Deformation of chiral rods in the strain gradient theory of thermoelasticity

We study the deformation of a chiral cylinder subjected to a prescribed thermal field in the context of the linear theory of gradient thermoelasticity. First, we investigate the effects of a thermal field which is independent of the axial coordinate. It is shown that the temperature variation produces extension, bending, torsion and a plane deformation. Then, we study the deformation of the rod when the thermal field is a polynomial of degree m in the axial coordinate. The solution is reduced to the solving of some two-dimensional problems. The method is used to solve the problem of a circular cylinder subjected to a uniform temperature field. In contrast with the case of achiral materials, a constant thermal field in an isotropic chiral cylinder produces torsional effects.

► The deformation of chiral materials is studied by using the strain gradient elasticity.
► We investigate the thermal effects in rods subjected to a given thermal field.
► We study the problem of a circular cylinder subjected to a prescribed temperature.