Stress profile and thermal expansion of layered materials determined from surface stresses

A simple method of inferring the stress profile and the effective difference in thermal expansion or strain in an unconstrained elastic multilayer system from a measurement of a limited number of surface stresses as obtained for example using x-ray diffraction or Raman spectroscopy is outlined. Explicit relationships are given for bilayered systems. The analysis procedure is exemplified for literature data of electronics materials, solid oxide fuel cells and thermal barrier systems. Following the outlined procedure, a determination of the stress profile and difference in thermal expansion for composites of alternating layers is also possible. (C) 2004 American Institute of Physics.