Thermoelastic fields of an inhomogeneity embedded in a matrix under thermoelectric loads based on a temperature-dependent model

We consider the thermoelastic problem of an elliptical inhomogeneity embedded in an infinite matrix subjected to uniform remote electric-thermal loading in which the temperature dependency of thermoelastic parameters, including thermal conductivity, thermal expansion coefficient and elastic modulus are considered. Complex variable methods are applied to develop analytical solutions under the assumption that both the corresponding transport and constitutive equations incorporate nonlinear effects. Numerical results reveal that the temperature dependency of the corresponding material parameters will significantly affect the distribution of thermal stress around the inhomogeneity. Under the temperature dependency assumption and with severe temperature gradients attributed to the remote electric-thermal loading, stresses along the interface may present a significantly different distribution than those obtained under the assumption of temperature independence. We mention that in the research area dealing with thermal stress induced by electric-thermal loading, our results provide a new theoretical tool for predicting stress concentration phenomena in heterogeneous materials.