User-entered CTE
Free thermal expansion
Inputs
Unloaded length at the stated initial temperature.
Signed average CTE over the stated temperature interval. Negative means contraction on heating.
Final minus initial temperature. Positive = heating.
Results
Ideal free length changeΔL
0.936
Ideal final lengthL
1,200.9
Free thermal strainεth
780
ΔL = αL₀ΔT; εth = αΔT
A first-pass number, not a code check, certification, or approval. Read the method and its limits below. What this is and is not.
Nearby: Restrained thermal stress
Method
Formula, when it applies, and when it does not
Calculate ideal free linear length change from a signed coefficient of thermal expansion, initial length, and temperature interval.
ΔL = αL₀ΔT; εth = αΔT
When
- Free expansion
- Uniform temperature
- Signed user-entered CTE
- Near-constant CTE
Don’t
- This is ideal free linear expansion using a user-entered signed average CTE; a negative coefficient is contraction on heating. It excludes restraint, temperature gradients, anisotropy, phase change, joints, nonlinear material response, property variation, and thermal-stress or design decisions.