Thermal expansion examples

[njslim]

The building is One Meridian Plaza, a 38-story, 756,000-square-foot office tower where a fire in 1991 killed three firefighters and heavily damaged 11 floors.

THE fire on Feb. 11, 1991, started when a workman's chemicals and rags were ignited accidentally. The blaze, which burned for 19 hours, raged from the 22d floor to the 30th floor, raining down glass panels and debris to the street below, before a sprinkler system installed by a tenant on the 30th floor extinguished the flames.

Prior to deciding to evacuate the building, firefighters noticed significant structural displacement occurring in the stair enclosures. A command officer indicated that cracks large enough to place a man’s fist through developed at one point. One of the granite exterior wall panels on the east stair enclosure was dislodged by the thermal expansion of the steel framing behind it. After the fire, there was evident significant structural damage to horizontal steel members and floor sections on most of the fire damaged floors. Beams and girders sagged and twisted -- some as much as three feet --under severe fire exposures, and fissures developed in the reinforced concrete floor assemblies in many places. Despite this extraordinary exposure, the columns continued to support their loads without obvious damage

All interior firefighting efforts were halted after almost 11 hours of uninterrupted fire in the building. Consultation with a structural engineer and structural damage observed by units operating in the building led to the belief that there was a possibility of a pancake structural collapse of the fire damaged floors. Bearing this risk in mind along with the loss of three personnel and the lack of progress against the fire despite having secured adequate water pressure and flow for interior fire streams, an order was given to evacuate the building at 0700 on February 24. At the time of the evacuation, the fire appeared to be under control on the 22nd though 24th floors. It continued to bum on floors 25 and 26 and was spreading upward. There was a heavy smoke condition throughout most of the upper floors. The evacuation was completed by 0730.

1 Meridian Plaza fire -Philadelphia, 1991

Operative thing is that the fire was stopped by SPRINKLER SYSTEM on 30th floor

Prevented fire from extending any more - WTC 7 sprinkler system was inoperable do to
lack of water.

 

[Myriad]

For another of the recent threads on this I worked up a list of not-so-recent inventions that are either necessitated by, or make use of (or both), thermal expansion:

• Mercury thermometer: 1715 (by some dude named Fahrenheit -- coincidence, or conspiracy?)

• Expansion gaps in railroad tracks: at least since the first use of steel rails in 1857

• Bi-metallic electric thermostat: 1885 (apparently preceded by non-electric self-regulating bi-metallic furnace damper flaps)

• Hot rivet construction: for buildings, 1887 (the Eiffel Tower), but use in shipbuilding might have pre-dated that

But now that this strange phenomenon of thermal expansion has been rediscovered, I'm hopeful that we can finally solve the mystery of why pendulum clocks slow down in hot weather and speed up in cold weather, and do something about it.

Oh, wait:

• Temperature-compensated clock pendulum: 1721 (liquid), 1726 (solid)

So, 280+ years ago, scientists and clockmakers were not only aware of the phenomenon but making use of it and devising ways to work around it where needed, and yet it's new to today's truthers. Dr. Evil and his [finger quotes]LAY - ZER[/finger quotes] seem right up to date by comparison.

Respectfully,
Myriad

 

[mrbaracuda]

Dr. Evil and his [finger quotes]LAY - ZER[/finger quotes] seem right up to date by comparison.

That brought joy to my heart.
Since you haven't replied to my PM from a couple of weeks ago, thanks again for your help with my dishwasher. I dunno if I ever told you, but the upper basket thing was just derailed, which I didn't notice.

 

[1337m4n]

How about sea level rise due to global warming.

 

[Confuseling]

How about sea level rise due to global warming.

Ooh... controversial.

 

[1337m4n]

Ooh... controversial.

It's how I roll.

 

[mrbaracuda]

1337m4n!

 

[GeeMack]

A fire sprinkler valve operates on the principle of thermal expansion. Typically a small glass bulb filled with liquid acts as a blocking device which prevents a spring loaded valve from opening. When the valve reaches a certain temperature, the liquid inside that bulb expands enough to cause it to break. And in turn that allows the valve to open. By design that results in releasing water to suppress the fire.

Of course a fire sprinkler system will only work correctly if the valve is supplied with sufficient water pressure. If not, and if the fire continues to burn, thermal expansion of various building components may become severe enough to cause structural connections to fail.

So when properly applied, the principle of thermal expansion may have helped save WTC7 from its fate. But for lack of sufficient water supply, in a tragic irony, that same principle was directly responsible for its demise.

 

[mrbaracuda]

A fire sprinkler valve operates on the principle of thermal expansion. Typically a small glass bulb filled with liquid acts as a blocking device which prevents a spring loaded valve from opening. When the valve reaches a certain temperature, the liquid inside that bulb expands enough to cause it to break. And in turn that allows the valve to open. By design that results in releasing water to suppress the fire.

Of course a fire sprinkler system will only work correctly if the valve is supplied with sufficient water pressure. If not, and if the fire continues to burn, thermal expansion of various building components may become severe enough to cause structural connections to fail.

Fascinating! I didn't know that. Thanks for the input.
I guess the mystery about the red (and apparently also yellow) pieces is solved then?

So when properly applied, the principle of thermal expansion may have helped save WTC7 from its fate. But for lack of sufficient water supply, in a tragic irony, that same principle was directly responsible for its demise.

Heh. At least no one was hurt.

On a 2nd thought: That glass piece must have a low tolerance to heat then, correct?

 

[Confuseling]

At full speed and cruising altitude, despite outside temperatures of -55 Celsius (-67 Fahrenheit), the Concorde's skin would heat up to 127C (260.6 F) at the nose and 91C- 98C (196F-208F) on the fuselage and the wings.
...
Her cruising altitude is 60,000 feet, her top speed is Mach 2.04, and due to friction heating, the Concorde expands approximately 8 inches during flight.

I make that a not to be sniffed at 0.3%.

http://www.intrepidmuseum.org/pages/concorde

Space shuttles are another example, but perhaps the temperatures are rather extreme for our purposes. I don't know - how much does the actual body of a shuttle heat up during reentry, rather than just the shields? Where's R. Mackey when you need him?

 

[Crazy Chainsaw]

How about sea level rise due to global warming.

NO the ice is actually expanded more than liquid water, that would be thermal contraction as the Ice Crystal actually deteriorates and the water takes up less space.

 

[Confuseling]

Erm... do I call you Mr. Chainsaw? Makes you sound like a psychopath. I admire your work, anyway.

To be fair, thermal expansion also plays a part. It just isn't certain how much.

http://sedac.ciesin.columbia.edu/mva/WR1987/WR1987.html

Incidentally, you mentioned something about indicator lights earlier (or turn signals, across the pond). I don't understand - could you explain?

 

[Crazy Chainsaw]

Erm... do I call you Mr. Chainsaw? Makes you sound like a psychopath. I admire your work, anyway.

To be fair, thermal expansion also plays a part. It just isn't certain how much.

http://sedac.ciesin.columbia.edu/mva/WR1987/WR1987.html

Incidentally, you mentioned something about indicator lights earlier (or turn signals, across the pond). I don't understand - could you explain?

You may call me what ever you wish, I am kind of used to that by now, most just use CC.

Actually the melting Ice takes up more space than the water, so sea level rise is just the filling of a basin the ocean with a fluid, and that fluid rising to a higher level.
The pan evaporation rate of water is also falling do to global dimming, which is water converting to water vapor by exposure to direct sunlight, so thermal expansion is not playing a major or noticeable part in sea level rise at this time.

The indicator lights work on the principle of uneven expansion, of different metals-Bi metals to cause the lights to flash once a current is established and the metals heat.
Circuit breakers in electrical Circuits are also bi metal strips and work the same way.

 

[Jontg]

Am I the only one who thought to say it? C'mon, don't tell me I have to bite the bullet here.

 

[Confuseling]

Projections of components contributing to sea level change from 1990 to 2100 (this period is chosen for consistency with the IPCC Second Assessment Report), using a range of AOGCMs following the IS92a scenario (including the direct effect of sulphate aerosol emissions) give:

* thermal expansion of 0.11 to 0.43 m, accelerating through the 21st century;
* a glacier contribution of 0.01 to 0.23 m;
* a Greenland contribution of –0.02 to 0.09 m;
* an Antarctic contribution of –0.17 to 0.02 m.

http://www.grida.no/climate/IPCC_tar/wg1/409.htm

So IPCC estimate it will be a more significant effect than ice, unless I'm completely misunderstanding something here.

ETA: The more recent report...

Since 1993 thermal expansion of the oceans
has contributed about 57% of the sum of the estimated individual
contributions to the sea level rise, with decreases in glaciers and
ice caps contributing about 28% and losses from the polar ice sheets
contributing the remainder.

http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar4/syr/ar4_syr.pdf

 

[Crazy Chainsaw]

http://www.grida.no/climate/IPCC_tar/wg1/409.htm

So IPCC estimate it will be a more significant effect than ice, unless I'm completely misunderstanding something here.

ETA: The more recent report...

http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar4/syr/ar4_syr.pdf

Water is one of the few substances that expands as it freezes, so Ice takes up more room than water.
So expansion from heating does not apply to Ice, thermal expansion occurs when Ice is cooled, so an Ice age is the thermal expansion of water, and global warming is themal contraction and filling of he ocean basin.

 

[Jontg]

Alright, alright, I'll do it.

"If I warm up my breasts with my hands, do you think they'll get bigger or smaller?"
- Asuka Langley Soryu, Neon Genesis Evangelion episode 10. First aired in 1995.

Yes, truthers, even a god damn Japanese cartoon has more science content than your demented ravings. Suck my weaboo [LIME POPSICLE].

 

[GlennB]

One of the firefighters' greatest fears in the "mill fires" in N England was the expansion of steel girders, as they tended to push out and cause sudden collapse of the walls.

No links available I'm afraid. The example comes from a pm conversation I had with a UK fire technician.

 

[mrbaracuda]

Alright, alright, I'll do it.

"If I warm up my breasts with my hands, do you think they'll get bigger or smaller?"
- Asuka Langley Soryu, Neon Genesis Evangelion episode 10. First aired in 1995.

Yes, truthers, even a god damn Japanese cartoon has more science content than your demented ravings. Suck my weaboo [LIME POPSICLE].

You sick, sick puppy! Bad puppy!

 

[Horatius]

I make that a not to be sniffed at 0.3%.

http://www.intrepidmuseum.org/pages/concorde

Space shuttles are another example, but perhaps the temperatures are rather extreme for our purposes. I don't know - how much does the actual body of a shuttle heat up during reentry, rather than just the shields? Where's R. Mackey when you need him?

The SR-71 also had to be designed with this in mind:

Major portions of the upper and lower inboard wing skin of the SR-71 were actually corrugated, not smooth. The thermal expansion stresses of a smooth skin would have resulted in the aircraft skin splitting or curling. By making the surface corrugated, the skin was allowed to expand vertically as well as horizontally without overstressing, which also increased longitudinal strength. Despite the fact that it worked, aerodynamicists were initially against the concept and accused the design engineers of trying to make a 1920s era Ford Trimotor — known for its corrugated aluminum skin — go Mach 3

They also had problems with leaking fuel tanks when on the ground - the tanks would expand to seal when in flight, but when they cooled, leaks would form.

To allow for thermal expansion at the high operational temperatures the fuselage panels were manufactured to fit only loosely on the ground. Proper alignment was only achieved when the airframe warmed up due to air resistance at high speeds, causing the airframe to expand several inches. Because of this, and the lack of a fuel sealing system that could handle the extreme temperatures, the aircraft would leak JP-7 jet fuel onto the runway before it took off.