“Ni” abbreviated as nickel is one of the major constituent of stainless steel which is solely responsible for providing strength and hardness to its parent alloy. More than two-third of the total Nickel produced in the world is used in the making of stainless steel. Though, Nickel is present in more or less amount in all types of stainless steels like duplex and precipitation hardened steel but it plays a crucial role in SS 300 series by stabilising austenitic (face-centred cubic lattice) phase in its core structure. Some of the important grades among them are SS-304 and SS-316 which contains about 8-10% and 10-13% of Nickel respectively. Among all stainless steel product available worldwide, 75% of them have Nickel embedded in their composition.
Nickel is quite similar to a silvery white metal in terms of appearance and remain present in the form of crystalline cubic structure. It is malleable, ductile, possess good strength, metal dusting and corrosion resistant properties. Nickel also acts as a good conductor of heat and electricity and exhibits magnetic properties below 345ºC. It is able to withstand acute cryogenic conditions due to its high melting and boiling point i.e, 1555ºC & 2835ºC respectively.
After having a brief study of Ni physical properties, now the question arises what made Nickel to be used so extensively in Stainless Steel. Let us have a close outlook on some properties imparted by Nickel to stainless steel like formability, weldability, hot working, toughness and sustainability etc.
Formability
This property along with ductility is governed by austenitic phase structure, which in turns increases on adding a higher amount of Nickel. This addition make stainless steel suitable for carrying out deep drawing operations used for manufacturing of products like kitchen sinks and cooking utensils. Ni addition in appropriate amount also reduces the risk of cold cracking and work-hardening tendencies.
Weldability
Austenitic Stainless Steels undergo weldability in excellent manner both in thick and thin weld sections due to addition of Nickel because it increases hot strength working of material which doesn’t allow it to get brittle upon high temperature grain growth. The welds so formed can sustain high intensity bend and impact tests.
Hot Strength and Toughness
Ni addition provides protection to stainless steel against creep i.e, when mechanical stresses are applied at high temperature for a long time. Most stainless steels exhibit good toughness at room temperature but austenites do exhibit the same at liquid helium temperature also i.e, -270ºC that is why grades like SS 304 and SS 316 are preferred for cryogenic applications.
Sustainability
Nickel plays a pivotal role in maintaining sustainability of stainless steel not only it has technical and economical aspects on the industry but also it pays tributes to environment by being eco-friendly. Nickel is a highly recyclable metal due to which its products can be recycled after their life time ends. Stainless Steel manufactures saves almost one third of cost by producing steel through steel scrap in contrast to producing the same by using 100% pure constituent materials, thereby making the process highly energy efficient. The longevity of Nickel makes stainless steel more durable, tougher, versatile and user friendly.
The excavation, production, use, reuse and recycling of Nickel in industry proves the fact 60% of total stainless steel manufacturing is being done through re-melting its own scrap. The phenomenon is making the countries to develop and prosper meanwhile opening a wide arena of research in Nickel industry. Hence , there lies a great scope of both research and development. In the end we can say that
“What makes food taste better is pickle & what makes stainless steel test better is Nickle.”
About Us
Ambica Steels Limited is one of the leading stainless steel long products manufacturers from India. We have over 5 decades of experience is stainless steel manufacturing. Our product range of duplex stainless steel covers the following grades-
For any further information on any of the Stainless steel grades, feel free to get in touch with us at info@ambicasteels.com or https://ambicasteels.com/contact-us/
Author Bio
Eresh Sharma
The author is a Sales Engineer with Ambica Steels Limited. In his free time, he likes to write blogs and articles on Materials Science and Engineering, Technology, Steel Industries, Lifestyle and much more.
