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Nickel Alloys
Nickel alloys are metal alloys in which nickel has the highest
percentage of any other element used in its composition. Nickel is an
incredibly common alloying element since it is both highly versatile and
able to alloy with almost any metal. As a whole, nickel-based alloys
offer heat-resistance as well as high corrosion-resistance against a
broad spectrum of corrosive media such as chemical, alkalis, petroleum
and seawater.
Some common elements
that nickel is alloyed with to form nickel alloys included iron, copper,
chromium, manganese, carbon and silicon. As a result of the wide range of
elements that nickel is able to alloy to, there is a correspondingly vast
number of industries that nickel alloys are utilized in including: medical,
used in eye-glass frames, hypodermic tubing, surgical sutures and more; power
generation, for use in steam turbine power plants, nuclear power plants and
varied other applications; military, used in weapons, vehicles and
identification tags; industrial manufacturing, for use in corrosive material
handling and various machinery such as direct current (dc) motors or
generators; marine, for shipping vessels, off-shore oil rigs and small parts
such as springs or fasteners; and aerospace, for use in gas turbines, jet engines
and components such as piping and shims.
There are a vast number of nickel alloys, which are often
categorized in terms of their second most prominent element, the
characteristics they display, or the uses they are being put to. For instance, a
nickel alloy with the composition of 55% nickel and 45% titanium is referred to
as Nitinol, also called a nickel-titanium alloy, or a shape memory alloy. Another
example is a nickel alloy with a composition of 80% nickel and 20% chromium,
called Nichrome, also called a nickel-chromium alloy, or an electrical
resistance alloy. Some other popular types of nickel alloys include Hastelloy,
Cupronickel, Monel, Inconel, German silver and Alumel. The many nickel alloys
are typically broken down into four main types in regards to their
characteristics: low-expansion alloys, which include nickel alloys that are
specifically engineered to have low thermal expansion; electrical resistance
alloys, which are nickel alloys with a high nickel content; soft magnetic
alloys, which are nickel alloys with high magnetic permeability and low
saturation induction; and shape memory alloys, which are nickel alloys that are
capable of returning to their prior shape upon undergoing the appropriate
heating schedule. Electrical resistance alloys include two sub-categories:
resistance alloys and heating alloys, which contain silicone and possibly
niobium in addition to nickel and chromium.
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Nickel Alloys – Best Stainless & Alloys |
Nickel Alloys – Aero Specialties Material Corp. |
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Nickel Alloys – Falcon Stainless & Alloys Corporation |
Nickel Alloys – Best Stainless & Alloys |
Nickel Alloy Informational Video