The Effects of Inclined Free Edges on the Thermal Stresses in a Layered Beam

A stress-function-based variational method is used to determine the thermal stresses in a layered beam with inclined free edges at the two ends. The stress functions are expressed in terms of oblique cartesian coordinates, and polynomial expansions of the stress functions with respect to the thickness coordinate are used to obtain approximate solutions. Severe interlaminar stresses act across end segments of the layer interfaces. Local concentration of such stresses may be significantly affected by the inclination angle of the end planes. Variational solutions for a two-layer beam show generally beneficial effects of free-edge inclination in dispersing the concentration of interlaminar stresses. The significance of these effects is generally not indicated by the power of the stress singularity as computed from an elasticity analysis of a bimaterial wedge.