Two-dimensional heat transfer and thermoelastic analysis of temperature-dependent layered beams with nonuniform thermal boundary conditions

In this work, the differential quadrature element method (DQEM) is used to conduct heat transfer and thermoelastic analysis for layered beams based on the two-dimensional Fourier’s law and thermoelasticity theory. The method accounts for temperature-dependent (TD) material properties, nonuniform thermal boundary conditions, and various end constraints. To implement the method, the layered beam is decomposed into several sub-domains. At the interfaces of arbitrary two adjacent sub-domains, the continuity conditions are exactly enforced. The differential quadrature technique is applied for the spatial discretization of the governing equations together with the interface and boundary conditions. The convergence of the DQEM solutions is checked. The correctness of the DQEM solutions is validated by comparison with those obtained by the finite element method and those existing in the literature. Finally, the effects of various factors such as TD material properties, nonuniform thermal boundary conditions, and end constraints on the heat transfer and thermoelastic behaviors of the beam are studied.