Plate Attributes: Temperature Gradient

Description

Assigns a temperature gradient attribute to selected plate elements.

A temperature gradient defines a linear variation of temperature in the through-thickness direction of the plate, positive towards the +z axis.

The temperature variation generates a curvature in the plate. It does not produce in-plane strain in non-offset plates. In-plane thermal expansion of plates is generated by the presence of nodal temperatures.

A positive gradient corresponds to an increasing temperature from the negative side to the positive side, so the positive side is expanding relative to the negative side.

A negative gradient corresponds to a decreasing temperature from the negative side to the positive side, so the positive side is contracting relative to the negative side.

This attribute is used only by the structural solvers; it is not applicable to heat transfer analysis.

Temperature gradient attributes are load case dependent.

Dialog

Value

Temperature gradient between the two plate surfaces.

Common Controls

• Components
• Equation Editor
• Retrieve from model
• Keep selection
• Scale / Add / Delete / Apply

Units

Temperature/Length (e.g., °C/m, °F/in).

Common Uses

Some structural design codes require that structures such as bridges be designed for a difference in temperature through the thickness, such as would occur when the sun is shining on one surface only.

See Also

• Node Attributes: Temperature
• Beam Attributes: Temperature Gradient
• Plate Attributes: Pre-curvature