Thermoelastic constant or thermoelastic parameter?

Recently, some evidence has been reported in the literature which indicates that the thermoelastic 'constant' of a material is significantly dependent on the mean stress applied. This paper presents the theory which supports the possibility of such a phenomenon. It is shown that the stress dependence of the thermoelastic constant can be explained by the temperature dependence of the elastic properties of the material. Excellent agreement between the theoretical predictions and experimental data is achieved.