Cupro Nickel Tubes 90/10 for Heat Exchangers & Condensers
Cupro Nickel Tubes 90/10 for Automobile Industries
The Move To Copper-Nickel Tubing
Copper had been proved since the early days to have many good attributes. It was easy to bend and had very high corrosion resistance, but there was concern about its low corrosion-fatigue strength. When cupro nickel was introduced, it displayed corrosion resistance similar to copper, higher general strength and better fatigue strength.
Properties of Copper-Nickel Brake Tubing
The copper-nickel alloy used for brake tubing typically contains 10% nickel, with iron and manganese additions of 1.4% and 0.8% respectively. The product conforms to ASTM B466 (American Society for Testing and Materials), which specifies dimensions, tensile strength and yield strength. Formability and internal cleanliness conform to specifications SAE J527, ASTM A254 and SMMT C5B (Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders). Also, the alloy meets the requirements for pressure containment, fabrication and corrosion resistance for ISO 4038 (International Standards Organization) and SAE J1047.
Cupronickel or copper-nickel or "cupernickel" is an alloy of copper that contains nickel and strengthening elements, such as iron and manganese. Cupronickel is highly resistant to corrosion in seawater, because its electrode potential is adjusted to be neutral with regard to seawater. Because of this, it is used for piping, heat exchangers and condensers in seawater systems, as well as marine hardware, and sometimes for the propellers, crankshafts and hulls of premium tugboats, fishing boats and other working boats.
Cupronickel other registered as tradenames are Alpaka or Alpacca' (registered trademark), Argentan Minargent, and the French term name Cuivre blanc. Occasionally, cupronickel is also referred to as "hotel silver", plata alemana (Spanish for "German silver"), "German silver" and "Chinese silver".
Sometimes called cupro-nickels, there exists a range of different copper nickel alloys that possess different properties and hence are suited to a range of different applications. Some of the better known copper nickel alloys include:
Copper with 10% nickel
Copper with 30% nickel
Copper with 25% nickel with 0.05-0.4% manganese
Copper with 45% nickel (also known as constantan)
All copper nickel alloys consist of only one phase as the copper nickel binary system exhibits complete solid solubility.
Applications of Copper Nickel alloys
Sea Water Condensor Systems And Desalination Plants
Due to the good resistance to sea water corrosion, the copper nickel alloy Copper 90/10 and copper nickel alloy Copper 70/30 are employed for sea water condenser systems and in desalination plants, as well as pipe work in chemical plants.
Automotive Applications
Due to the fact that the copper nickel alloy Copper 90/10 requires no surface protection and hence gives extra safety, this copper nickel alloy is being increasingly employed for brake and hydraulic suspension systems and cooling systems in cars and commercial vehicles.
Marine Applications
The good resistance to biofouling and sea water corrosion resistance of the copper nickel alloys, Copper 90/10 and Copper 70/30 alloys have lead to its use in applications such as cladding for ships' hulls, legs of oil rig platforms and sea water intake screens.
Coins
The copper nickel alloys composed of copper with 25% nickel with 0.05-0.4% manganese is commonly used for the manufacture of coins, medals and other semi valuable applications.
Resistance Wire
Due to the very low temperature co-efficient of electrical resistivity, the copper nickel alloys composed of copper with 45% nickel alloy is used for resistance wire in high precision resistors. This property of copper nickel alloys allows the resistor to operate at almost exactly the same resistance regardless of temperature.
Thermocouples
The copper nickel alloys composed of copper-45% nickel alloy is also used for thermocouples as it develops a high and uniform EMF when coupled with other metals such as copper and iron.
Other
Copper nickel alloys are also used in cooling circuits, ammunition, sea water corrosion-resistant assemblies, condenser tubes.
Other Applications
Sea water pipework
Offshore fire water systems
Heat exchangers and condensers
Sheathing of legs and risers on offshore platforms and boat hulls
Alloy K-500 is a precipitation hardenable nickel copper alloy. K500 brings characteristics similar to Alloy 400 in respect to corrosion resistance, however, offers higher yield and tensile strength. Having characteristics of high corrosion resistance, K-500 is an ideal alloy for use in marine environments when the need for constant contact with salt water comes into play.
