Cortical folding malformations are associated with several severe neurological disorders, including epilepsy, schizophrenia and autism. However, the mechanism behind cerebral cortical folding development is not yet clear. In this paper, we propose a mechanical method based on thermal expansion to simulate the development of human cerebral cortical folding. The influences of stiffness ratio, growth rate ratio, and initial cortical plate thickness on cortical folding are discussed. The results of our thermal expansion model are consistent with previous studies, indicating that abnormal values of the aforementioned three factors could directly lead to cortical folding malformation in a generally fixed pattern.