The 40-ft-long A-36 steel rails on a train track are laid with a small gap between them to allow for thermal expansion. Determine the required gap d so that the rails just touch one another when the temperature is increased from T₁= €“20°F to T₂= 90°F. Using this gap, what would be the axial force in the rails if the temperature rises to T₃= 110°F? The crosssectional area of each rail is 5.10 in².

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8-||- -8 40 ft -