EXPERIMENT 1: LINEAR EXPANSION

MANUSON, J.M.L. a , QUIAMBAO, O.D. a , RACHO, M.M.F. a, RAMOS, C. a CABRERA, R.M. b a. Group 3A, PHY12L (A2), Q1, AY 2013-2014, Department of Physics, Mapua Institute of Technology- Intramuros b. Faculty, Department of Physics, Mapua Institute of Technology-Intramuros

Abstract: Thermal coefficient is basically how strong the material will respond at a given temperature change. Three types of thermal expansion can occur namely linear, area and volume corresponding to one, two and three dimensional change respectively. Coefficient of linear expansion for aluminum and copper was determined by increasing the temperature of aluminum and copper tube by passing a steam inside from a steam generator. Digital multi-tester measured the resistance and the corresponding temperature was obtained and the change in length due to heating was measured by 1 mm per revolution of the built-in gauge. Aluminums coefficient was larger than coppers as predicted due to stronger covalent and dispersion force present in copper which requires higher energy to set the molecules moving farther away from each other. The experimental values for aluminum and copper were obtained and there was a large error in the experimental values for aluminum and copper rods respectively due to the cooling effects of the air conditioning unit that greatly interferes with the heating effects of the steam and the temperature was indirectly measured through resistance.

1. Introduction
Most materials are in to thermal expansion which has a tendency to expand when heated, and to contract or compress when cooled. For this phenomena or action, bridges are built with metal expansion joints, so that they can expand and contract without causing faults in the overall structure of the bridge. Some machines and structures likewise have a feature protection against the dangers of linear expansion. But linear expansion can also be advantageous, making thermometers and thermostats work. Some materials, in all phases experience a drift in its dimension when there is a change of temperature. Water, which is exempted because it expands gradually at a temperature below and above 20oC, things in general, expands when the temperature rises and shrinks as the temperature decreases. The drift in dimension could be one dimensional called the linear expansion, it may be two dimensional which is expansion of area, or 3-D which is known as volume expansion. The change in the bodys dimension is
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a function of the temperature. The amount of expansion also depends on the initial state and dimension of the body. It was observed also that gas experiences a considerable change in dimension, followed by liquid, and the least is that of solid. This may be due to the difference in the molecular structure of the material when it is in different state. Thermal expansion generally decreases with increasing bond energy, which also has an effect on the melting point of solids, so, high melting point materials are more likely to have lower thermal expansion. In general, liquids expand slightly more than solids. The thermal expansion of glasses is higher compared to that of crystals. At the glass transition temperature, rearrangements that occur in an amorphous material lead to characteristic discontinuities of coefficient of thermal expansion or specific heat. These discontinuities allow detection of the glass transition temperature where a super cooled liquid transforms to a glass. Absorption or desorption of water (or other solvents) can change the size of many common materials; many organic materials change size much more due to this effect than they do to thermal expansion. Common plastics exposed to water can, in the long term, expand by many percent. It was found out that for change in temperature less than 100oC, the electrical resistance of a metal is proportional to the temperature. This concept shall be used to determine the temperature of the body if electrical resistance is known. The objective of this experiment is to determine the coefficient of linear expansion of aluminum and copper metal rods. It also strives to obtain and determine the factors affecting linear expansion.

2. Theoretical and Conceptual Framework

Consider a rod of initial length 0 at initial temperature 0 in figure 1. When the temperature of the rod is increased to its final temperature , the corresponding final length is greater than the initial length.
0

at 0

at
Figure 1. The expansion of rod from 0 to when the temperature changes from 0 to

The change in length is the difference of the final from its initial length as in equation 1. = 0 (eqn. 1)
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If the change in temperature is less than 100, the change in length experimentally was found to be proportional to the change in temperature and the initial length 0 of the rod is a constant (different for different materials) known as the coefficient of linear expansion . These relationship is expressed in equation 2. = 0 (eqn. 2)

From equation 2, one may express the relation to solve and define the coefficient of linear expansion as =

By definition the coefficient of linear expansion is the ratio of the change in length to the original length for every degree change in temperature. Combining equations 1 and 2 will give the equation of the final length of the body as shown in equation 3. = 0 + 0 (eqn. 3)

3. Materials and Methods

In this experiment, the apparatus to be used is shown in Fig. 1. It consists of an aluminium metal tube, copper metal tube, digital multi-tester, expansion base with builtin gauge and thermistor, foam insulator, rubber tubing, and steam generator.

Figure 1. Materials used in experiment.

Preparation of materials

Setting up of equipment

Determination of the initial length and change in temperature

Compute for the coefficient of linear expansion and percent error

Repeat the process for the second material

Record the data

Figure 2. Flowchart process of the determination of the coefficient of linear expansion.

Figure 2 shows the step by step procedure on how the experiment was done. The first step in performing the experiment is to prepare the materials to be used and setting it up. The aluminium tube and the copper tube were first measured to determine the initial length of both material. The aluminium tube was the first to be mounted to the expansion base and tested. The expansion base is a tool for measuring the change in length of both the aluminium and copper rods. When expanding, the built in gauge on the expansion base spins and indicate how much the material expanded. The initial temperature of the material was determined. It was determined using the built in thermistor on the expansion base. After dialling the gauge to zero, the rubber tube is attached from the steam generator to the end of the tube. The increase in length and the resistance on the thermistor is measured. The resistance was measured using a multi-tester or multi-meter. It is also known as A VOM or Volt-Ohm meter. It is an electronic measuring device that measures voltages, current, and resistance. After measuring, the coefficient of linear expansion was computed by determining the change in temperature and using equation 2. After that, the percentage error was computed. The process is repeated for the copper tube. After finalizing, the data was recorded.

Figure 3. Measuring the resistance using the multi-meter.

4. Results and Discussion

The table shows all the data gathered from the experiment.
Trial / Type of Tube Trial 1. Aluminum Tube Trial 2. Copper Tube

Initial Length, Lo Initial Resistance of Thermistor at Room Temperature, Rrm Initial Temperature, trm Change in Length, Resistance of Thermistor at Final Temperature, Rhot Final Temperature of the Tube, thot Change in Temperature of the Tube, thot - trm Experimental Coefficient of Linear Expansion, experimental Actual Coefficient of Linear Expansion, actual

700 mm 107,500 23.47C 1.13 mm 13,250 74.33C 50.86C 3.1710-5/C 23.810-5/C

700 mm 104,200 24.125C 0.8 mm 13,500 73.81C 49.69C 2.310-5/C 16.810-5/C

Percentage Error %error

33.19%

36.9%

From the measured data: = 1.13 = 3.17105/ (700)(74.33 23.47)

Same computation was done to solve for of copper. The values of coefficients obtained proved the concept of thermal expansion which relates the change in temperature and length of the given metals. is considerably small because materials expand in a minimal length. To check the acceptability of the experiment, the percent error was calculated Based on the data gathered and observations, the percentage error was a bit high. It seems that the problem is the thermistor setup in which the thermistor determines the temperature of the tube by its resistance recorded by the multi-meter. We expect that the temperature of the metal tube must be the identical with the steam, but the recorded data based from the thermistor is very far from what we expected. For the multi-meter, its function was not that instant since it changes from time to time so we find it hard to record the real resistance of the metal tube. With the help of the long ranges of the thermistor table of values, we had an agreement that the value is within the range so we had the corresponding temperature. For the dial gauge, we adjusted it prior to the start of the steaming of the metal tube. We were astonished on how it works since the idea of it is a revolution equals a millimetre of expanding. We were not able to see the change in length of it, but with the help of the dial gauge, we got it. The experiment was exciting indeed

5. Conclusion and Recommendations

The experiment was about thermal linear expansion. It aims to determine the coefficient of linear expansion and the factors affecting the linear expansion. The theory behind linear expansion was verified that the change of length is directly proportional to the change of temperature. The coefficient of linear expansion is the proportionality constant in the equation that relates the change of temperature and dimension. Type of material, original length, and temperature are the factors that affect the change in length in thermal expansion. The coefficient of thermal expansion varies with the type of materials being analysed. Next, the original length might shrink if it is at the maximum to avoid deformation. Lastly, temperature is directly proportional to the change of length of the metal. Increase in temperature expands the metal tube while a decrease in temperature causes the metal to contract.
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Sources of error do roots from the apparatus itself and gathering of data. Measurement of length also gives possible chances of error. The uncalibrated dial gauge can also relate to wrong reading. Assumed temperature is so likely to give a great uncertainty when compared to the actual temperature. In this experiment, we recommend that the whole apparatus should be improved to be more precise in reading. A built-in thermometer, a digital output for the dial gauge, and a close system steam generator would further help in improving the data obtained.

References
[1] Freedman, R. A., Ford, L., Young, H. D. University Physics with Modern Physics 12th ed. 2007. [2] Siegesmund, S., Snethlage, R. Stone in Architecture: Properties, Durability 4th ed. 2011. [3] http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/multimeter [4] http://www.firstbalfour.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/LRT-MonumentoBound.jpg

Appendix A: Applications
Thermal expansions are widely use in mechanical applications, construction of materials, and chemistry. Altering the temperature usually shrinks or allows expansion of the material. Thermal expansion is usually observed on rail tracks, concrete roads, and in manufacturing industries. The friction between the wheels of the train and the tracks produces heat. The increase in temperature causes the rail tracks to deform which then later leads to derailment. This is also true for roads. Concrete roads have some gaps which allow it to breathe and expand during summer. This is constructed this way to avoid cracks. Also this is where expansion joints come in handy which help relieve stress of materials while holding them together. Expansion and contraction is employed in the shrink fitting of a wheel onto a shaft and again in its removal.

Figure 4. Thermal expansion on rail tracks.