Abstract
A variable kinematic 1D finite element (FE) method is presented for 3D thermoelastic analysis of rotating disks with variable thickness. The principle of minimum potential energy is used to derive general governing equations of the disks subjected to body forces, surface forces, concentrated forces, and thermal loads. To solve the equations, the 1D Carrera unified formulation (CUF), which enables to go beyond the kinematic assumptions of classical beam theories, is employed. Based on the 1D CUF, the disk is considered as a beam, which can be discretized into a finite number of 1D elements along its axis. The displacement field over the beam's cross section is approximated by Lagrange expansions. This methodology leads to an FE formulation that is invariant with respect to the order of expansions used over the cross sections, and thus the 3D problem reduces to a 1D problem. The effect of the cross section discretization on displacement and stress fields is investigated. Results obtained from this method are in good agreement with the reference analytical and finite difference solutions. The proposed innovative method can be very effective in the thermoelastic analysis of rotating disks.