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Abstract Cold uniaxial pressed PTFE compacts were subjected to thermal cycles of increasing maximum temperature below melting temperature, and thermal expansion was followed in both the compaction and transverse directions. The measurements reveal that thermal expansion consists of two distinct contributions: i) an irreversible part that is controlled only by the maximum temperature experienced by the sample, and ii) a reversible, or thermo-elastic, part that is observed while cycling below the maximum temperature. Moreover, both of these thermal strains exhibit marked anisotropy, resulting from the cold oedometric compaction of the sample. A quantitative analysis of these eigenstrains is proposed, following a formal analogy with elasto-plasticity. Finally, it is shown that such behavior is specific to cold-pressed compacts as sintered samples exhibit isotropic and purely reversible thermo-elastic behavior. Highlights • Thermal expansion of cold pressed PTFE compacts contains two anisotropic contributions, one reversible and one irreversible. • Dilatometric measurements during repeated cycles of increasing amplitude allows these two contributions to be distinguished. • The irreversible part of the thermal expansion is controlled solely by the maximum temperature experienced by the sample. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]