Thermal Shock by Radiation Heating

Thermal shock on heating by radiation is described. It is shown that for bodies at low initial temperature, the transient thermal‐stress solution to a good approximation can be obtained by considering the bodies to be subjected to a constant heat flux. Expressions are derived for the maximum radiation temperature to which bodies of simple shape can be subjected without fracture. The emissivity of the material is shown to be as important as the thermal and mechanical properties usually considered in thermal‐shock theory. Good agreement is found between theory and experiment.