Thermal Expansion Coefficients For Various Materials
This section summarizes the coefficients for some common materials.
In the table below, the range for α is from 10−7/°C for hard solids to 10−3/°C for organic liquids. α varies with the temperature and some materials have a very high variation.
For isotropic materials the coefficients linear thermal expansion α and volumetric thermal expansion β are related by β = 3α. For liquids usually the coefficient of volumetric expansion is listed and linear expansion is calculated here for comparison.
(The formula β≈3α is usually used for solids.)
| Material | Linear coefficient, α, at 20 °C (10−6/°C) |
Volumetric coefficient, β, at 20 °C (10−6/°C) |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aluminium | 23.1 | 69 | |
| Benzocyclobutene | 42 | 126 | |
| Brass | 19 | 57 | |
| Carbon steel | 10.8 | 32.4 | |
| Concrete | 12 | 36 | |
| Copper | 17 | 51 | |
| Diamond | 1 | 3 | |
| Ethanol | 250 | 750 | |
| Gallium(III) arsenide | 5.8 | 17.4 | |
| Gasoline | 317 | 950 | |
| Glass | 8.5 | 25.5 | |
| Glass, borosilicate | 3.3 | 9.9 | |
| Gold | 14 | 42 | |
| Indium phosphide | 4.6 | 13.8 | |
| Invar | 1.2 | 3.6 | |
| Iron | 11.8 | 33.3 | |
| Kapton | 20 | 60 | DuPont Kapton 200EN |
| Lead | 29 | 87 | |
| Macor | 9.3 | ||
| Magnesium | 26 | 78 | |
| Mercury | 61 | 182 | |
| Molybdenum | 4.8 | 14.4 | |
| Nickel | 13 | 39 | |
| Oak | 54 | Perpendicular to the grain | |
| Douglas-fir | 27 | 75 | radial |
| Douglas-fir | 45 | 75 | tangential |
| Douglas-fir | 3.5 | 75 | parallel to grain |
| Platinum | 9 | 27 | |
| PVC | 52 | 156 | |
| Quartz (fused) | 0.59 | 1.77 | |
| Quartz | 0.33 | 1 | |
| Rubber | 77 | 231 | |
| Sapphire | 5.3 | Parallel to C axis, or | |
| Silicon Carbide | 2.77 | 8.31 | |
| Silicon | 3 | 9 | |
| Silver | 18 | 54 | |
| Sitall | 0.15 | 0.45 | |
| Stainless steel | 17.3 | 51.9 | |
| Steel | 11.0 ~ 13.0 | 33.0 ~ 39.0 | Depends on composition |
| Titanium | 8.6 | ||
| Tungsten | 4.5 | 13.5 | |
| Water | 69 | 207 | |
| YbGaGe | ≐0 | ≐0 | |
| Zerodur | ≈0.02 | at 0–50°C |
Read more about this topic: Thermal Expansion
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