what is the energy change that occurs in copper pipes.?
Answers
Copper tube, like all piping materials, expands and contracts with temperature changes. Therefore, in a copper tube system subjected to excessive temperature changes, a long line tends to buckle or bend when it expands unless compensation is built into the system. Severe stresses on the joints may also occur. Such stresses, buckles or bends are prevented by the use of expansion joints or by installing offsets, "U" bends, coil loops or similar arrangements in the tube assembly. These specially shaped tube segments take up expansion and contraction without excessive stress. The expansion of a length of copper tube may be calculated from the formula:
Temperature Rise (degrees F)
x Length (feet)
x 12 (inches per foot)
x Expansion Coefficient (inches per inch per degree F)
= Expansion (inches)
Calculation for expansion and contraction should be based on the average coefficient of expansion of copper which is 0.0000094 inch per inch per degree F, between 70°F and 212°F. For example, the expansion of each 100 feet of length of any size tube heated from room temperature (70°F) to 170°F (a 100°F rise) is 1.128 inches.
100°F x 100 ft x 12 in./ft.
x 0.0000094 in./in./°F
= 1.128 in length per 100 feet of copper tube, with temperature. The previous example is shown by the dotted line.