Pipe Thermal Expansion
Linear expansion (in) for copper, PEX, PVC, CPVC, steel.
Example
You enter
- Material copper
- Length (ft) 100
- Temperature change (°F) 100
You get
- Expansion 1.128 in
- Coefficient 0.0000094
- Length (ft) 100
- Delta T (°F) 100
Checked against published worked examples from: ASHRAE / ASTM.
Details, formula, and sources
Formula or tableΔL = α × L × ΔT. Linear thermal-expansion coefficient α per material from NIST and pipe-manufacturer technical bulletins.
Source and editionNIST material properties; manufacturer technical bulletins by name.
Free accessNIST data free at nist.gov; manufacturer bulletins free on each manufacturer site.
What governsEstimate. AHJ and licensed plumber / gas fitter govern. Verify against the IPC / IFGC edition adopted in your jurisdiction.
API field namesmaterial, length_ft, delta_T_F, delta_L_in, alpha_per_F
- Coefficient table from data/plumbing/material-expansion.json keyed to pipe materialNIST + manufacturer
- Reference (cold) temperature none; the user enters the temperature changeengineering practice