ENSC1004 Engineering Materials Week 9 - Practice Question Sheet – Solutions

Thermal properties

Heat Capacity

Question 1- Estimate the energy required to raise the temperature of 2 kg (4.42 lbm) of the
following materials from 20 to 100°C (68 to 212°F): aluminium, steel, soda–lime glass, and
high-density polyethylene.

The energy, E, required to raise the temperature of a given mass of material, m, is the product of
the specific heat, the mass of material, and the temperature change, DT, as
E = 𝑐𝑝 𝑚 ∆𝑇

The ∆𝑇 in this problem is equal to 100°C – 20°C = 80°C (= 80 K), while the mass is 2 kg, and the
specific heats are presented in Table 19.1 (textbook). Thus,

Thermal expansion

Question 2 - An aluminium wire 10 m (32.8 ft) long is cooled from 38°C to -1°C (100°F to
30°F). How much change in length will it experience?

In order to determine the change in length of the aluminium wire, we must employ a rearranged
form of Equation 19.3b and using the value of l taken from Table 19.1 [23.6  10-6 (C)-1] as
Question 3 - Compute the density for nickel at 500°C, given that its room-temperature
density is 8.902 g/cm3. Assume that the volume coefficient of thermal expansion, αv, is equal
to 3αl.

In this problem we are asked to determine the density of nickel at 500C. Let us use as the basis
for this determination 1 cm3 of material at 20C, which has a mass of 8.902 g; it is assumed that
this mass will remain constant upon heating to 500C. Let us compute the volume expansion of
this cubic centimetre of nickel as it is heated to 500C. A volume expansion expression is given in
Equation 19.4—viz.,

or

Also, v = 3l, as stipulated in the problem. The value of l given in Table 19.1 for nickel is 13.3
 10-6 (C)-1. Therefore, the volume, V, of this specimen of Ni at 500C is just

Thus, the density is just the 8.902 g divided by this new volume—i.e.,
Question 4 - To what temperature must a cylindrical rod of tungsten 10.000 mm in diameter
and a plate of 316 stainless steel having a circular hole 9.988 mm in diameter have to be
heated for the rod to just fit into the hole? Assume that the initial temperature is 25°C.

This problem asks for us to determine the temperature to which a cylindrical rod of tungsten 10.000
mm in diameter must be heated in order for it of just fit into a 9.988 mm diameter circular hole in
a plate of 316 stainless steel, assuming that the initial temperature is 25C. This requires the use
of Equation 19.3a, which is applied to the diameters of both the rod and hole. That is

Solving this expression for df yields

Now all we need do is to establish expressions for df(316 stainless) and df (W), set them equal to
one another, and solve for Tf. According to Table 19.1, l(316 stainless) = 16.0  10-6 (C)-1 and
l (W) = 4.5  10-6 (C)-1. Thus

or

Now solving for Tf gives Tf = 129.5C.

Thermal conductivity

Question 5 - For each of the following pairs of materials, decide which has the larger thermal
conductivity. Justify your choices.
(a) Pure copper; aluminium bronze (95 wt% Cu-5 wt% Al).
(b) Fused silica; quartz.
(c) Linear polyethylene; branched polyethylene.
(d) Random poly(styrene-butadiene) copolymer; alternating poly(styrene-butadiene)
copolymer.

This question asks for us to decide, for each of several pairs of materials, which has the larger
thermal conductivity and why.
(a) Pure copper will have a larger conductivity than aluminium bronze because the impurity
atoms in the latter will lead to a greater degree of free electron scattering.

(b) Quartz will have a larger conductivity than fused silica because fused silica is noncrystalline
(whereas quartz is crystalline) and lattice vibrations are more effectively scattered in noncrystalline
materials.

(c) The linear polyethylene will have the larger conductivity than the branched polyethylene
because the former will have the higher degree of crystallinity. Linear polymers have higher
degrees of crystallinity than branched polymers. Since heat transfer is accomplished by molecular
chain vibrations, and the coordination of these vibrations increases with percent crystallinity, the
higher the crystallinity, the greater the thermal conductivity.

(d) The alternating poly(styrene-butadiene) copolymer will have a higher crystallinity than the
random copolymer; alternating copolymers crystallise more easily than random ones. The
influence of crystallinity on conductivity is explained in part (c).
Thermal stresses

Question 6- Beginning with Equation 19.3, show that Equation 19.8 is valid.

We want to show that Equation 19.8 (textbook) is valid beginning with Equation 19.3 (textbook).
Upon examination of Equation 19.3b,

it may be noted that the term on the left-hand side is the same expression as that for the definition
of engineering strain (Equation 6.2); that is

Furthermore, elastic stress and strain are related through Hooke's law, Equation 6.5:

Making appropriate substitutions and algebraic manipulations gives

And, solving for 

which is the form of Equation 19.8.

Question 7 - (a) If a rod of 1025 steel 0.5 m (19.7 in.) long is heated from 20°C to 80°C (68°F
to 176°F) while its ends are maintained rigid, determine the type and magnitude of stress
that develops. Assume that at 20°C the rod is stress-free.
(b) What will be the stress magnitude if a rod 1 m (39.4 in.) long is used?
(c) If the rod in part (a) is cooled from 20°C to -10°C (68°F to 14°F), what type and magnitude
of stress will result?

(a) We are asked to compute the magnitude of the stress within a 1025 steel rod that is heated while
its ends are maintained rigid. To do this we employ Equation 19.8, using a value of 207 GPa for

the modulus of elasticity of steel (Table 6.1), and a value of 12.0  10-6 (C)-1 for l (Table 19.1).

Therefore

= –150 MPa (–21,800 psi)

The stress will be compressive since its sign is negative.

(b) The stress will be the same [–150 MPa (–21,800 psi)], since stress is independent of bar length.

(c) Upon cooling the indicated amount, the stress becomes

= +74.5 MPa (+10,900 psi)

This stress will be tensile since its sign is positive.

Question 8 - A copper wire is stretched with a stress of 70 MPa (10,000 psi) at 20°C (68°F).
If the length is held constant, to what temperature must the wire be heated to reduce the
stress to 35 MPa (5000 psi)?

We want to heat the copper wire in order to reduce the stress level from 70 MPa to 35 MPa; in
doing so, we reduce the stress in the wire by 70 MPa – 35 MPa = 35 MPa, which stress will be a
compressive one (i.e.,  = –35 MPa). Solving for Tf from a rearranged form of Equation 19.8 [and

using values for E and l of 110 GPa (Table 6.1) and 17.0  10-6 (C)-1 (Table 19.1), respectively]

yields

= 20C + 19C = 39C (101F)

Question 9 - If a cylindrical rod of nickel 100.00 mm long and 8.000 mm in diameter is heated
from 20C to 200C while its ends are maintained rigid, determine its change in diameter.
Hint: You may want to consult Table 6.1.

This problem asks for us to determine the change in diameter of a cylindrical nickel rod 100.00
mm long and 8.000 mm in diameter when it is heated from 20C to 200C while its ends are
maintained rigid. There will be two contributions to the diameter increase of the rod; the first is
due to thermal expansion (which will be denoted as d1), while the second is from Poisson's lateral

expansion as a result of elastic deformation from stresses that are established from the inability of
the rod to elongate as it is heated (denoted as d2). The magnitude of d1 may be computed using

a modified form of Equation 19.3 as

From Table 19.1 the value of l for nickel is 13.3  10-6 (C)-1. Thus,

= 0.0192 mm

Now, d2 is related to the transverse strain (x) according to a modified form of Equation 6.2 as

Also, transverse strain and longitudinal strain (z) are related according to Equation 6.8:

where  is Poisson’s ratio. Substitution of this expression for x into the first equation above leads
to

Furthermore, the longitudinal strain is related to the modulus of elasticity through Equation 6.5—
i.e.,

And, therefore,

Now, from Equation 19.8 stress is equal to

which, when substituted into the preceding equation, leads to

Solving for d2 and realising that, for nickel,  = 0.31 (Table 6.1) yields

= 0.0059 mm

Finally, the total d is just d1 + d2 = 0.0192 mm + 0.0059 mm = 0.0251 mm.