CENTRE FOR FOUNDATION STUDIES

INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY MALAYSIA

SEMESTER 3 (2013/2014)
PHYSICS II (PHY0215) PROJECT
SECTION 78

TITLE:
INNEFICIENCY OF THERMAL EXPANSION IN CARS AND WAYS TO OVERCOME IT

MEMBERS NAME

MATRIC NUMBER

1) SYAHIRAH ADILAH BINTI RANI

134073

2) NUR ASYIQIN BINTI HAMZAH

132845

3) NUR SYAMIM BINTI AZLAN

133216

LECTURERS NAME:
SIR MOHAMMAD ZAHID

TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. INTRODUCTION

PAGE
3

2. DISCUSSION

4-7

3. CONCLUSION

4. REFERENCES

1. INTRODUCTION.

Thermal expansion is the tendency of matter to change in volume in response

to a change in temperature. As a substance heats up, the particles within the matter
move about, becoming more active as the temperature rises. This activity causes the
particle to need additional space between each other. The equation to describe this
concept is known as the coefficient of thermal expansion and can be defined by the
fact that the degree of expansion is divided by the change of temperature in a material.
The use of certain solid materials in construction and engineering is a direct result of
thermal expansion.
Amongst the factors affecting thermal expansion are temperature, the types of
material used and absorption and deabsorption of water. Common examples of
thermal expansion are the expansion of railway tracks and expansion in electric
cables.
On the other hand, an automobile, autocar, motorcar or simply, car is a
wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own
engine or motor. Most definitions of the term specify that automobiles are designed to
run primarily on roads, to have seating for one to eight people, to typically have four
wheels, and to be constructed principally for the transport of people rather than goods.
Although car is a good transportation, it cannot avoid from having problems in
its compartment due to thermal expansion. The components such as valve, engine,
tyre and fluid will become inefficiency. Therefore, we have listed problems and ways
to overcome those inefficiencies in car due to thermal expansion that has been
idealized by engineers before.

2. DISCUSSION

2.1 THERMAL EXPANSION IN CAR

The first component is tyre. Tyres are the main supporter for the car. When the
temperature inside the tyre increases, the pressure inside the tyre also increases. If the
car had been driven for more than about a mile, the friction with the road, flexing of
the tyre casing and flexing of the tread begins to heat up the air inside the tyre.
The second component is the valve, which is the air-conditioner valve. The
expansion valve regulates the flow of your refrigerant by compressing or expanding
according to how much pressure your air conditioner needs to effectively vaporize the
refrigerant inside it. Refrigerant is a substance that is usually a fluid used in a heat
pump and refrigeration cycle that undergoes change of phase from liquid to gas.
As the valve shrinks, less refrigerant flows into the evaporator coils. The
heated side of the refrigerant coils creates pressure that makes the refrigerant inside it
have a tendency to move faster. Refrigerant that spends more time in the evaporator
coils cools down to a lower temperature because the heat gets transferred to water that
sits within the coils.
Another third example of thermal expansion on the part of a liquid can be
found inside the car's radiator (engine) . If the radiator is "topped off" with coolant on
a cold day, an increase in temperature could very well cause the coolant to expand
until it overflows. In the past, this produced a problem for car owners, because car
engines released the excess volume of coolant onto the ground, requiring periodic
replacement of the fluid.
Later-model cars, however, have an overflow container to collect fluid
released as a result of volume expansion. As the engine cools down again, the
container returns the excess fluid to the radiator, thus, "recycling" it. This means that
newer cars are much less prone to overheating as older cars. Combined with
improvements in radiator fluid mixtures, which act as antifreeze in cold weather and
coolant in hot, the "recycling" process has led to a significant decrease in breakdowns
related to thermal expansion.
The fourth thermal expansion in car that we found is fluid. There are different
types of fluid that are used in cars such as motor oil, transmission fluids , brake fluid ,
power stering fluid, coolant, windshield washer fluid , and battery fluid . These fluids
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had different coefficients of thermal expansion. The term used when a temperature
increase in the fluid is viscosity. It is the measure of a fluids resistance to flow.
Viscosity will increase when the temperature drops and vice versa.

2.2 EFFECTS OF THERMAL EXPANSION IN CARS.

The effects of thermal expansion can bring bad effect to car. The first one is in
tyres. Overheated brakes, locked brakes, excessive braking, defective bearing, etc. can
cause the tyre temperature to rise dramatically. Those components must be checked if
temperature in one tire is significantly higher than the others. Under-inflated tyre has
bigger footprint and thus has bigger deformation and recovery cycle as tyre rotates.
More flexing will generate more heat. Overloading of vehicle can cause the tyre to
sustain more weight than designed and thus has bigger deformation as tyre rotates.
This is similar to under-inflation. The deformation of tyres is dangerous as it may lead
to explosion of the tyre and accident.
The second is valve. Valves used the concept of thermal expansion to regulates
the flow of refrigant by compress and expand due how much pressure the aircond
need to effectively to vaporize the refrigant inside it . Without an expansion valve, air
conditioner would simply blow air without any effect on temperature. It is because of
the uncontrolled flow rate of the interior refrigerant gas. However, with some
pressure, refrigerant cools when it passes through the evaporator coils and gives that
fresh breeze of cold air that anticipate when turning on the air conditioning unit.
The third is the effect of thermal expansion in engine . A century ago, when
the internal combustion engine was invented, climate change and peak oil were hardly
on the radar. But even today, a century later, with all we know now, a solid 85% of the
energy derived from oil is still wasted on the gas car. According to the EPA, 62% of
that loss is right in the drive line. About 17% is wasted in idling. Braking wastes
5.8%. Friction between wheels, bearings loses 4.2%, air resistance 2.6% and stereo,
A/C and power windows use 2.2%.
The fourth is the effects of thermal expansion of fluids in car . Temperature
extremes have a pronounced effect on component materials as well as machine
performance. When temperature is too low, fluid viscosity is high. At low
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temperatures, the fluid often reaches the point where it actually congeals and will no
longer flow (pour point). As the fluid heats up it begins to get thinner and get better at
protecting the metal surface and making the transmission shift. This lead to clutch
slippage among other things. The fluid deteriorates faster the hotter it gets. Towing
and hard driving are the main reason the transmission can overheat.

3. WAYS TO OVERCOME THERMAL EXPANSION.

Ways to overcome thermal expansion in tyre is by inflating the tyre with

nitrogen. When used to replace oxygen and other gases in tire inflation, it enhances
handling, improves fuel efficiency, extends tire life, protects the Earth and,
most importantly is safer on the road.
Most tires are filled with compressed air, which when dry consists of about 78
percent nitrogen, 21% oxygen, and 1% other gases by volume. Water vapor
(humidity) can make up as much as 5% of the volume of air under worst-case
conditions. By filling the tires with nitrogen, it eliminates moisture, and replaces
skinny oxygen molecules with fat nitrogen molecules, reducing the rate at which
compressed gas diffuses through porous tire walls. A tyre filled with nitrogen retains
optimal pressure longer, leading to more uniform tire wear and better gas mileage.
The commonly quoted figure is that tyres inflated to 32 psi get 3% better mileage than
at 24 psi.
For air-conditioner valve, some air conditioner manufacturers choose to
produce air conditioners with other types of flow control devices such as capillary
tubes and pistons, all of which perform the same purpose. Piston systems work with a
simple mechanism that lowers the piston to regulate refrigerant flow. A capillary tube
regulates flow by simply getting slimmer, involving few moving parts in the process,
if any. Therefore, the inefficiency due to thermal expansion can be reduced.

To overcome the thermal expansion in engine, engineers had discovered a

brilliant way, which is use electric or solar car , rather than using the cars that used
internal combustion engine in their cars. Electric vehicles are about 90% efficient in
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their use of electricity, but if people live in a state that is largely coal-powered
(Indiana, Wyoming, Kentucky) then the electricity itself is inefficiently produced.
Coal-fired power from the utility is typically only 30% efficient.
Solar power on the roof is the best option for powering an electric car if
someone live in one of the eight states where solar panels are now cheaper than the
utility with solar leases or power purchase agreements, with SunRun in California,
Arizona, Colorado, New Jersey and Massachusetts, Solar City in Oregon, California
and Texas, or Gro Solar in Pennsylvania and California. Solar may not be that
efficient either, but its wasted energy doesnt cause climate change and theres no
peak sunshine for the next few billion years. So in a conclusion, solar is an ecofriendly energy that didnt contribute to the damage of the system environment.
For fluid, the car users can overcome the thermal expansion to make their car
more efficient by installing a thermal relief valve at the pump outlet that predetermined settings to bleed the fluid back into the tank or container when thermal
expansion of the fluid occurs. It is better to use components such as pipe, fittings, and
hose that are pressure rated for at least four times the working pressure of the pump.
For example, 2000 psi for a 500 psi application.

4. CONCLUSION.
From the research that we have conducted, we conclude that there are many
inefficiencies in car and its component such as tyre, valve, engine and fluid due to
thermal expansion. The effects of thermal expansion in car can lead to damages of the
component, and hence endangering our life as it may lead to accidents. Despite that,
we have discovered some ways that have been idealised by engineers and researches
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to overcome the inefficiency of thermal expansion in car to maximise the efficiency of

the cars. Thus, we can have a safe and better journey in our car while having a
conversation happily with our family.
Thermal expansion, when viewed from a closer perspective, is the expansion
of atom of a substance, regardless whether it is a solid or liquid or gas. This expansion
is because of the change in temperature. Not restricted towards cars, lets have a
bigger look; the universe.
We created the heavens with Our strength and power, and constantly expand them.
(51:47)
The universe expands not because of thermal expansion, but because of Allahs
Greatness and Power. And so is the atom.
Another Islamic perspectives that we can see is from the usage of mind (aql) to
develop new technology to improve for a better world. For example, the discovery of
gas RF12, to replace Chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) gas in the air conditioner car. RF12
gas can reduced greenhouse effect and thus more eco-friendly than the CFC gas.
This teaches us to value the creation of Allah SWT and use it wisely. Allah had
granted us aql that differentiate us between human and animal. Thus we need to use
the aql wisely to be able to carry out our duty as a vicegerent in this world that can
protect the earth from damages.

5. REFERENCES
1. Wikipedia, Thermal Expansion, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_expansion
2. Why Nitrogen, http://getnitrogen.org/why/
3. February 16, 2007, Cecil Adam, Is it better to fill your tires with nitrogen instead of
air?, http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2694/is-it-better-to-fill-your-tireswith-nitrogen-instead-of-air
4. Ganot, A., Atkinson, E. (1883). Elementary treatise on physics experimental and
applied for the use of colleges and schools, William and Wood & Co, New York, pp.
2723.

5. Helen Burley, Chris Haslam, (Collins, 2008), Do Humans Dream of Electric Cars?
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6. Raymond A. Serway, Chris Vuille (2012), Serway College Physics 9th Edition