Coefficient of linear thermal expansion (CTE)

Describes the linearized change in length of a material with a change in temperature. The coefficient a is therefore material-specific.

The change in length is described as follows:

dL = L0 * a * dT

  • dL represents the change in length
  • L0 denotes the output length
  • a is the linear coefficient of thermal expansion of the material
  • dT stands for the change in temperature
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