Thermal Expansion

of Materials
 LEARNING OUTCOME

LO1.5. Explain the effect of thermal expansion/

contraction on different materials due to change of
temperature.
 Thermal Expansion

What is thermal expansion?

➢ Thermal expansion is the increase in length, area, and

volume of materials when they are subjected to an
increase in temperature.

➢ It occurs because of the increase in particle-to-particle

distances between its atoms and molecules as the result
of an increase in their average kinetic energies.
 How does thermal expansion of water work?

• Thermal expansion of water occurs when the

temperature change from 4 degrees Celsius to 0
degrees Celsius. Instead of contracting like other
substances, water expands and its density decreases,
as demonstrated by ice floating on water.
• Above the temperature of 4 degrees Celsius, it
behaves similarly to other substances/materials.
 Why is Thermal Expansion Important?

Thermal expansion is important because it can affect your measurement

results. Furthermore, it can affect the quality of your customer’s measurement
results.

In a world where tighter tolerances are in demand, thermal expansion errors

could have a significant effect on meeting specifications.

When you neglect to consider its effects, you provide your customers with bad
measurement results that could affect the quality of their products and services.
Additionally, disregarding these errors can increase your risk of encountering a
false-accept or false-reject in your conformance statements.
 Why is Thermal Expansion Important?

• Depending on your customer’s business activities, bad measurement

results could increase their risk of problems, damages, and unplanned
downtime. Even worse, it could impact the health and safety of people.
• According to a recent study by Vanson Bourne, 23% of all unplanned
downtime in manufacturing is the result of human error.
 Why is Thermal Expansion Important?

It can affect the following measurements:

• Pressure - changes in volume and area

• Torque - changes in radius
• Flow - changes in volume and area
• Speed/Velocity - changes in length/distance
• Energy - changes in length/distance
• Volume - changes in length, width, and height
• Area - changes in length and width
 How to Reduce Thermal Expansion?

There are several ways to reduce the effect of thermal

expansion. You can try to:

▪ Reduce contact with/exposure to heat sources,

▪ Control the environment,
▪ Allow thermal stabilization, and/or
▪ Correct for thermal expansion
Thermal Expansion of Solid
 Applications of Thermal Expansion of Solids

1. The gap between two consecutive rails: There is

expansion and contraction of rail tracks in summer and
winter respectively.

2. Removing Tight Lids of Glass jar to open the tight

lids, it is immersed in hot water for a minute, and then the
metal cap expands and becomes loose.
 Applications of Thermal Expansion
of Solids

3. Hot milk is poured into a thick-walled glass vessel: When the

milk is poured into a thick-walled glass vessel at room temperature,
the vessel’s inner surface expands while the outer surface remains at
room temperature.

4. Design of AirCraft: The expansion in aircraft is 15-25 centimeters

during its flight due to an increase in temperature.
5. Thick bottles for soft drinks: The walls of a bottle of soft drinks
are made very thick to avoid bursting as the bottle contains gas.
 Disadvantages of Thermal
Expansion in Solids

1. Change in shapes and dimensions of objects. For

example, doors.
2. Wall collapsed due to bulging.
3. Cracking of glass tumbler due to heating.
4. Bursting of metal pipes carrying hot water or streams.
 Consequences of Thermal
Expansion in Solids

❖ Due to thermal expansion, there is a change in the periodic

potential of the lattice involved.

❖ There is a decrease of the band gap of semiconducting

materials and a reduction in overlapping strength of
adjacent orbital due to expansion of the lattice.

❖ Thermal expansion of solids results in a decrease in the

electrical conductivity of metals due to electron-phonon
interactions.
 Consequences of Thermal
Expansion in Solids

❖ Thermal expansion of solids also results in poor

thermal conductivity of non-metallic solids if the
phonon-phonon interaction is predominant.

❖ If there is a mechanical expansion of solids, then

there is a chance of generation of crystallographic
defects, known as dislocations.
Thermal Expansion of Liquid
Thermal Expansion of Gases
 Types of Expansion

1. Linear expansion - Change in length.

2. Area expansion - Change in area.

3. Volume expansion - Change in volume.

 Linear Expansion Formula
The formula for linear expansion is mathematically stated as.
 Coefficient of Linear Expansion Formula

It is defined as the change in length per unit length per degree

Celsius of temperature change. The coefficient of linear
expansion depends on initial length and change in temperature.
The formula of coefficient of linear expansion formula can be written
as

The S.I. unit of coefficient of linear expansion is 1/°C or 1/K.

 Area Expansion Formula

The formula for volume expansion is given as follows

:
 Coefficient of Area Expansion
Formula
The formula of coefficient of area expansion formula can
be written as
 Coefficient of volume expansion
formula
The formula of coefficient of volume expansion formula can be
written as
 Volume Expansion Formula

The formula for volume expansion is given as follows :

 Thermal Expansion Formula
Solved Examples
Example 1

The length of an object is 10 m, and it is heated to a temperature

difference of 40°C. If the length expansion coefficient is 11×10-26,
find the change in length.
 Thermal Expansion Formula
Solved Examples

Example 2

The area of an object is 20m2 and it is heated to a temperature

difference of 20°C. If the area expansion coefficient is 8×10-6.
Find the change in the area.
 Thermal Expansion Formula
Solved Examples

Example 3

The volume of an object is 10m^3 and it is heated to a

temperature difference of 30°C. If the area expansion coefficient
is 9×10-6 . Find the change in the volume.
 Thermal contraction

➢ refers to the decrease in the volume or size of a material when

its temperature is lowered.

➢ This phenomenon is the opposite of thermal expansion, where

a material expands when heated.
 Thermal Contraction

➢ A balloon’s volume will decrease when exposed to

colder tempearatures
 Example Thermal
Contraction

❖ Metals: When metal objects cool, they shrink. For

example, cooling steel contracts the metal, which must
be taken into account when designing steel structures.

❖ Water: Water has a unique property—it expands when

cooled from 0°C to 4°C, and only contracts when it
freezes, which is why ice floats on water.
Thermal Contraction of Solid
Thermal Contraction of Liquid
Thermal Contraction of Gas
 Thermal Expansion and Contraction

• Thermal expansion - the INCREASE in volume of a

substance when its temperature is raised.
• Thermal contraction - the DECREASE in volume of a
substance when its temperature is lowered.

Can you use the concepts of

thermal expansion and
contraction to explain how a
thermometer works?
Thermal Expansion and
Contraction
 Thermal Expansion and Contraction
Examples

• Gasoline can drip or overflow from a freshly-filled metal tank

on a hot day. As the temperature increases, both the tank and the
gasoline expand, but the gasoline expands more than the metal
tank (e.g. steel). This causes the gasoline to overflow or drip
from the container.
 Thermal Expansion and Contraction
Examples

• Power lines also sag during summer due to thermal

expansion. It is also possible for them to break during winter if
there is no allowance for them to contract.
 Thermal Expansion and Contraction
Examples

• Railroad tracks and metal bridges

buckle during summer due to thermal
expansion, especially if there is a
lack of expansion joints to allow
them to freely contract and expand.

An example of expansion joints in a

bridge
 Thermal Expansion and Contraction Examples

• Glass materials used in cooking

can also break if they are
repeatedly subjected to hot and
cold temperatures. Pyrex glass
materials are commonly used in
laboratories since they have a
smaller thermal coefficient,
allowing them to expand and
contract at only a very small rate.
 Thermal Expansion and Contraction Examples
• Bimetallic strips which are
commonly found in thermostats,
contain two metals with different
coefficients of linear expansion. One
side of the strip expands more than the
other one such that, when the
temperature gets too high, the strip
bends and cuts the circuit. The strip
returns to its original position when
the temperature slowly decreases.