This report contains the results of a theoretical and experimental investigation of the thermal strains and stresses produced in unrestrained long thin rectangular plates by large spanwise temperature gradients. The temperature distribution is steady state and the stress distribution approximates the two-dimensional "plane stress" solution of elasticity theory. Two temperature gradients were investigated, one in which the temperature changed about 150 over a five-inch distance and one In which the temperature changed about 70PP over a one-inch distance. It was found that for these relative large temperature gradients the solutions for the thermal' stresses given in the literature were either not applicable or Impractical because of the large number of terms required in the series type solutions. By converting one of the available Fourier Series solutions Into a Fourier Integral and using residues and superposition it is possible to construct a solution for the stresses in which only a few terms are needed In the series for the residues. The calculated thermal strains compare reasonably well with the experimental results although there is considerable scatter in the strain gage results on the tests.
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