A steel railroad track has a length of 26 m
when the temperature is −2
◦C.
What is the increase in the length of the
rail on a hot day when the temperature is
33 ◦C? The linear expansion coefficient of
steel is 11 × 10−6
(
◦C)−1
.
Answer in units of m. Suppose the ends of the rail are rigidly
clamped at −2
◦C to prevent expansion.
Calculate the thermal stress in the rail if
its temperature is raised to 33 ◦C. Young’s modulus for steel is 20 × 1010 N/m2
.
Answer in units of N/m2
