  This paper describes an inverse shape design method for thermoelastic bodies.
With a known equilibrium shape as input, the focus of this paper is the
determination of the corresponding initial shape of a body undergoing thermal
expansion or contraction, as well as nonlinear elastic deformations. A
distinguishing feature of the described method lies in its capability to
approximately prescribe an initial heterogeneous temperature distribution as
well as an initial stress field even though the initial shape is unknown. At
the core of the method, there is a system of nonlinear partial differential
equations. They are discretized and solved with the finite element method or
isogeometric analysis. In order to better integrate the method with
application-oriented simulations, an iterative procedure is described that
allows fine-tuning of the results. The method was motivated by an inverse
cavity design problem in injection molding applications. Its use in this field
is specifically highlighted, but the general description is kept independent of
the application to simplify its adaptation to a wider range of use cases.
