11/13/2016

THERMAL EXPANSION

Most solids and liquids expand when heated. Why?

Collisions of thermally oscillating atoms make them
Average distance between atoms
shift further apart
Inter-atomic forces Repulsive force

“springs” PE Attractive force

Solid heated  increased

E3
vibration of atoms  increase
Internal Energy U is
max displacement either side
associated with the E2 of equilibrium position 
amplitude of the
vibration is asymmetric 
oscillation of the atoms
E1 mean distance increases with
increasing temperature

Separation of atoms THERMAL EXPANSION

average distance between atoms

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Thermal Expansion

• Generally, all forms of

matter expand when
- results when the temperature of a substance is
heated and contract
increased, its molecules are made to move faster so
the increased collisions between molecules force when cooled
them to move apart

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Linear Thermal Expansion Linear Thermal Expansion of a Solid

Lo
dL = LoadT
To Lf = dL + Lo
dL where : Lo = original length (m)
Tf dL = change in length (m)
a = coefficient of linear
expansion ( / C0)
- Increase in any one dimension of a solid due to dT = change in temperature ( C0)
an increase in temperature Lf = final length

For isotropic materials

Cutnell (6th ed)
12-9) A steel aircraft carrier is 370 m long when moving
through the icy North Atlantic at a temperature of 2.0
0C. By how much does the carrier lengthen when it is

traveling in the warm Mediterranean Sea at a What happens to the size

temperature of 210C? (asteel = 12 x 10 -6 / C0) of the hole when the
12-11) Find the approximate length of the Golden Gate
bridge if it is known that the steel in the roadbed sheet of metal is heated?
expands by 0.53 m when the temperature changes
from +2 to +320C. (a steel = 12 x 10 -6 / C0)

T1 < T2

As metal expands, the distance between any two points

increases. A hole expands just as if it’s made of the
same material as the hole.
Holes get bigger

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Thin rectangular sheet of metal

Cutnell (6th ed)
Lo Ao = Lo2 12-13) A commonly used method of fastening one part to
another part is called “shrink fitting.” A steel rod has
when sheet is heated,
a diameter of 2.0026 cm, and a flat plate contains a
Lo A = L2 hole whose diameter is 2.0000 cm. The rod is
cooled so that it just fits into the hole. When the rod
Lf L2 = Lo2 (1 + adT)2
warms up, the enormous thermal stress exerted by
= Lo2[1 + 2adT + a2(dt)2] the plate holds the rod securely to the plate. By how
many Celsius degrees should the rod be cooled? (a
Lf since a is very small, its a2 can -6 0
copper = 17 x 10 / C )
be considered negligible, 12-82) When the temperature of a coin is raised by 750C,
A = Ao( 1 + 2adT) the coins diameter increases by 2.3 x 10-5 m. If the
original diameter is 1.8 x 10-2 m, find the coefficient of
linear expansion.

Volume Thermal Expansion

Lo Vo = Lo3
when cube is heated,
Lo V = L3
= Lo3 ( 1 + adT)3
Lo = Lo3( 1 + 3adT + 3a2dT + a3dT)
L since a is very small, its a2 & a3 can
L be considered as negligible,
V = Vo ( 1 + 3adT)
V = Vo ( 1 + bdT)
L where: b = 3a= bulk modulus

volume V (L) WATER 1 kg sample density  (g/mL)

kg.m-3
Water has an anomalous coefficient of volume
1.002 1000.2
expansion, b is negative between 0 °C and 4 °C.
1.0018 1000
m
1.0016 999.8
 Liquid water is one of the few substances with a negative
1.0014 999.6 V coefficient of volume expansion at some temperatures
1.0012 999.4
(glass bottles filled with water explode in a freezer) – it
1.001 999.2 volume does not behave like other liquids
1.0008 999 density

1.0006 998.8
T > 4 °C water expands as temperature increases
1.0004 998.6

1.0002 998.4
0 < T < 4 °C water expands as temperature drops
1 998.2
from 4 °C to 0 °C
0.9998 998
0 4 8 12 16 20
temperature T (°C) T = 3.98 °C water has its maximum density

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Why do ice cubes float on water? Lakes freeze from top down rather from bottom up

Water on surface cools towards 0 °C due to surrounding environment.

Water as it cools and becomes more dense, it sinks carrying oxygen
with it (it is most dense at about 4 °C). Warmer water moves up from
below. This mixing continues until the temperature reaches 4 °C. Water
then freezes first at the surface and the ice remains on the surface
since ice is less dense than water (0.917 g/mL). The water at the
bottom remains at 4 °C until almost the whole body of water is frozen.
Without this peculiar but wonderful property of water, life on this planet
may not have been possible because the body of water would have
frozen from bottom up destroying all animal and plant life.

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Cutnell (6th ed) Thermal Stress

12-25) A copper kettle contains water at 240C. • Tensile or compressive stresses that sets up in
When the water is heated to its boiling point,
the rod if the ends of a rod are rigidly fixed so
the volume of the kettle expands by 1.2 x 10-5
m3. Determine the volume of the kettle at as to prevent expansion or contraction and
240C. (b copper = 51 x 10 – 6 / 0C) the temperature of the rod is changed
12-21) Suppose that the steel gas tank in your car
is completely filled when the temperature is
170C. How many gallons will spill out of the
twenty-gallon tank when the temperature rises
to 350C?

Cutnell (6th ed)

fractional change in length if the rod were free 12-21) A steel ruler is accurate when the
to contract : temperature is 250C. When the temperature
dL / Lo = a dT
drops to – 150C, the ruler no longer reads
if the rod is not free to contract :
F/A
correctly, but it can be mde to read correctly if a
Y = stress is applied to each end of the ruler. (a)
dL / Lo Should the stress be a compression or a
stress = F / A = Y a dT tension? Why? (b) What is the magnitude of the
if dT is (-), tension exists necessary stress? ( Ysteel = 2 x 1011 Pa)
if dT is (+), compression exists

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Exercises: Cutnell (6th ed)

12-17) The brass bar and the aluminum bar are each attached
to an immovable wall. At 280C the air gap between the rods is
1.3 x 10-3 m. At what temperature will the gap be closed?
12-34) A spherical brass shell has an interior volume of 1.6 x
10-3 m. Within this interior volume is a solid steel ball that has
a volume of 0.70 x 10-3 m. The space between the steel ball
and the inner surface of the brass shell is filled completely
with mercury. A small hole is drilled through the brass, and
the temperature of the arrangement is increased by 12 C0.
What is the volume of the mercury that spills out of the hole?
12-23) A wire is made by attaching two segments together,
end to end. One segment is made of aluminum and the other
is steel. The effective coefficient of linear expansion of the
two-segment wire is 19 x 10-6/C0. What fraction of the length
is aluminum?