansion, but thermal stresses within a material. I want temperature to be coupled to Navier's equations. I would include the \partial_{t}T term as part of the stress tensor to fully couple the derivative?

I'm thinking of sintering with this application, and how thermal expansion affects everything.
 

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