Thermal effects in chiral elastic rods

Examples of chiral materials include some auxetic materials, carbon nanotubes, bones, various honeycomb structures, as well as some composites. The chiral effects cannot be described by means of the classical theories of continua. In the context of the linear theory of Cosserat thermoelasticity we investigate the behaviour of a chiral rod subjected to a thermal field independent of the axial coordinate. The work is motivated by the recent interest in the using of the Cosserat solid as model for auxetic materials, carbon nanotubes, and bones. It is shown that the temperature field produces torsion, extension, bending, and a plane strain. The results are used to investigate the case of a circular cylinder subjected to a uniform temperature field. The salient feature of the solution is that a constant temperature field in an isotropic chiral circular rod produces a twist around its axis. (C) 2010 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.