Thermal stress is stress generated when thermal expansion or contraction is constrained or incompatible. A uniformly heated isotropic body whose entire boundary is fixed has and . For a nonuniform temperature field, interior displacement generally remains nonzero even with a fixed outer boundary; equilibrium and compatibility must be solved together. Cancelling the divergence of a thermal stress term with a body force is not the same as making that stress vanish.
New to topics? Read the docs here!