Thermal Expansion Calculator

Thermal Expansion – Definition

Thermal expansion is the tendency of a material to change its dimensions when its temperature changes. Most materials expand when heated and contract when cooled. This behavior is important in engineering applications such as piping systems, structural components, shafts, machine parts, and manufacturing tolerances.

Background Theory

For most solid materials, the linear thermal expansion can be approximated by:

Where:

• ΔL = change in length (m)

• L₀ = original length (m)

• ΔT = temperature change (°C or K)

• α = coefficient of linear thermal expansion (1/°C)

The value of α depends on the material’s atomic structure and bonding. Typical ranges:

• Metals: 10×10−610 \times 10^{-6}10×10−6 to 25×10−6 /°C25 \times 10^{-6} \, /°C25×10−6/°C

• Polymers: 50×10−650 \times 10^{-6}50×10−6 to 200×10−6 /°C200 \times 10^{-6} \, /°C200×10−6/°C

• Ceramics & Glass: 3×10−63 \times 10^{-6}3×10−6 to 8×10−6 /°C8 \times 10^{-6} \, /°C8×10−6/°C

This formula is widely used for engineering design involving thermal expansion gaps, material selection, and dimensional tolerances.

How This Calculator Works

This calculator estimates linear thermal expansion by:

1. Taking user inputs:
   original length (L₀), temperature change (ΔT), and thermal expansion coefficient (α)

2. Applying the linear thermal expansion equation

3. Displaying the resulting change in length (ΔL)

This provides a quick and reliable way to evaluate dimensional changes in components affected by temperature variation.