Nickel is one of the most commonly used alloying elements, being added to hundreds of different types and grades of materials, from Stainless steel to high-performance aerospace alloys used in turbine engines.
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One of the main reasons Nickel is used as an alloying element is for its ability to increase strength and corrosion resistance, particularly in high-temperature applications. Nickel also readily alloys with other elements such as Chromium, Molybdenum and Iron, making the production of said alloys more successful.
Whilst the alloying elements greatly affect the properties of Nickel alloys, the appearance is generally the same, with a lustrous (shiny) white/gray surface.
A good way to identify most Nickel alloys is to check the color and shape of the sparks when ground with a high-speed grinding wheel. Nickel and its alloys produce few, short orange sparks. This is in contrast to Iron alloys that produce lots of log orange sparks.
Because Nickel is so prominent as an alloying element, there are hundreds of different Nickel alloy products.
Wrought or pure nickel is often utilized for its excellent corrosion resistance, particularly against caustic substances. It is also used for producing electrical components, often stamped from strip material.
Strength and Ductility &#; Wrought Nickel has relatively low strength compared to some nickel alloys, but good ductility. Weldability is good, with many compatible consumables available commercially. Wrought Nickel has excellent corrosion resistance and is often used for its resistance to caustic corrosion even at high temperatures.
The principle uses of Nickel-Iron alloys exploit the material&#;s extremely low coefficient of thermal expansion. This makes it ideal for scientific instruments that rely on accurate dimensional tolerance across a wide temperature range.
Nickel-iron alloys are typically very soft and malleable, making them ideal for use as seals in metal-to-glass applications. Another revered characteristic is its magnetic properties, giving rise to its use in transformers, amplifiers and more.
Nickel Copper alloys offer excellent resistance to alkaline solutions and seawater. Common uses include brine processing equipment or allied applications in the food industry.
Inconel is capable of being fabricated and welded to produce strong and durable components. It exhibits no ductile to brittle transition, meaning it retains its strength well into cryogenic temperatures.
One of the most commonly used Nickel-copper alloys is Inconel 400, a versatile alloy that is available in all common shapes and sizes such as bar, sheet, section and tube. This material is also readily forged and cast, allowing for extremely complex parts to be manufactured.
It finds perfect applications in valve bodies, hydraulic tubing, and firewater systems.
These alloys are primarily used for components that are resistant to ferric and cupric acids. Despite containing 26-30% molybdenum, they are available in many different shapes for fabricating into complex components.
One of the most common Nickel-Molybdenum alloys is Hastelloy B-2. It is capable of resisting pure sulphuric and phosphoric acids, whilst being very weldable and easy to fabricate with. Nickel-molybdenum alloys also have a low thermal expansion coefficient and low-temperature performance.
With extremely high-temperature resistance, Nickel-chromium alloys are found in aerospace engineering and similar industries, where creep resistance is paramount. They are often work-hardenable, making them more versatile for high-strength applications that also require complex shapes and manufacturing processes.
Strength at extremely high temperatures is the main characteristic of Nickel-chromium alloys, with creep resistance being an allied benefit. Whilst weldability is not as high as other materials we&#;ve discussed, the material can be used to make complex shapes using other processes. Its corrosion and oxidation resistance is excellent and aids its use in aerospace turbine engine applications.
Some alloys previously considered Nickel-chromium-iron, have been reclassified as Stainless steels due to their high Iron content, but there are still alloys such as 825 and G-3 that are NI-Cr-Fe materials. The latter, also containing copper, has many applications concerning flue gas desulfurization systems.
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Good weldability allows this material to be used in the fabrication of complex shapes, pipework and process equipment. Its good resistance to phosphoric and sulphuric acids lends itself to the aforementioned gas desulfurization systems, also known as scrubbers. Its coefficient of expansion is low, and mechanical properties such as strength and relative hardness are high.
Adding Cobalt to Ni-Cr alloys significantly aids rupture and creep strength. The Cobalt atoms achieve this by enabling solid-solution strengthening of the material. As it has significantly improved creep resistance, NI-Cr-Co alloys are perfect for high-temperature applications.
Alongside improved strength and creep resistance, alloys such as HR-160 have very high resistance to sulfidizing environments, even at high temperatures. Weldability is good, with many filler materials being commercially available.
Alloy C-276 is the most widely used Ni-Cr-Mo alloy, the main plus point of this material being its excellent resistance to reducing acids such as hydrochloric and sulphuric. Alloy C-276 is commonly used to make pressure vessels, scrubbers and reactor vessels.
This alloy, like most Nickel-Chromium alloys, has very good high-temperature corrosion resistance, particularly against reducing acids. It has reasonably high strength, and high weldability, allowing it to be fabricated into complex shapes and assemblies.
Nickel is an incredibly useful material in industrial processes. Whilst it is generally too expensive to use for anything outside of its tailored use cases, its properties ranging from high and low-temperature corrosion resistance and strength to high weldability, make it perfect for processing industries involving caustic, acidic or other corrosive substances.
A nickel alloy is a metal that contains a percentage of nickel in its elemental makeup. Nickel is primarily alloyed with chromium, copper, iron, titanium, and molybdenum. Each of these alloy combinations has specific properties that make it best suited to a certain range of applications. For example, Inconel® has excellent corrosion, oxidation, and high-temperature resistance. Most nickel alloys exhibit good corrosion, oxidation, and high-temperature strength properties, with some exceptions. Nickel-iron alloys do not have the same levels of corrosion and oxidation resistance. Nickel alloys are often used in extreme working environments, such as those encountered in the aerospace, chemical processing, and petroleum industries but can also be used in electrical and electronics applications.
This article will describe what a nickel alloy is, where it is used, it's characteristics and physical properties, as well as the different types of nickel alloys and their uses.
The term nickel alloy refers to a metal that has nickel as one of its primary elements. Some types of nickel alloys are referred to as superalloys because of their superior oxidation and creep resistance, allowing them to be used at temperatures of more than half their melting points. Nickel alloys can be machined and welded but tend to pose some processing difficulties, as some alloys will work harden during machining, and their high melting points can make them difficult to weld.
The earliest record of the use of a potential nickel alloy was in China in 200 BCE, which spoke of a material called &#;white copper,&#; (most likely a nickel-silver alloy). In , German scientist Axel Fredrik Cronstedt was able to isolate nickel from a mineral called niccolite. The first nickel alloys contained copper and zinc. They were referred to as &#;German silver.&#; These early alloys were primarily used as ornamental materials.
Following the work of James Riley in , who produced an iron-chromium alloy, Dr. W.H. Hatfield discovered the benefits of adding nickel to these iron-chrome alloys to create austenitic stainless steel as it is known today, with its excellent corrosion resistance.
The vast majority of metals termed superalloys are nickel-based. Another term often used to describe nickel alloys is high-performance alloys. However, it is important to note that not all superalloys are nickel alloys.
Nickel alloys are typically made from a mixture of various metals and nickel. Although not all metals can be effectively combined with nickel. Some of the most common elements that can be alloyed with nickel are iron (Fe), chromium (Cr), aluminum (Al), molybdenum (Mo), copper (Cu), cobalt (Co), and titanium (Ti). These elements can be combined to produce alloys with different properties. For example, nickel, iron, molybdenum, and chromium alloys, such as stainless steel Type 316, have excellent corrosion resistance.
Nickel alloys are made with the same process used for most other metal alloys. The alloying elements must be chosen and their ratios must be confirmed. Next, the elements are all melted together in an arc furnace, for example. During smelting, the alloys are also purified. The nickel alloy is then cast into ingots after which it is formed using cold or hot working techniques.
Listed below are some common characteristics of nickel alloys:
The color of a nickel alloy depends entirely on its specific composition. Natural nickel has a silver-white appearance, and nickel alloys will have a similar color depending on their nickel content. Electroless nickel coatings can have a golden-brown appearance due to the presence of phosphorus in the coating.
In general, it may be difficult to differentiate nickel alloys from other metals which also have a metallic appearance. Nickel alloys can have a silver-white appearance, but this is highly dependent on the surface finish and composition of the alloy. A rough surface will give a dull appearance, whereas a smooth surface may appear reflective. Figure 1 below is an example of a nickel-chromium alloy:
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