Thermal Expansion Calculator

Your details

Linear changes length, area changes surface, volume changes the whole solid. Area and volume use 2α and 3α.
Pick a material to auto-fill its linear coefficient, or choose Custom to type your own.
Enter length for linear, area for area mode, or volume for volume mode. Units follow the system you picked.
Final minus starting temperature. Use a negative value for cooling.
°C
Thermal stress builds when an object is heated or cooled but cannot change size. σ = E·α·ΔT.
Change in sizeExpanding
0.0023
Original size2
Final size2.0023
Fractional change0.0012%
Effective coefficient used23
Expansion gap to leave2.3mm
Original2
Final2.0023

The length grows by 0.0023 m.

  • Area and volume change faster than length: this mode uses 23×10⁻⁶ per degree, 1× the linear coefficient.
  • The fractional change is 0.115% and is independent of the starting size.
  • Leave about 2.3 mm of expansion gap (or per joint) so the part is free to move.

Next stepSwitch to area or volume mode to see how a whole sheet or block changes, or turn on thermal stress for the restrained case.

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