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    Corrotherm supplies a wide range of seamless nickel alloy pipes to our customers, but what are the advantages of using them in your industrial projects?

    Pipes are one of the most popular nickel-alloy products available and they’re employed in many different industrial fields. Superalloy pipes are often utilised in aeronautics, chemical processing and the oil and gas industry, among others. These environments are harsh and extreme due to a combination of factors. The presence of aggressive media, high temperatures and high pressure, gives design engineers a lot to think about. Selecting materials for these kinds of industrial projects means understanding the properties of different alloys and metals.

    There are that can be used to construct pipes, including titanium, steel and aluminium. However, there are certain benefits to opting for a nickel-based alloy, which we outline here.

    Corrosion resistance

    One of the biggest advantages of nickel-alloy pipes is that they are incredibly resistant to several different types of corrosion. This includes oxidising media, which is commonly present in many industrial environments. Nickel is slow to oxidise at room temperature and hence it is considered to be naturally corrosion resistant. High-performance nickel alloys are also resistant to reducing media, aggressive chemicals and seawater. Corrosion-resistance properties vary depending on the Grade chosen for your pipes. For example, the popular INCONEL alloy 625 has superior resistance to severely corrosive environments and is widely used in chemical processing as a result.

    Heat resistance

    Industrial environments tend to be incredibly hot. Materials need to be able to withstand these extreme conditions, without warping, corroding or losing strength. This is especially true in industries like rocketry, automotive and aerospace, where the right materials are paramount to the safety of the end product. Nickel alloys, especially those with a high amount of chromium, are particularly good at withstanding high temperatures. Nickel-copper alloys, such as MONEL alloy 400, are also incredibly resistance to heat extremes. This material is often used in heat exchanger piping and process vessels.

    Mechanical properties

    Nickel alloys have certain mechanical properties that make them useful in industrial operations. For example, they exhibit a low rate of thermal expansion. Expansion of a material can occur when exposed to high temperatures and this can affect the area, volume or shape of the material. This change in a material’s structure is undesirable in industrial applications where it’s imperative to retain the original size and shape. Nickel alloys can incorporate certain elements to help retain a low level of expansion, for example cobalt.

    Some nickel alloys, such as nickel-titanium, also have a good shape memory, a property that is rare among metal alloys. This refers to the ability of a material to go back to its original shape after heating up. Nickel alloys also exhibit magnetic permeability, which is an essential property for materials being used in generators, motors, turbines and power plants.

    See our full range of stock alloy grades that Corrotherm can supply as pipes, or Contact Us for more information.

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