A model for simulating the constrained thermal fatigue of an aluminium
casting alloy is presented in this work. The specimen being tested ha
s its ends fixed to a given length while its centre is subjected to th
ermal cycling. The thermal gradients developed within the test are cal
culated by an explicit finite difference technique, and with them, the
strain and stress gradients are calculated. The agreement between the
predicted and measured values of stress is good enough to consider th
at the model reflects the behaviour of the material. It is found that
the predicted life of the specimen is higher than that experimentally
observed, an effect that might be due to overageing of the material as
the specimen is being tested.