On the thermo-elasticity problem of non-uniform plates (Q1314181)

The general case of the problem of the thermo-elasticity of non-uniform plates is considered. A formal asymptotic expansion is constructed and the limiting problem (when the thickness of the plate approaches zero) is obtained. The limiting problem in the general case turns out to be different from the classical one, in particular, it contains five unknown functions, and the defining equations contain not only the temperature but also its derivatives (although the material of the plate is assumed to obey the Duhamel-Neumann law). These effects do not occur in uniform plates of constant thickness.