Solution for the thermoelastic problem in vertically inhomogeneous media

The fundamental transient-thermoelastic problem with body forces and a heat source in vertically inhomogeneous media is investigated by a method presented in this paper. The basic equations in Fourier transforms and Laplace transform are obtained in the form of two sets of first order linear ordinary differential equations in z, Eq. (7). Furthermore, for N-layered media, the general solution in the transformed spaces of the j-th layer is given for fully connected interface between layers, Eq. (11). Finally, under general condition, a closed-form solution for the quasi-static transient displacements, stresses, temperature in the body can be obtained by the convolution theorems for the two integral transforms. In the final solution, the Green's functions can be expressed in terms of Hankel transforms of order zero and unity as well as inverse Laplace transform, and come out rather neatly.