Calculate the dimensional change a temperature swing produces in a material.
Free expansion is proportional to length, coefficient and temperature change. If expansion is prevented, the same strain appears as stress instead — and for steel that reaches 96 MPa for only 40 K, which is why expansion joints exist. Restrained thermal stress is independent of length, so even a short fully fixed member develops the same high stress as a long one.
Thermal Expansion
ΔL = L α ΔT; restrained stress σ = E α ΔT
ΔL = L α ΔT; restrained stress σ = E α ΔT Free expansion is proportional to length, coefficient and temperature change. If expansion is prevented, the same strain appears as stress instead — and for steel that reaches 96 MPa for only 40 K, which is why expansion joints exist.
Restrained thermal stress is independent of length, so even a short fully fixed member develops the same high stress as a long one.
This calculator takes 4 inputs: Original length, Linear expansion coefficient, Temperature change, Elastic modulus. The pre-filled defaults are a realistic starting point — replace them with figures from your own environment for a result you can act on.