What is thermal expansion used for?

This coefficient is called the coefficient of thermal expansion and is used to predict the growth of materials in response to a known temperature change. The larger this coefficient is for a material, the more it will expand per degree temperature increase.

How does a press fit work?

In engineering terms, a press fit— also known as an interference fit— is the fastening of two parts that is achieved by normal force, friction and cold welding. This happens when a shaft is inserted tightly into a slightly smaller hole in another part, with the interference holding both parts in place.

What is thermal expansion contraction?

THERMAL EXPANSION AND CONTRACTION. Materials expand or contract when subjected to changes in temperature. Most materials expand when they are heated, and contract when they are cooled. When free to deform, concrete will expand or contract due to fluctuations in temperature.

What is thermal expansion in piping?

As the pipe temperature changes from the installation condition to the operating condition, it expands or contracts. In the general term, both expansion and contraction are called thermal expansion. When a pipe expands it has the potential of generating enormous force and stress in the system.

What is a press-fit connection?

The principle for a press-fit connection is that a contact terminal is pressed into a printed circuit board (PCB). There are two types of press-fit pins; the solid pin having a solid press-in zone and the compliant pin having an elastic press-in zone.

What’s an example of thermal expansion?

The expansion of alcohol in a thermometer is one of many commonly encountered examples of thermal expansion, the change in size or volume of a given mass with temperature. Railroad tracks and bridges, for example, have expansion joints to allow them to freely expand and contract with temperature changes.

Where does thermal expansion and contraction occur?

Thermal expansion occurs when you heat a material and it gains more internal energy. The atoms within the material move around faster, and the material expands. Thermal contraction occurs when you cool the material down, and the atoms don’t have that much energy. What happens is the material contracts.

How do you deal with thermal expansion in a pipe?

Using bends and expansion loops It is often preferable to accommodate the expansion in a natural way using expansion loops, as expansion joints add considerable forces into the pipe system. Expansion loops accommodate thermal movements by installing sections of piping that run perpendicular to the piping system.

What is the thermal expansion of steel?

“The coefficient of thermal expansion for steel is 0.00000645in/in/deg F. Doesn’t sound like much but when you run out the numbers it comes to . 405504 ft/mile/deg.

What is a press fit connector?

As you might have guessed from their name, press-fit connectors are pressed through properly dimensioned plated-through holes on a printed circuit board (PCB). This technology is an alternative to the soldering method and offers a number of advantages over its more traditional counterpart.