The Problem of Thermal Stresses in Aircraft Structures: A Paper Presented at the Bristol Conference on Thermal Stress Organized by the Stress Analysis Group of the Institute of Physics on January 7, 1954, and Summarized in the Report of the Conference in the February issue

THERMAL stresses in aircraft structures arise from the long established fact that most of the common engineering materials expand with increase of temperature. The subject has become a problem due to the fact that increases in aircraft performance arc resulting in much greater variations and rates of variation of temperature than have hitherto been experienced. One solution to the problem would be to use only materials which do not change their physical dimensions with temperatures. However, although such materials do exist, it is probably asking too much of the metallurgist to expect him to produce alloys possessing this property in addition to the many others demanded by the aircraft structural engineer.