Nickel is known to be one of the oldest metals discovered and used by man. It is found in abundance in the crust and core of the earth. Nickel has claimed to be a highly versatile metal. Nickel is desired for numerous applications in varying industries due to its excellent properties such as great ductility. Nickel is also highly useful when used as a filler metal to enhance the alloying properties and composition of various other metal alloys such as Stainless Steel. Nickel offers great endurance and resistance to corrosion. In high-temperature environments, these metal alloys excel, making them ideal for chemical plants and numerous other industries where constant exposure to caustic environments is a requirement.
How does Nickel Look? What are its properties?
Nickel (Ni) appears to be silverish or whitish. Nickel is a primordial element. It has a cubic crystalline structure that is face-centered. Nickel when kept at room temperature exhibits magnetic properties. The Atomic number of Nickel (Ni) is 28 and its atomic weight is 56.69. It has a melting point of around 1452 degrees Celsius. It is completely recyclable and recoverable.
Let’s discuss the properties of a few of the Commonly found Nickel Alloy Rings:
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Nickel-Iron:
The low rate of thermal expansion is one of the most desirable traits of the Nickel-iron alloy. This nickel alloy is also commonly referred to as Nilo 6 and Pernifer 6. The thermal expansion exhibited by nickel-iron alloy is way lesser than that of carbon steel. This leads to nickel-iron alloys being extremely dimensionally stable. Hence, they are used in precision equipment. Nickel Alloy rings with greater nickel concentration are used in transformers, inductors, and memory storage devices.
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Nickel-Copper:
This alloy is extremely resistant to salt-water corrosion. Thus, it is used for a wide range of marine applications. An example of Nickel-copper alloys is the Monel 400. It is seen to be used in marine pipelines, shafts, seawater valves, etc. These alloys have 60% of nickel and 30-38% of copper in their composition.
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Nickel-Molybdenum:
This grade of Nickel alloy offers great chemical resistance against concentrated acids such as sulfuric acid, hydrochloric acid, hydrogen chloride, and phosphoric acid. It composes of 29-30% of molybdenum. It is used in pressure vessels, valves, pumps, piping, and heat exchangers.
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Nickel-Chromium:
Nickel-Chromium alloys are a total powerhouse package. They have high resistivity to corrosion combined with incredible strength at extreme temperatures. They also have incredible electrical resistance. The commonly found and used grade of Nickel-Chromium alloy is Ni Cr 70/30. It has a melting point of around 1380 degrees Celsius. Manufacturers make rings out of Nichrome wires. Ni-Cr alloys find application in high heat elements, such as toasters and various other electrical heating appliances.
