Calculating Lengths - To determine required lengths of a tube before bending, the lengths of the straight section lengths are added to curved section lengths, to arrive at proper allowance for bends.

Follow these rules to determine curved section lengths: (For these calculations, the radius is measured to the center of the tube):

Rule 1: to find length of a 90° bend, multiply the radius of the bend by 1.57.

Rule 2: to find the length of a 180° bend or U bend, multiply the radius of the bend by 3.14.

Rule 3: to find lengths of sections having curvatures of other than 90° and 180°; multiply the bend radius by the included angle, in degrees, then multiply the product by the constant 0.0175. The results length of the curved section.

Burst and Safe Pressure; Weight Per Foot - The formula for calculating the bursting pressure of copper tubing is as follows:

BP = 2ST/ O.D.
where, S = Tensile strength in lbs./in.2

(Soft copper 30,000#, Hard copper 46,000#)

T = Wall thickness inches
O.D. = Outside diameter

Safe pressure: calculating the safe working pressure for copper tubing: divide the bursting pressure by the desired safety factor (5, 6, 7, 10 etc.)

Weight per foot: The formula is Lbs./ft. = [(O.D. - Wall Thickness) x Wall Thickness] x "S" (Constant)
See % Composition for "S" factor

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