Thermal Stress Simulator
Heat a bar held between rigid walls and watch what happens: while it can grow into its expansion gap there is no stress at all, but the moment the gap closes the blocked expansion turns into a compressive stress, the reason rails buckle and pipes need expansion loops. Read the free expansion, the thermal stress, and the safe temperature rise.
Press Heat to raise the temperature; the bar grows into the gap, then the colour turns to a compressive stress once the gap closes. The gap and expansion are exaggerated for clarity.
Parameters
Bar & temperature
Constraint
A gap of zero means the bar is fully constrained from the first degree. Open a gap and the bar expands stress-free until it closes.
Optional. The charts and summaries already update live as you drag any parameter; this just forces an immediate full recompute.
Analysis Charts
The response charts show stress and expansion building with temperature, note how the stress stays at zero until the gap closes. The design charts show how a bigger gap relieves the stress and raises the safe temperature. The teal marker is the current value. Drag any parameter and every curve updates live.
Thermal stress vs temperature
Expansion vs temperature
How the gap relieves stress
Safe temperature rise
Download Professional Resources
Generated for your exact bar and temperature: data, design specs, and a lab report.
All resources generated for your exact bar and temperature. 1 USD per item, or buy all as a package.