Materials · Thermal Properties
Thermal Expansion Measurement
Beginner 2 weeks 10-15 hours
Heat aluminum, copper, and steel rods and measure how much they grow with a dial indicator, then calculate each metal's expansion coefficient.
Major
Materials
Focus area
Thermal Properties
Total hours
10-15 hours
What you'll need
- aluminum copper and steel round rod 12 inch
- dial indicator gauge 0.001 inch with magnetic base
- DS18B20 waterproof digital temperature sensor probe
- Arduino Uno R3 ATmega328P microcontroller board
- heat gun
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Steps
- Fix one end of each rod and place the dial indicator against the other end.
- Attach the temperature probe to the rod and log temperature with the Arduino.
- Heat the rod slowly and record length change at several temperatures.
- Repeat for each metal.
- Calculate each expansion coefficient and compare it to published values.
- Chart the results and document the setup for your portfolio.
What to photograph for your portfolio
- Test setup
- dial indicator reading
- expansion vs temperature chart
- measured vs published values
Resume bullet starters
Copy one, then swap in your own numbers.
Measured thermal expansion of [X] metals and calculated expansion coefficients within [X]% of published values
Built a temperature logging setup to pair each length reading with a precise temperature
Quantified results with [insert your result, such as hardness change, strength, efficiency, or error vs published values] and summarized findings in a technical report
Skills you'll show off
Thermal propertiesprecision measurementdata loggingerror analysislab methods