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Time-dependent thermal expansion of air?

Physics Asked by cyuut on May 18, 2021

Every solid, gas, liquid has a coefficient of thermal expansion (measured in e.g. %/K). This assumes an equilibrium state at the new temperature

My question is: what is the time rate of change thermal expansion of air (i.e. the units would be %/K/s)? Therefore enabling you to answer not only the question “what is the new volume?” but also “how long did it take to reach that new volume?”

I’m not expecting a simple relationship as there are spatial and physical non linearities in the problem. But are there e.g. empirical estimates?

Application: I have hot gas flowing into a duct in which a fan is installed. The gas is not at equilibrium (i.e. it is still expanding). The velocity in the duct will increase above the fan-induced velocity due to the expansion of the gas. I want to quantify this increase in velocity.

Is the answer: solve the compressible Navier Stokes equations?

One Answer

Air has a thermal conductivity value but it is very dependent on convective currents. In an experiment you would have trouble controlling how fast you got the heat into the air depending upon the geometry due to convection, i.e. surface area, external temp, surface characteristics etc. The thermal conductivity of air is very low in insulation because the air is trapped. Assuming you had this low constant value you could calculate the heating rate and hence the expansion.

Answered by PhysicsDave on May 18, 2021

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