News & Updates
The North American Copper Awards has recognized Zahner's copper metal-work for the Waipolu Gallery in Oahu, Hawaii.
![]()
Zahner completed the New Academic Building at Cooper Union in New York City. See the time-lapse construction video at Videos & Downloads.
President and CEO Bill Zahner is featured in the August Issue of Wired Magazine, where he has now been dubbed, the "Alpha Geek" of Metal. Read Article 
The NASCAR Hall of Fame project reached 1,000,000 man-hours without a "lost-time" accident milestone recently. In recognition for Zahner's achievement TBEKD presented a plaque to Zahner
See more awards
Bill Zahner named an Honorary Member of the
American Institute of Architects.

Introducing the Hands of the Artistâ„¢ division, where Zahner engineers and craftsmen produce projects for artists.

Zahner Resources
Thermal Movement
Expansion Coefficients and Expected Expansion of Various Metals at Normal Range
Temperatures of 38°C
Thermal Movement Analysis of Metal Fabrications

*A length of metal, 120 inches (roughly 3 meters), when installed outdoors can experience a
temperature differential of as much as 100°F (38°C). When this occurs, the metal will increase in
length the amount indicated for that metal. If the metal is to be subjected to a higher
temperature range, then you must allow for the additional expansion.
(Reference: Zahner, L. Architectural Metals: A Guide to the Selection, Specification and
Performance. New York: John Wiley, 1995, Page 17)
Most metals will undergo dimensional changes when subjected to variations in temperature.
For materials, there is a Coefficient of Thermal Expansion (also referred to as the coefficient of
linear expansion), that is defined as the unit length change of a solid when its temperature is
changed by 1 degree.
To determine the expected amount of expansion or contraction of a particular metal you need
to know the maximum expected high temperature and the minimum expected low temperature
the service life of the metal will experience.
You also need to know temperature the metal is at or expected to be at when it is installed.
For example;
Stainless steel alloy 304
Coefficient of Thermal Expansion (CTE) equals 0.0000165 in/in °C (refer to chart)
Determine the difference between the installed temperature and the maximum and minimum
temperatures expected.
T.hot = T.hot - T.install
T.cold = T.install - T.cold
Assuming the metal is being installed at 6°C (40°F)
The hottest expected service life temperature is 70°C (160°F)
The coldest expected service life temperature is -34°C (-30°F)
T.hot = 70 - 6 = 66
T.cold = 6 - (-34) = 40
Maximum expansion and contraction from the installed condition of 304 stainless under these
conditions is expected to be:
Maximum expansion per unit foot = 0.0000165 x 66 x 12 = 0.013 inches/ ft
Maximum contraction per unit foot + 0.0000165 x 40 x 12 = 0.008 inches / ft
Zahner Home | History + Mission | Innovations | BIM |
Awards & Recognition | Press Room | Current R & D |
Careers | Books By Zahner
Engineered Systems | Metal Palette |
Metal Surfaces | Zahner Resources | Photo Database |
Site Map | Contact Zahner
This site has been optimized for Internet Explorer 7.0, FireFox 1.0 or later.
© Copyright 2009 by Zahner Co. All rights reserved.
Special Access:
Employee Remote Access | Employee Email Access



