Coupled thermo-mechanical multiphysics simulation of bending of a cantilever beam. The left side of the beam is fixed to a solid wall while the top side is subjected to an elevated external temperature through natural convection. The lower and left side are continuously held at the initial zero temperature. A two-dimensional plane stress approximation is also used, where the material is assumed to have a Poisson ratio of 0.25, modulus of elasticity 30 GPa, and convective heat transfer coefficient 10 W/m/K. All other coefficients are assumed to be equal to one. The temperature influx from the top boundary causes an increased internal temperature and also results in a downward deflection of the beam. After 10 seconds the top surface temperature has risen to 5 degrees and the beam has bent around 0.5-0.6 mm downwards.
This model is available as an automated tutorial by selecting Model Examples and Tutorials… > Multiphysics > Thermo-Mechanical Bending of a Beam from the File menu. Or alternatively, follow the linked step-by-step instructions.
