Carbon Steel Pipes - Temperature Expansion Celcius

The temperature expansion of carbon steel pipes expressed in mm per m per degree Celsius:

Pipes and Temperature Expansion

Pipes expands when heated up and contracts when cooled. The expansion can be expressed
with the expansion formula
The temperature expansion of pipes depends on the start and final temperature of the pipe and the
expansion coefficient of the piping material at the actual temperature. The general expansion formula
can be expressed as:

dl = a L o dt (1)

where

dl = expansion (m, inch)

L o = length of pipe (m, inch)

dt = temperature difference (o C, o F)

a = linear expansion coefficient (m/m.oK, inch/inch.oF)

Mean expansion coefficient may vary with temperature as shown below:

Mean Expansion
Coefficient - a - Temperature Range (o F)
32 - 32 -
(inch/inch.o F) 10-6 -32 32 - 212 32 - 400 32 - 600 32 - 750 32 - 900 1100 1300
Alloy Steel
(1% Cr. 1/2% Mo) 7.7 8 8.4 8.8 9.2 9.6 9.8
Mild Steel
(0.1 - 0.2% C) 7.1 7.8 8.3 8.7 9 9.5 9.7
Stainless Steel
(18% Cr. 8% Ni) 10.8 11.1 11.5 11.8 12.1 12.4 12.6 12.8

Formula (1) can also be used with SI units. The expansion coefficient must of course be adjusted to
o
C.
 Expansion coefficients for other materials.

Example - Expansion when Heating Alloy Steel

100 feet of alloy steel pipe is heated from 32 to 212o F. The expansion coefficient is 8 10-6
(inch/inch.o F).

The expansion can be expressed as:

dl = (8 10-6 inch/inch.o F) (100 feet) (12 inch/feet) (212 - 32 o F)

= 1.728 inch

o
? 3 ( mm / m C )
CARBON ? STEEL? L ? 12.2 ? 10 ? L( m) ? ? (t C )
O
( mm)
EX
o
? 3 ( mm / m C )
COPPER ? PIPE ? L ( mm)
EX ? 17.7 ? 10 ?L ( m)
?? (OC )
t
o
? 3 ( mm / m C )
SUS ? PIPE ? L ( mm )
EX ? 12 .2 ? 10 ? L (m)
?? (OC )
t