GROOVED PIPING SYSTEM – DESIGN DATA 26.

02
VICTAULIC® IS AN ISO 9001 CERTIFIED COMPANY

Calculating and Accommodating Pipe Line Thermal Growth

All materials, including pipe, machinery, structures and buildings Installation to cold condition (80°F to 40°F)
experience dimension changes as a result of changes in 80°F (26°C) 0.580" per 100 ft.
temperatures. This report covers considerations for 40°F (4°C) 0.300" per 100 ft.
accommodating thermal expansion and contraction. Movement
due to other causes (e.g.: seismic, etc.) must be added to pipe line Difference: 0.280" per 100 ft. or 0.672" per 240 ft.
thermal growth. Pipe subjected to temperature changes will be Installation to hot condition (80°F to 220°F)
placed in a condition of stress, exerting potentially damaging
220°F(104°C) 1.680" per 100 ft.
reactive forces and moments on components or equipment.
80°F(26°C) 0.580" per 100 ft.
Three common methods of accommodating this pipe movement
are to 1) provide an expansion joint; 2) allow the system to “free- Difference: 1.100" per 100 ft. or 2.640" per 240 ft.
float” whereby the pipe would be allowed to move in a desired Therefore, the expansion joint is to be set up with at least the
direction through the use of anchoring and/or guidance, if capability to allow 0.672" of pipe contraction and at least 2.640" of
necessary, taking into account the capability of branch connection pipe expansion when installed at 80°F (26°C).
or changes in direction which may have resultant harmful bending
moments; or 3) utilize the linear movement/deflection capabilities of
flexible grooved couplings.
TABLE 1
The selection of either of these methods is dependent on the type
Thermal Expansion Thermal Expansion
of piping system and the designer's preference. Since it is of Pipe of Pipe
impossible to predict all system designs, it is the intent here to call Inches per 100 ft. Inches per 100 ft.
attention to the mechanical advantages of the grooved piping mm per 100 meters mm per 100 meters
method and how it can be used to the piping system designer's Temp. Carbon Stain. Temp. Carbon Stain.
benefit. These examples are presented to stimulate thought and °F/°C Steel Copper Steel °F/°C Steel Copper Steel
should not be considered as recommendations for a specific –40 –0.288 –0.421 –0.461 180 1.360 2.051 2.074
–40 –24,0 –35,1 –38,4 82 113,2 170,9 172,9
system.
–20 –0.145 –0.210 – 0.230 200 1.520 2.296 2.304
The first step in accommodating thermal movement is to compute –28 –12,1 –17,4 –19,0 93 126,6 191,3 191,9
the exact change in the linear length of the piping system over the 0 0 0 0 212 1.610 2.428 2.442
–17 0 0 0 100 134,2 202,4 203,4
distance of interest, along with a suitable safety factor. The actual
20 0.148 0.238 0.230 220 1.680 2.516 2.534
expansion of 100-foot pipe lengths has been computed at different –6 12,5 19,7 19,0 104 140,1 209,7 211,3
temperatures for the most common piping materials (carbon steel, 32 0.230 0.366 0.369 230 1.760 2.636 2.650
stainless steel and copper tubing) and are shown in Table 1. These 0 19,0 30,5 30,8 110 146,7 219,8 220,8
values should not be applied to pipe of alternate materials as they 40 0.300 0.451 0.461 260 2.020 — —
will vary. Expansion coefficients may vary 5% or more when 4 24,9 37,7 38,4 126 168,3 — —
obtained from different sources and should be taken into account. 60 0.448 0.684 0.691 280 2.180 — —
15 37,4 57,1 57,7 137 181,8 — —
An example illustrating the use of Table 1 follows:
80 0.580 0.896 0.922 300 2.350 — —
Given: 240-foot long carbon steel pipe 26 48,2 74,8 76,8 148 195,9 — —
Maximum operating temperature = 220°F (104°C) 100 0.753 1.134 1.152 320 2.530 — —
Minimum operating temperature = 40°F (4°C) 37 62,7 94,5 96,1 160 211,0 — —

Temperature at time of installation = 80°F (26°C) 120 0.910 1.366 1.382 340 2.700 — —
48 75,8 113,9 115,2 171 225,1 — —
Note: To assure the maximum life for the service 140 1.064 1.590 1.613 350 2.790 — —
intended, proper gasket selection is essential. 60 88,6 132,6 134,5 176 232,6 — —
Reference should always be made to the latest 160 1.200 1.804 1.843
71 100,1 150,3 153,6
Victaulic Gasket Selection Guide for
recommendations.
Calculation: From Table 1, carbon steel pipe expansion
220°F (104°C) 1.680" per 100 ft. of carbon steel pipe
40°F (4°C) 0.300" per 100 ft. of carbon steel pipe
Difference: 1.380" per 100 ft. of carbon steel pipe for
temperatures 40°F to 220°F
Therefore, 240-feet of pipe = 240 (1.380) = 3.312"
100

This 3.312" of movement should have a suitable safety factor

applied, which varies as determined by the system designer, to
account for any errors in predicting operating extremes, etc. These
examples were calculated without a safety factor applied.
To determine the positioning of the expansion joint at the time of
installation:

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