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Lab Report Dilatometer

This lab report was submitted by five students and describes an experiment to measure the linear thermal expansion of brass, iron, copper and aluminum using a dilatometer. The experiment measured the change in length of metal rods as they were heated to different temperatures between 20°C and 70°C. The results showed that copper begins expanding at a lower temperature than stainless steel, but stainless steel exhibited a greater maximum change in length at 60°C. The conclusion is that materials with a higher coefficient of linear expansion will experience a greater change in length with temperature changes.

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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
282 views

Lab Report Dilatometer

This lab report was submitted by five students and describes an experiment to measure the linear thermal expansion of brass, iron, copper and aluminum using a dilatometer. The experiment measured the change in length of metal rods as they were heated to different temperatures between 20°C and 70°C. The results showed that copper begins expanding at a lower temperature than stainless steel, but stainless steel exhibited a greater maximum change in length at 60°C. The conclusion is that materials with a higher coefficient of linear expansion will experience a greater change in length with temperature changes.

Uploaded by

Taqqi Haider
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Thermodynamics-II for Chemical Engineers (CHE323)

Batch: FA19-CHE-Group B6
Section: B

LAB REPORT
Submitted by:
Muhammad Hashir FA19-CHE-012
Muhammad Saad FA19-CHE-022
Muhammad Faizan FA19-CHE-038
Affan Bin Zahid FA19-CHE-080
Saqib Bashir FA19-CHE-084
Submitted to:
Sir Akmal Rana

Due Date:
March 24,2022

1
Table of Contents:
 Objectives ------------------------------------------------------------ (3)
 Hypothesis ------------------------------------------------------------(3)
 Theory -----------------------------------------------------------------(3)
 Application -----------------------------------------------------------(4)
 Apparatus--------------------------------------------------------------(4)
 Procedure - --------------------------------------------------------- --(5)
 Precautions --------------------------------------------------------- --(5)
 Observations ----------------------------------------------------------(6)
 Conclusion ------------------------------------------------------------(7)
 Results -----------------------------------------------------------------(7)

2
Experiment
Dilatometer
Objectives:
To compare the linear expansion of brass, iron, copper, aluminum as a function
of temperature (five different temperatures between 20°C and 70 °C) using
dilatometer.

Hypothesis:
To observe the change in length of different rods by passing hot water through
them or then find out the thermal expansion coefficient of it.

Theory:
Thermal expansion is the tendency of matter to change in volume in response to
a change in temperature through transfer of heat. When a substance is heated, its
particles begin moving more and thus usually maintain a greater average
separation. The degree of expansion divided by the change in temperature is
called the material's coefficient of thermal expansion and generally varies with
temperature. The coefficient of thermal expansion describes how the size of an
object changes with a change in temperature. Specifically, it measures the
fractional change in size per degree change in temperature at a constant pressure.
Several types of coefficients have been developed: volumetric, area, and linear.
These are used depending on the particular application and which dimensions are
considered important. For solids, one might only be concerned with the change
along a length, or over some area. The volumetric thermal expansion coefficient
is the most basic thermal expansion coefficient. In general, substances expand or
contract when their temperature changes, with expansion or contraction occurring
in all directions.

Linear Expansion Coefficient:

To a first approximation, the change in length measurements of an object ("linear


dimension" as opposed to, e.g., volumetric dimension) due to thermal expansion
is related to temperature change by a "linear expansion coefficient". It is the
fractional change in length per degree of temperature change. Assuming
negligible effect of pressure, we may write:

3
Where L is a particular length measurement dL / dT and is the rate of change of
that linear dimension per unit change in temperature. It should also be understood
that thermal expansion can cause significant stress in a component if the design
does not allow for expansion and contraction of components. The phenomena of
thermal expansion can be challenging when designing bridges, buildings, aircraft
and spacecraft, but it can be put to beneficial uses. For example, thermostats and
other heat-sensitive sensors make use of the property of linear expansion.

Applications:
 Dilatometers have been used in the fabrication of metallic alloys, study
of martensite transformation, compressed and sintered refractory compounds,
glasses, ceramic products, composite materials, and plastics.
 Dilatometry is also used to monitor the progress of chemical reactions,
particularly those displaying a substantial molar volume change (e.g.,
polymerization). A specific example is the rate of phase changes.
 In food science, dilatometers are used to measure the solid fat index of food
oils and butter.
 Another common application of a dilatometer is the measurement of thermal
expansion.
 Thermal expansion is a particularly serious problem where railroad tracks are
concerned, since the tracks on which the trains run are made of steel.
 Linear Expansion of metallic Bridges.
 Bimetallic strip is another example. A bimetallic strip consists of two metals
of different thermal expansions.
 Another example of thermal expansion in a solid is the sagging of electrical
power lines on a hot day.

Apparatus:
 Water bath system
 Metallic rods of different materials
 Length measuring gauge (dial caliper)
 Clamps and stand for holding roads

4
Procedure:
 Clump the first tube over its whole length (600mm) in the dilatometer and
connect it to the circulating pump of the thermostat via rubber tubing
 Set the temperature with the accuracy of the thermostatic control.
 After the initial temperature (app. 30 °C) has been reached set the length
measuring meter (measuring gauge) to zero.
 Then raise the temperature in four steps, each of 10°C to 15 °C.
 Record the respective changes in length and corresponding temperature.
 Repeat this measurement series with each of the remaining four materials.

Precautions:
 Keep the tubing as far as possible away from the dilatometer in order to not
heat up the frame of dilatometer.
 For the same reason, avoid long periods of readjustment of the temperature
control bath.
 Keep away from hot water in the water bath (approx. 80°C)

5
Observations:
Material of Tube: Copper

Initial Length of tube: 600 mm

Initial Temperature of tube: 50 C

Final Final Length Change in Change in Coefficient


Temperature Length Temperature of thermal
expansion
(0C) (mm) (mm) (K) (K-1)

40 600.02 0.02 35 1.06*10-7

45 600.07 0.07 40 3.67*10-7

50 600.13 0.13 45 6.71*10-7

55 600.21 0.21 50 1.07*10-6

60 600.28 0.28 55 1.40*10-6

Material of Tube: Stainless Steel

Initial Length of tube: 600 mm

Initial Temperature of tube: 400 C

Final Final Length Change in Change in Coefficient


Temperature Length Temperature of thermal
expansion
(0C) (mm) (mm) (K) (K-1)

44 600.05 0.05 4 3.34*10-4

48 600.07 0.07 8 9.33*10-4

52 600.09 0.09 12 1.7*10-3

56 600.21 0.21 16 5.6*10-3

60 600.112 0.112 20 3.7*10-3

6
Conclusion:
Thermal expansion was generally defined as the increase in the volume of a
material as its temperature is increased that is usually expressed as a fractional
change in length or volume per unit temperature change; a linear expansion
coefficient is usually for the expansion of a solid, while a volume expansion
coefficient is for a liquid or a gas. Correlating this to the experiment, the materials
having a change in temperature will have a corresponding change in a particular
dimension which is length for this experiment. The expansion of a material
depends on the value of its coefficient of linear expansion; wherein higher the
coefficient of linear expansion is, the more it will expand and with that it can be
considered that these two are directly proportional. From the data gathered,
aluminum has greater change in length than that of the copper. So therefore, we
can conclude that an object with greater coefficient of linear expansion will have
the greater change in length that proves the earlier statement I mentioned above.
Aside from the coefficient of linear expansion there are other factors that affect
the change in length of a material in thermal expansion and these are the initial
length of the body and the change in the temperature. All these three factors are
directly proportional to the change in length of the material and an increase in
value to these would correspond to a change in length wherein it will also
increase.

Results:
It is shown from experiment that copper start expansion on less temperature that
stainless steel whereas on same temperature of 600C there is maximum change in
length of stainless steel.

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