Nickel alloying element

For example,copper has relatively good corrosion resistance under non-oxidizing conditions. It can be alloyed with zinc to yield a stronger material (brass), but with lowered corrosion resistance. Flowever, by alloying copper with a passivating metal such as nickel, both mechanical and corrosion properties are improved. Another important alloy is steel, which is an alloy between iron (>50%) and other alloying elements such as carbon. 

Common alloying elements include nickel to improve low temperature mechanical properties chromium, molybdenum, and vanadium to improve elevated-temperature properties and silicon to improve properties at ordinary temperatures. Low alloy steels ate not used where corrosion is a prime factor and are usually considered separately from stainless steels. 

From 760 to 960°C, circulating fans, normally without baffles, are used to improve temperature uniformity and overall heat transfer by adding some convection heat transfer. They create a directional movement of the air or atmosphere but not the positive flow past the heating elements to the work as in a convection furnace. Heating elements ate commonly chrome—nickel alloys in the forms described previously. Sheathed elements are limited to the very low end of the temperature range, whereas at the upper end silicon carbide resistors may be used. In this temperature range the selection of heating element materials, based on the combination of temperature and atmosphere, becomes critical (1). 

Chrome—nickel alloy heating elements that commonly ate used in low temperature furnaces are not suitable above the very low end of the range. Elements commonly used as resistors are either silicon carbide, carbon, or high temperature metals, eg, molybdenum and tungsten. The latter impose stringent limitations on the atmosphere that must be maintained around the heating elements to prevent rapid element failure (3), or the furnace should be designed to allow easy, periodic replacement. 

Plain Carbon and Low Alloy Steels. For the purposes herein plain carbon and low alloy steels include those containing up to 10% chromium and 1.5% molybdenum, plus small amounts of other alloying elements. These steels are generally cheaper and easier to fabricate than the more highly alloyed steels, and are the most widely used class of alloys within their serviceable temperature range. Figure 7 shows relaxation strengths of these steels and some nickel-base alloys at elevated temperatures (34). 

Molybdenum, an unusually versatile alloying element, imparts numerous beneficial properties to irons and steels and to some alloy systems based on cobalt, nickel, or titanium. Comprehensive summaries of uses through 1948 (24) and 1980 (25) are available. 

Nickel [7440-02-0] Ni, recognized as an element as early as 1754 (1), was not isolated until 1820 (2). It was mined from arsenic sulfide mineral deposits (3) and first used in an alloy called German Silver (4). Soon after, nickel was used as an anode in solutions of nickel sulfate [7786-81 A] NiSO, and nickel chloride [7718-54-9] NiCl, to electroplate jewelry. Nickel carbonyl [13463-39-3] Ni(C02)4, was discovered in 1890 (see Carbonyls). This material, distilled as a hquid, decomposes into carbon monoxide and pure nickel powder, a method used in nickel refining (5) (see Nickel and nickel alloys). 

Residual alloying elements such as copper, nickel, or tin are usually considered undesirable. Their main source is purchased scrap. Because of the generally high consumption of hot metal in the basic-oxygen process, the residual alloy content is usually sufficiently low, depending on the quaUty of the purchased scrap. 

Alloying elements either enlarge the austenite field or reduce it. The former include manganese, nickel, cobalt, copper, carbon, and nitrogen and are referred to as austenite stabilizers. 

Alloying elements such as nickel, chromium, molybdenum, and copper, which may be introduced with scrap, can increase the hardenability, although only slightly, because the concentrations are ordinarily low. However, the heat-treating characteristics may change, and for appHcations in which ductihty is important, as in low carbon steels for deep drawing, the increased hardness and lower ductiHty imparted by these elements may be harmful. 

An important item in this array of matenals is the class known as maraging steels. This group of high nickel martensitic steels contain so Htde carbon that they are often referred to as carbon-free iron—nickel martensites (54). Carbon-free iron—nickel martensite with certain alloying elements is relatively soft and ductile and becomes hard, strong, and tough when subjected to an aging treatment at around 480°C. 

The important (3-stabilizing alloying elements are the bcc elements vanadium, molybdenum, tantalum, and niobium of the P-isomorphous type and manganese, iron, chromium, cobalt, nickel, copper, and siUcon of the P-eutectoid type. The P eutectoid elements, arranged in order of increasing tendency to form compounds, are shown in Table 7. The elements copper, siUcon, nickel, and cobalt are termed active eutectoid formers because of a rapid decomposition of P to a and a compound. The other elements in Table 7 are sluggish in their eutectoid reactions and thus it is possible to avoid compound formation by careful control of heat treatment and composition. The relative P-stabilizing effects of these elements can be expressed in the form of a molybdenum equivalency. Mo (29) ... 

Mechanical properties depend on the alloying elements. Addition of carbon to the cobalt base metal is the most effective. The carbon forms various carbide phases with the cobalt and the other alloying elements (see Carbides). The presence of carbide particles is controlled in part by such alloying elements such as chromium, nickel, titanium, manganese, tungsten, and molybdenum that are added during melting. The distribution of the carbide particles is controlled by heat treatment of the solidified alloy. 

Copper is primarily alloyed to increase strength, however, electrical and thermal conductivities, corrosion resistance, formabiUty, and color are also strongly affected by alloying. Elements typically added to copper are 2inc, tin, nickel, iron, aluminum, siUcon, chromium, and beryUium. 

Copper-alloy corrosion behavior depends on the alloying elements added. Alloying copper with zinc increases corrosion rates in caustic solutions whereas nickel additions decrease corrosion rates. Silicon bronzes containing between 95% and 98% copper have corrosion rates as low as 2 mil/y (0.051 mm/y) at 140°F (60°C) in 30% caustic solutions. Figure 8.2 shows the corrosion rate in a 50% caustic soda evaporator as a function of nickel content. As is obvious, the corrosion rate falls to even lower values as nickel concentration increases. Caustic solutions attack zinc brasses at rates of 2 to 20 mil/y (0.051 to 0.51 mm/y). 

Since the rate of formation of cementite is determined by nucleation, and therefore proceeds more rapidly in fine-grained steels, it follows that the T-T-T diagram will show a more rapid onset of austenite decomposition than in steels of the same composition, but a coarser grain size. The shape of the T-T-T curve is also a function of the steel composition, and is altered by the presence of alloying elements at a low concenuation. This is because the common alloying elements such as manganese, nickel and clrromium decrease... 

The composition of turbine blades is a complex mixture of alloying elements in solid solution in nickel. A typical alloy would contain Al, Cr, Mo, Co or Ta in amounts up to 10 atom per cent of the particular elements which are chosen. Of drese all except cobalt form substantially more stable oxides than... 

As you can see from the tables in Chapter 1, few metals are used in their pure state -they nearly always have other elements added to them which turn them into alloys and give them better mechanical properties. The alloying elements will always dissolve in the basic metal to form solid solutions, although the solubility can vary between <0.01% and 100% depending on the combinations of elements we choose. As examples, the iron in a carbon steel can only dissolve 0.007% carbon at room temperature the copper in brass can dissolve more than 30% zinc and the copper-nickel system - the basis of the monels and the cupronickels - has complete solid solubility. 

Low-carbon, low-alloy steels are in widespread use for fabrication-welded and forged-pressure vessels. The carbon content of these steels is usually below 0.2%, and the alloying elements that do not exceed 12% are nickel, chromium, molybdenum, vanadium, boron and copper. The principal applications of these steels are given in Table 3.8. 

Nickel is the alloying element used for improving low-temperature ductility. The addition of 1.5% nickel to 0.25% Cr/0.25%Mo steels provides satisfactory application for moderately low temperatures down to about -50°C. 

Heat treatment by quenching and tempering improves the low temperature ductility of steels such as 0.5 Cr, 0.5% Mo, 1% Ni Type V. For lower-temperature application (below -196°C), up to 9% nickel is used as the sole alloying element. 

Steel is essentially iron with a small amount of carbon. Additional elements are present in small quantities. Contaminants such as sulfur and phosphorus are tolerated at varying levels, depending on the use to which the steel is to be put. Since they are present in the raw material from which the steel is made it is not economic to remove them. Alloying elements such as manganese, silicon, nickel, chromium, molybdenum and vanadium are present at specified levels to improve physical properties such as toughness or corrosion resistance. 

Cast irons are iron with high levels of carbon. Heat treatments and alloying element additions produce gray cast iron, malleable iron, ductile iron, spheroidal cast iron and other grades. The mechanical properties vary significantly. Nickel-containing cast irons have improved hardness and corrosion resistance. Copper or molybdenum additions improve strength. 

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