Chemical Formula

Ni

Topics Covered

• Background
• Corrosion Resistance
• Properties of Commercially Pure Nickel
• Fabrication of Nickel

Background

Commercially pure or low alloy nickel finds its main application in chemical processing and electronics.

Corrosion Resistance

Because of pure nickel’s corrosion resistance, particularly to various reducing chemicals and especially to caustic alkalis, nickel is used to maintain product quality in many chemical reactions, particularly the processing of foods and synthetic fibre manufacture.

Properties of Commercially Pure Nickel

Compared to nickel alloys, commercially pure nickel has high electrical conductivity, a high Curie temperature and good magnetostrictive properties. Nickel is used for electronic lead wires, battery components, thyratrons and sparking electrodes.

Nickel also has good thermal conductivity. This means it can be used for heat exchangers in corrosive environments.

Table 1. Properties of Nickel 200, the commercially pure grade (99.6% Ni).

Fabrication of Nickel

Annealed nickel has a low hardness and good ductility. Nickel, like gold, silver and copper, has a relatively low work hardening rate, i.e. it does not tend to become as hard and brittle when it is bent or otherwise deformed as do most other metals. These attributes, combined with good weldability, make the metal easy to fabricate into finished items.

Nickel in Chromium Plating

Nickel is also frequently used as an undercoat in decorative chromium plating. The raw product, such as a brass or zinc casting or a sheet steel pressing is first plated with a layer of nickel approximately 20µm thick. This gives it its corrosion resistance. The final coat is a very thin ‘flash’ (1-2µm) of chromium to give it a colour and tarnish resistance that is generally regarded as more desirable in plated ware. Chromium alone would have unacceptable corrosion resistance because of the generally porous nature of chromium electroplate.

Property Table

Source: Abstracted from Handbook of Engineering Materials, 5th Edition.

For more information on this source please visit The Institute of Materials Engineering Australasia.

Nickel in elemental form or alloyed with other metals and materials has made significant contributions to our present-day society and promises to continue to supply materials for an even more demanding future. Nickel has always been a vital metal for a wide variety of industries for the simple reason that it is a highly versatile material that will alloy with most other metals.

Nickel is a versatile element and will alloy with most metals. Nickel alloys are alloys with nickel as principal element. Complete solid solubility exists between nickel and copper. Wide solubility ranges between iron, chromium, and nickel make possible many alloy combinations. Its high versatility, combined with its outstanding heat and corrosion resistance has led to its use in a diverse range of applications; such as Aircraft gas turbines, steam turbines in power plants and its extensive use in the energy and nuclear power markets.

Applications and Characteristics of Nickel Alloys

Nickel and nickel alloys are used for a wide variety of applications, the majority of which involve corrosion resistance and/or heat resistance. Some of these include:

• Aircraft gas turbines
• Steam turbine power plants
• Medical applications
• Nuclear power systems
• Chemical and petrochemical industries
• Heating and Resistance parts
• Isolators and Actuators for communication
• Automotive Spark plugs
• Welding consumables
• Power Cables

A number of other applications for nickel alloys involve the unique physical properties of special-purpose nickel-based or high-nickel alloys. These include:

• Electrical resistance alloys
• Nickel-Chromium alloys and Nickel-Chromium-Iron alloys
• Copper-Nickel alloys for heating cables
• Thermocouple Alloys for sensors and cables
• Nickel Copper alloys for Weaving-Knitting
• Soft magnetic alloys
• Controlled-expansion alloys
• Welding Filler Materials
• Dumet wire for Glass to metal seal
• Nickel plated Steel
• Lighting Alloys