Created in COMSOL Multiphysics 5.

Thermal Stresses in a Layered Plate

This model is licensed under the COMSOL Software License Agreement 5.4.
All trademarks are the property of their respective owners. See www.comsol.com/trademarks.
Introduction
In this example, thermal stresses in a layered plate are analyzed. The plate consists of three
layers: a coating, a substrate, and a carrier. The coating is deposited onto the substrate at
a temperature of 800 C. At this temperature both the coating and the substrate are stress-
free. During the first stage of the analysis, the temperature of the plate is lowered to
150 C, which induces thermal stresses in the coating/substrate assembly. At this
temperature the coating/substrate assembly is epoxied to a stress-free carrier layer. During
the second stage of the analysis, the temperature in the entire assembly is lowered to
20 C, and the thermal stresses are examined.

Model Definition
The plate is considered to be thick and therefore in a state of plane strain. It is modeled
using the 2D Solid Mechanics interface. The geometry of the plate is shown in Figure 1.
The bottom layer of the geometry is the carrier, the middle layer is the substrate, and the
top layer is the coating.

Figure 1: The plate geometry.

2 | THERMAL STRESSES IN A LAYERED PLATE

Material Properties
The three layers are modeled as isotropic and linear elastic. Their coefficients of thermal
expansion are constant. The material properties of the layers are shown in Table 1, Table 2
and Table 3.

TABLE 1: MATERIAL PROPERTIES OF THE CARRIER.

MATERIAL PROPERTY VALUE

E 215 GPa
 0.3
 1000 kg/m3
 6.6·10-6 K-1

TABLE 2: MATERIAL PROPERTIES OF THE SUBSTRATE.

MATERIAL PROPERTY VALUE

E 130 GPa
 0.28
 1000 kg/m3
 3·10-6 K-1

TABLE 3: MATERIAL PROPERTIES OF THE COATING.

MATERIAL PROPERTY VALUE

E 70 GPa
 0.17
 1000 kg/m3
 5·10-7 K-1

Activation of the Carrier

The carrier is only present at the second stage of the analysis. The activation of this layer
is readily performed using the Activation subnode under Linear Elastic Material. Note that
the carrier will be activated in a stress-free state, even though its strain reference
temperature (800 °C) is different from the temperature at activation.

3 | THERMAL STRESSES IN A LAYERED PLATE

Loading and Boundary Conditions
Loading on the plate consists of an applied homogeneous temperature field. First, the
temperature of the coating and substrate is reduced from the initial temperature 800 C
to 150 C. During this temperature change, the carrier is not yet present. At 150 C, the
carrier is activated using the Activation subfeature, and the temperature of the whole
assembly is reduced to 20 C.

The plate is constrained using the Rigid Motion Suppression feature.

Results and Discussion

Figure 2 shows the normal stress in the x direction after the first stage of the analysis. The
substrate material has a higher coefficient of thermal expansion than the coating material.
This means that the substrate shrinks more than the coating, causing tensile stresses in the
substrate area next to the coating and compressive stresses in the coating.

Figure 2: Normal stress in the x direction for the first stage of the analysis.

Note that during the first stage of the analysis, the carrier is inactive.

Figure 3 shows the normal stress in the x direction after the second stage of the analysis,
where the temperature is lowered to 20 C. The stress levels in the substrate have increased

4 | THERMAL STRESSES IN A LAYERED PLATE

slightly near to the coating, as have the compressive stresses in the coating compared to
after the first stage.

Figure 3: Residual thermal stress at room temperature.

The coefficient of thermal expansion is higher in the carrier than in the substrate. As the
temperature is decreased, the carrier experiences tensile stresses, while the substrate near
the carrier experiences compressive stresses.

Application Library path: Structural_Mechanics_Module/Thermal-

Structure_Interaction/layered_plate

Modeling Instructions
From the File menu, choose New.

NEW
In the New window, click Model Wizard.

5 | THERMAL STRESSES IN A LAYERED PLATE

MODEL WIZARD
1 In the Model Wizard window, click 2D.
2 In the Select Physics tree, select Structural Mechanics>Solid Mechanics (solid).
3 Click Add.
4 Click Study.
5 In the Select Study tree, select General Studies>Stationary.
6 Click Done.

GLOBAL DEFINITIONS
1 In the Model Builder window, under Global Definitions click Parameters 1.
2 In the Settings window for Parameters, locate the Parameters section.
3 In the table, enter the following settings:

Name Expression Value Description

Ttop 800[degC] 1073.2 K Coating deposition temperature
Tbot 150[degC] 423.15 K Temperature when the coating/
substrate is epoxied to the carrier
Troom 20[degC] 293.15 K Room temperature
para 1 1 Load parameter

4 In the Home toolbar, click Functions and choose Global>Interpolation.

Interpolation 1 (int1)
1 In the Model Builder window, under Global Definitions click Interpolation 1 (int1).
2 In the Settings window for Interpolation, locate the Definition section.
3 In the Function name text field, type T.
4 In the table, enter the following settings:

t f(t)
0 Ttop
1 Tbot
2 Troom

5 Locate the Units section. In the Arguments text field, type 1.

6 In the Function text field, type K.

6 | THERMAL STRESSES IN A LAYERED PLATE

GEOMETRY 1

Rectangle 1 (r1)
1 In the Geometry toolbar, click Primitives and choose Rectangle.
2 In the Settings window for Rectangle, locate the Size and Shape section.
3 In the Height text field, type 0.002.
4 In the Width text field, type 0.02.
5 Click Build All Objects.

Rectangle 2 (r2)
1 In the Geometry toolbar, click Primitives and choose Rectangle.
2 In the Settings window for Rectangle, locate the Size and Shape section.
3 In the Width text field, type 0.02.
4 In the Height text field, type 0.01.
5 Locate the Position section. In the y text field, type 0.002.
6 Click Build All Objects.

Rectangle 3 (r3)
1 In the Geometry toolbar, click Primitives and choose Rectangle.
2 In the Settings window for Rectangle, locate the Size and Shape section.
3 In the Width text field, type 0.02.
4 In the Height text field, type 0.002.
5 Locate the Position section. In the y text field, type 0.012.
6 Click Build All Objects.
7 Click the Zoom Extents button in the Graphics toolbar.

SOLID MECHANICS (SOLID)

1 In the Model Builder window, under Component 1 (comp1) click Solid Mechanics (solid).
2 In the Settings window for Solid Mechanics, type Three Layers in the Label text field.
3 Click in the Graphics window and then press Ctrl+A to select all domains.

THREE LAYERS (SOLID)

In the Physics toolbar, click Solid Mechanics (solid) and choose Three Layers (solid).

7 | THERMAL STRESSES IN A LAYERED PLATE

Linear Elastic Material 1
In the Model Builder window, under Component 1 (comp1)>Three Layers (solid) click
Linear Elastic Material 1.

Thermal Expansion 1
1 In the Physics toolbar, click Attributes and choose Thermal Expansion.
2 In the Settings window for Thermal Expansion, locate the Model Input section.
3 In the T text field, type T(para).
4 Click Go to Source.

GLOBAL DEFINITIONS

Common Model Inputs

1 In the Model Builder window, under Global Definitions click Common Model Inputs.
2 In the Settings window for Common Model Inputs, locate the Browse Model Inputs
section.
3 Find the Expression for remaining selection subsection. In the
Volume reference temperature text field, type Ttop.

The carrier is only active during the second stage of the analysis. Use an Activation node
for conditional activation of the domain.

THREE LAYERS (SOLID)

Linear Elastic Material 1

In the Model Builder window, under Component 1 (comp1)>Three Layers (solid) click
Linear Elastic Material 1.

Activation 1
1 In the Physics toolbar, click Attributes and choose Activation.
2 In the Settings window for Activation, locate the Domain Selection section.
3 Click Clear Selection.
4 Select Domain 1 only.
5 In the Settings window for Activation, locate the Activation section.
6 In the Activation expression text field, type para>1.

Rigid Motion Suppression 1

1 In the Physics toolbar, click Domains and choose Rigid Motion Suppression.
2 In the Settings window for Rigid Motion Suppression, locate the Domain Selection section.

8 | THERMAL STRESSES IN A LAYERED PLATE

3 From the Selection list, choose All domains.

MATERIALS

Material 1 (mat1)
1 In the Model Builder window, under Component 1 (comp1) right-click Materials and
choose Blank Material.
2 In the Settings window for Material, type Carrier in the Label text field.
3 Locate the Geometric Entity Selection section. From the Selection list, choose Manual.
4 Click Clear Selection.
5 Select Domain 1 only.
6 Locate the Material Contents section. In the table, enter the following settings:

Property Variable Value Unit Property

group
Young’s modulus E 2.15e11 Pa Basic
Poisson’s ratio nu 0.3 1 Basic
Density rho 1000 kg/m³ Basic
Coefficient of thermal alpha_iso ; 6e-6 1/K Basic
expansion alphaii =
alpha_iso,
alphaij = 0

Material 2 (mat2)
1 Right-click Materials and choose Blank Material.
2 In the Settings window for Material, type Substrate in the Label text field.
3 Select Domain 2 only.
4 Locate the Material Contents section. In the table, enter the following settings:

Property Variable Value Unit Property

group
Young’s modulus E 1.3e11 Pa Basic
Poisson’s ratio nu 0.28 1 Basic
Density rho 1000 kg/m³ Basic
Coefficient of thermal alpha_iso ; 3e-6 1/K Basic
expansion alphaii =
alpha_iso,
alphaij = 0

9 | THERMAL STRESSES IN A LAYERED PLATE

Material 3 (mat3)
1 Right-click Materials and choose Blank Material.
2 In the Settings window for Material, type Coating in the Label text field.
3 Select Domain 3 only.
4 Locate the Material Contents section. In the table, enter the following settings:

Property Variable Value Unit Property

group
Young’s modulus E 7e10 Pa Basic
Poisson’s ratio nu 0.17 1 Basic
Density rho 1000 kg/m³ Basic
Coefficient of thermal expansion alpha_iso ; 5e-7 1/K Basic
alphaii =
alpha_iso,
alphaij = 0

MESH 1

Size
1 In the Model Builder window, under Component 1 (comp1) right-click Mesh 1 and choose
Mapped.
2 In the Settings window for Size, locate the Element Size section.
3 From the Predefined list, choose Extra fine.
4 Click Build All.

STUDY 1

Step 1: Stationary
1 In the Model Builder window, under Study 1 click Step 1: Stationary.
2 In the Settings window for Stationary, click to expand the Study Extensions section.
3 Select the Auxiliary sweep check box.
4 Click Add.
5 In the table, enter the following settings:

Parameter name Parameter value list Parameter unit

para (Load parameter) 1 2

6 In the Home toolbar, click Compute.

10 | THERMAL STRESSES IN A LAYERED PLATE

RESULTS

Surface 1
1 In the Model Builder window, expand the Results>Stress (solid) node, then click Surface 1.
2 In the Settings window for Surface, locate the Expression section.
3 In the Expression text field, type solid.sx.

Stress (solid)
1 In the Model Builder window, under Results click Stress (solid).
2 In the Settings window for 2D Plot Group, locate the Data section.
3 From the Parameter value (para) list, choose 1.

You can use a filter so that only active parts of the domain are displayed.

Filter 1
1 In the Model Builder window, under Results>Stress (solid) right-click Surface 1 and
choose Filter.
2 In the Settings window for Filter, locate the Element Selection section.
3 In the Logical expression for inclusion text field, type solid.isactive.
4 In the Stress (solid) toolbar, click Plot.
5 Click the Zoom Extents button in the Graphics toolbar.

Surface 1
1 In the Model Builder window, expand the Results>Stress (solid) node, then click Surface 1.
2 In the Settings window for Surface, locate the Expression section.
3 In the Expression text field, type solid.sx.

Stress (solid)
1 In the Model Builder window, under Results click Stress (solid).
2 In the Settings window for 2D Plot Group, locate the Data section.
3 From the Parameter value (para) list, choose 2.
4 In the Stress (solid) toolbar, click Plot.
5 Click the Zoom Extents button in the Graphics toolbar.

11 | THERMAL STRESSES IN A LAYERED PLATE

12 | THERMAL STRESSES IN A LAYERED PLATE