About Nickel and Nickel Alloys
What is Nickel and Nickel Alloys?
A heavy non-ferrous metal material consisting of nickel-based addition of other alloying elements. In order to further improve the physical and chemical properties of nickel and meet the requirements of scientific, technological and industrial development, appropriate amounts of alloy elements are added to nickel.
Nickel alloys of heavy non-ferrous materials mainly include nickel alloys for electric vacuum, nickel alloys for thermocouple, Monel alloys, nickel beryllium alloys and nickel base catalyst alloys for synthetic diamond.
Nickel alloy ingots or castings are mainly produced by vacuum casting. The ingot is first rolled or stretched after hot rolling, extrusion or forging, intermediate heat treatment, and finally processed into the desired finished product. Some nickel-based superalloys are made directly from castings or parts required by powder metallurgy. Nickel alloys are mainly used in electronics, chemical, mechanical, medical, energy development and navigation, aviation and aerospace sectors.
Nickel is slowly oxidized by air at room temperature and is considered corrosion-resistant. It has been used for plating iron and brass, coating chemistry equipment, and manufacturing certain alloys that retain a high silvery polish. About 9% of world nickel production is still used for corrosion-resistant nickel plating.
Nickel is one of four elements that are ferromagnetic at approximately room temperature. About 68% of world production is used in stainless steel. A further 10% is used for nickel-based and copper-based alloys, 7% for alloy steels, 3% in foundries, 9% in plating and 4% in other applications, including the fast-growing battery sector.
Chemical Requirements — ASTM B161 & B165
| ASTM B161 (UNS N02200 / N02201) | ASTM B165 (UNS N04400) | ||||
| Element | UNS N02200 | UNS N02201 | Element | UNS N04400 | |
| Ni | 99 min | 99 min | Ni | 63.0 min | |
| Cu | 0.25 max | 0.25 max | Cu | 28.0 – 34.0 | |
| Fe | 0.4 max | 0.4 max | Fe | 2.5 max | |
| Mn | 0.35 max | 0.35 max | Mn | 2.0 max | |
| C | 0.15 max | 0.02 max | C | 0.3 max | |
| Si | 0.35 max | 0.35 max | Si | 0.5 max | |
| S | 0.01 max | 0.01 max | S | 0.024 max | |
Chemical Requirements — ASTM B167 Composition Limits, %
| ASTM B167 | |||||||
| Element | N06025 | N06045 | N06600 | N06601 | N06603 | N06617 | N06674 |
| Nickel | remainder | 45.0 min | 72.0 min | 58.0–63.0 | remainder | 44.5 min | remainder |
| Chromium | 24.0–26.0 | 26.0–29.0 | 14.0–17.0 | 21.0–25.0 | 24.0–26.0 | 20.0–24.0 | 21.5–24.5 |
| Iron | 8.0–11.0 | 21.0–25.0 | 6.0–10.0 | remainder | 8.0–11.0 | 3.0 max | 20.0–27.0 |
| Aluminum | 1.8–2.4 | — | — | 1.0–1.7 | 2.4–3.0 | 0.8–1.5 | — |
| Carbon | 0.15–0.25 | 0.05–0.12 | 0.15 max | 0.10 max | 0.20–0.40 | 0.05–0.15 | 0.10 max |
| Molybdenum | — | — | — | — | — | 8.0–10.0 | — |
| Cobalt | — | — | — | — | — | 10.0–15.0 | — |
Mechanical Properties — ASTM B161 (UNS N02200 / N02201)
| ASTM B161 — Mechanical Properties | ||||||
| Condition and Size | Tensile Strength min, psi (MPa) | Yield Strength min, psi (MPa) | Elongation min % | |||
| Annealed: 5 in. and under OD | 55,000 (380) | 50,000 (345) | 15,000 (105) | 12,000 (80) | 35 | |
| Over 5 in. OD | 55,000 (380) | 50,000 (345) | 12,000 (80) | 10,000 (70) | 40 | |
| Stress-Relieved: All sizes | 65,000 (450) | 60,000 (415) | 40,000 (275) | 30,000 (205) | 15 | |