Nickel alloys are found in a wide variety of equipment spanning multiple industries.
Nickel is a highly versatile material exhibiting several critical properties that make it ideal for industrial applications. Highly ductile, nickel is a highly versatile material that will alloy with most metals. It’s well-suited as an alloying element because it can be used to alter other metals’ properties.
Nickel is used widely to create various stainless-steel grades that resist corrosion and endure high temperatures, making them ideal for use in chemical plants where exposure to caustic substances occurs.
Enhancements that nickel provides when added to other materials, like titanium, copper, and iron, include:
• Improved versatility
• Increased toughness
• Added corrosion resistance
• Enhanced oxidation resistance
• Improved strength at higher/lower temperatures
• Increased magnetic properties
• Enhanced electronic properties
Nickel alloys perform well at temperatures above 1832°F (1000°C). That makes them ideal for harsh environments. They also offer excellent oxidation resistance at high temperatures. Yet, they still maintain quality weldability, workability, and ductility while offering extended service life.
Nickel alloys have an average life span of 25 to 35 years and are also highly recyclable. In fact, they’re among the most recyclable materials in the world. Half of the nickel in stainless steel, for example, comes from recycled nickel materials.
Common Types of Nickel Alloys
Nickel is versatile enough to be alloyed with most materials. The alloy definition of these alloys is one in which nickel is the primary element. Alloying with nickel can produce desired characteristics, including lower thermal expansion coefficients.
Below we describe the most commonly available nickel alloy types.
• Nickel-iron alloys
• Nickel-copper alloys
• Nickel-molybdenum alloys
• Nickel-chromium alloys
• Nickel-chromium-Iron alloys
• Nickel-chromium-Molybdenum alloys
• Nickel-chromium-cobalt alloys
• Nickel-titanium alloys
Suppliers of nickel alloys offer them various form options including angles, tubing, bars, rods, plates, flanges, forgings; and pipe and pipe fittings. Additional material form options are forged rings, billets, or blocks may be available from suppliers as needed by quote.
Nickel Alloy Properties
Nickel (NI) has a silvery-white appearance, with a face-centered cubic crystalline structure. Magnetic at room temperature, it also has a Curie temperature of 487°F (253°C), a melting point of 2647°F (1453°C), and a density of 8.90 g/cm3 @ 25° C.
Nickel alloys are resistant to softening and to metals loss at high temperatures from oxidation, sulfidation, or carburization. Nickel-based alloys come in three basic categories: high temperature, corrosion resistance, and electrical conductivity.