Contents

Initial Problem Statement 2

Narrative 3-7

Notes 8

MEI 2011

Solutions 9-16

Appendices 17-18

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Teacher

How can an engineer assess the

expansion characteristics of a rail
to produce an optimal design?

Thermal Expansion of Solids

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Thermal Expansion
of Solids

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Thermal Expansion of Solids

Figure 1.
The joint has a clear gap between the rails.
This is to allow for expansion of the rails on hot
days. If this gap were not present the rails would
press against each other as they expanded and
buckle. When the rails cool they contract and
slightly increase the gap size.

How can the engineer assess the expansion

characteristics of the rail to produce an
optimal design?
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Initial Problem Statement

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Thermal Expansion of Solids

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Teacher

Narrative
Introduction
Many engineering materials respond to a change in temperature with a change in physical
characteristics. One such change is in the physical dimensions of an object. This can be very
apparent in metals which form an important class of commonly used engineering materials.

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Figure 1.

Discussion

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Why do you think the gap

between long rails has to
be larger than the gaps for
short rails?

Discussion

How could you assess

the thermal expansion
properties of the rail
material?

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Thermal Expansion of Solids

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The photo below shows a gap between two rails to allow for expansion in hot weather.

Discussion

What problems might a large

gap in the rails cause for a
train?

Multimedia

The resource Thermal Expansion

Interactive is available to demonstrate
the motion of a train wheel over a gap
between rails.

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Teacher

2. Experimental measurement of thermal

expansion

An experiment to measure the thermal expansion of a metal bar that has a length of 1 m long at
20 C produced the following results.
Length (m)

0.999620

0.999715

10

0.999810

15

0.999905

20

1.000000

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Temperature (C)

25

1.000095

30

1.000190
1.000380

45

1.000475

Discussion

1.000570

Discussion

Would you expect to get the

same results for a different
type of metal?

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Why are some lengths less

than 1 m while others are
greater than 1 m?

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Discussion

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Are you sure the bar is 1 m long at 20 C?

Activity 1

Plot these data. What do you notice about the y-axis?

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Activity 2

The gradient of the graph gives the thermal expansion coefficient of the material.
This tells an engineer the change in length in metres that occurs per metre of material
initially present per C change in temperature. What is the gradient of the graph you
have just plotted? Give your answer in standard form.

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page: 4 of 18

1.000285

40

Thermal Expansion of Solids

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Teacher

3. A better representation of the data

The previous section gave the following results from an experiment to measure the thermal
expansion of a metal bar that has a length of 1 m long at 20 C.
Temperature (C)

Length (m)

0.999620
0.999715
0.999810

15

0.999905

20

1.000000

25

1.000095

30

1.000190

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5
10

35

1.000285

40

1.000380

Hint

Activity 3

When you have found a better

way of representing the data
make another plot and determine
the gradient. Does it agree with
the previous value?

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How could the data be

better presented to make
plotting easier?

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Discussion

1.000570

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When using more appropriate units the value will not agree as you are now measuring a
change in length in m that occurs per metre of material initially present per C change in
temperature rather than a change is length in m that occurs per metre of material initially
present per C change in temperature.

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1.000475

50

Thermal Expansion of Solids

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Teacher

Discussion

A standard rail is made of the

same material as used the
previous analyses and has a
length of 18 m at 15 C. By
how much does it expand if the
temperature rises to 30 C?
Give your answer in mm.

The gap in tracks is the

reason people associate a
clickety-clack sound with
trains. However, a modern
train runs smoothly without
this characteristic sound.
Why is this?

Activity 5

Discussion

A welded rail has a length

of 2 km at 15 C. By how
much does it expand if the
temperature rises to 30 C?
Give your answer in m.

How could you prevent a

long continuously welded
rail from buckling in high
temperatures?

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Activity 4

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4. Calculating a suitable gap

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Long, welded rails are usually laid in cooler conditions, usually at night, so that they have contracted
slightly below expected ambient temperatures. They are then either artificially heated or stretched
hydraulically so that they attain the maximum expected length under hot-day conditions. At this
point the rail is securely fixed to the sleepers (which are securely embedded in the ground). When
the heating, or hydraulic pressure, is removed the rails want to shrink back to their original size but
cannot as they are now firmly fixed. In this situation, under normal operating temperatures the rails
are like slightly stretched elastic and are stressed. However, the steel used to make the rails has a
high tensile strength so is in no danger or breaking.

Teacher

5. Pre-stressed rails

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When the temperature rises the rail expands, reducing the stress in the rail. However, because the
rail is pre-stressed to an extended length this does not cause buckling as the rail is merely catching
up to the conditions under which it was fixed to the sleepers.

Discussion

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Thermal Expansion of Solids

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What would happen if the temperature was higher than the pre-stressing
temperature?

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Notes
Pre-stressed materials
Pre-stressed materials are common in engineering and they allow for designs
and structures to be made that would otherwise be weak, unstable or
unsuitable using the material in its unstressed state. The example given in the
main text is the pre-stressing of rails to prevent buckling in hot conditions.
Another example is the use of pre-stressed sheets of metal in an aircraft skin. Having the skin under
tension adds greatly to the strength of the construction and means that the number and size of
internal spars can be reduced, thus reducing the aircrafts weight.

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Figure 2.

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Pre-stressing with a tensioned metal tendon near the bottom of the concrete will tend to force a
curve upwards under no load (exaggerated in the diagram!). When a load is applied the concrete
block will flatten into a block that is almost entirely under compression. As concrete is strong under
compression this does not lead to structural weakness.

Figure 3.

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A third well known use of pre-stressing is in the production of concrete elements for a structure.
Concrete is much stronger under compression than it is under tension. If concrete is used as a loadsupporting material, the floor of a multi-story car park or bridge for example, the dimensions must be
such that the load does not lead to cracking and failure:

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Solutions
Introduction
Discussion solution

For very long rails the gap between them has to be larger than for short rails as
the absolute increase in length of a rail is directly proportional to the initial length
of the rail and the increase in temperature. So a rail that is 20 m long will expand a
distance that is twice as much as a rail that is 10 m long.

Discussion solution

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Discussion solution

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Thermal expansion properties of the rail material can be studied by looking at the
length of a standard piece of rail metal at different temperatures.

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The riding of wheels over this gap can also lead to a more uncomfortable ride for
the passengers.

Thermal Expansion of Solids

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As the width of the gap increases the wheel has to drop more to ride over it,
giving the familiar clickety-clack sound typically associated with trains. This
increases wear on both the rail and the train wheel/suspension which increases
maintenance costs for both track and train. (Who should pay?)

Teacher

2. Experimental measurement of thermal

expansion

Discussion solution

The measured length changes as the temperature changes. When the

temperature fell below the initial measurement temperature of 20 C the material
contracted. Above this temperature it expanded.

Discussion solution

Activity 1 solution

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The metal will be cut to 1 m at the temperature specified, in this case 20 C.

As you see from that data, this measurement can be subject to change due to
temperature differences. Also, the length can only be cut as accurately as the
cutting machine allows. In reality when producing of a number of lengths of a
desired dimension a distribution of actual cut lengths will be produced. For a good
cutting machine the average should be very near the required length. The required
length (at a stated temperature) is called the nominal length and variations of this
should be within specified tolerances.

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The results show that this change in length is small compared with the initial length.
This means that if you plot the data you have a very small scale on the y-axis and a
requirement to keep a large number of decimal places, as shown below,

Length (m)

1.000500
1.000400
1.000300
1.000200

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1.000100

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1.000600

1.000000
0.999900
0.999800
0.999700
0.999600

10

20

30

40

50

Temperature (C)

60

Figure 4.

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Thermal Expansion of Solids

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Discussion solution

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The amount of expansion and contraction for a given temperature change

depends on the material used so, in general, these results would not be replicated
if the experiment used a different material.

The gradient of the graph gives the thermal expansion coefficient of the material. This
tells an engineer the change in length in metres that occurs per metre of material
initially present per C change in temperature.

Teacher

Activity 2 solution

The gradient is given as

m=

1.000570 0.999620 0.00095

=
= 1.9 105
50 0
50

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This is the thermal expansion coefficient in units of C-1.

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3. A better representation of the data

Discussion solution

Change in length (m)

-380

-285

10

-190

15

-95

20

0
190

35

285

40

380

45

475

50

570

Activity 3 solution

The zero point is the

nominal length of the
bar at the nominal
temperature

Thermal Expansion of Solids

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Temperature (C)

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The y-scale is now greatly expanded and yields a plot of the form:

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Change in length compared

with length at 20 C (m)
600
500
400
300

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200
100

10

15

20

25

-100

30

35

40

45
50
Temperature (C)

-200
-300
-400

Figure 5.

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One way to change the way the data is represented is to find the change in length
relative to the starting conditions. As you know this is small you can choose more
appropriate units than metres. In this case you could construct a change in length
in terms of micrometers (m), where 1 m = 110-6 m. The table of results would
now look like

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m=

Teacher

The gradient is given as

570 (380) 950

=
= 19
50 0
50

This gradient measures the change in length in m per metre of initial material per C change in
temperature. The difference is in the units. This value can be changed into a change in length in m
by multiplying by 110-6. Doing the conversion:

6
6
5

19 110 = 19 10 = 1.9 10

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the same result as before.

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4. Calculating a suitable gap

Activity 4 solution
You can use either the thermal expansion coefficient value in m or m to calculate
this.

Using a coefficient based on a measured change in m.

Length change per metre per C change in temperature = 1.910-5 (m).

= 15 1.9 10

= 2.85 104 (m).

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Length change per metre for a temperature change of 15 C

= 2.85 10

18 = 5.13 103 (m).

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This is a change of 5 mm.

Thermal Expansion of Solids

Using a coefficient based on a measured change in m.

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Length change per metre per C change in temperature = 19 (m).

Length change per metre for a temperature change of 15 C
= 15 19 = 285 (m).

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Length change for 18 m for a temperature change of 15 C

= 285 18 = 5130 (m).

As 1 m = 110-3 mm, this converts to mm as 5130 1 10

= 5.13 (mm)

Discussion solution

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While rail gaps are common on less frequently used tracks and in poorer countries
(as it is a cheaper method of laying track), it not used for modern intercity lines as
the gaps increase friction and wear and does not provide a smooth ride. Instead,
the short individual lengths are welded together when being laid to produce a
single continuous rail which may be several kilometres long.

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Length change for 18 m for a temperature change of 15 C

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Activity 5 solution
For a rail that is initially 2 km long and using a coefficient based on a measured
change in m the expansion at 30 C is
Length change per metre per C change in temperature = 1.910-5 (m).
Length change per metre for a temperature change of 15 C
= 15 1.9 10

= 2.85 104 (m).

2 km = 2000 m.

= 2.85 10

2000 = 0.57 (m).

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Length change for 2000 m for a temperature change of 15 C

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Discussion solution

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To prevent expansion problems the rails are pre-stressed and fixed firmly to
the sleeper. Pre-stressing is an important concept used in many aspects of
engineering.

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Thermal Expansion of Solids

See "Pre-stressed
materials" on page 8.

page: 15 of 18

This is a change of 57 cm. Clearly a single expansion joint of this dimension is

unrealistic!

Teacher

5. Pre-stressed rails
Discussion solution

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If the temperature is exceptionally high, higher than the pre-stressing temperature,

then the track will try to expand and may indeed buckle. However, a good choice
of pre-stressing makes this unlikely.

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Appendix 1
using the interactive resources
Thermal Expansion Interactive

Figure 6.

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The display shows a wheel moving from left to right. The path of the centre of the wheel is shown
with a red trace.

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You can move the right-hand section of track by clicking and dragging the section. The path of
the wheel centre will show a dip as the wheel runs over the gap. The wider the gap the more
pronounced the dip, as demonstrated below.

Figure 7.

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This resource is available to demonstrate the motion of a train wheel over a gap between
rails.

Teacher

Appendix 2
mathematical coverage
Use and apply mathematical modelling to solve engineering problems
The engineering problem is quantified using mathematical expressions

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Use algebra to solve engineering problems

Be able to use standard form
Be able to use appropriate units
Be able to convert from one set of units to another
Be able to draw a graph by constructing a table of values
Plot a straight line graph from given data and use it to deduce the gradient, intercept and
equation of the line

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