Nickel & Nickel Alloys

Applications and Characteristics

Nickel and nickel alloys are used for a wide variety of applications, the majority of which involve corrosion resistance and/or heat resistance where the material is subjected to harsh environments at high temperatures.

 Some of these include:

• Aircraft gas turbines
• Steam turbine power plants
• Medical applications
• Nuclear power systems
• Chemical and petrochemical industries
• Heat-Resistant Applications.

Nickel-based alloys offer excellent corrosion resistance to a wide range of corrosive media.

Nickel can have a profound effect on the thermal expansion of iron. Alloys can be designed to have a very low thermal expansion or display uniform and predictable expansion over certain temperature ranges.

• Iron-36% Ni alloy (Invar) has the lowest expansion of the Fe-Ni alloys and maintains nearly constant dimensions during normal variations in atmospheric temperature.
• The addition of cobalt to the nickel-iron matrix produces alloys with a low coefficient of expansion, a constant modulus of elasticity, and high strength.
• Nickel alloys are used in instruments and control equipment to measure and regulate electrical characteristics or are used in furnaces and appliances to generate heat.
• Commercially Pure and Low-Alloy Nickels have controlled compositions having nickel contents ranging from about 94% to virtually 100%. These materials are characterized by high density, offering magnetic and electronic property capabilities. They also offer excellent corrosion resistance to reducing environments, along with reasonable thermal transfer characteristics.

• Nickel-copper alloys have been found to possess excellent corrosion resistance in reducing chemical environments and in sea water, where they deliver excellent service in nuclear submarines and various surface vessels.