Physical Metallurgy of Nickel

Muhammed Labeeb
Introduction
▪ Nickel is an element with the chemical symbol Ni and atomic number 28
▪ Nickel is the fifth most abundant element on earth
▪ It is in the first row of the d block of transition metals, alongside iron and cobalt
▪ It is a silvery-white lustrous metal
Properties
▪ The atomic weight of Ni is 58.71
▪ The crystal structure is face-centred cubic, from ambient conditions to the melting
point

▪ Melting point is 1455 °C

Properties
▪ Density is 8.908 g/cc or 8907 kg/m3
▪ Thus, compared with other metals used for aerospace applications, for example,
Ti (4508 kg/m3) and Al (2698 kg/m3), Ni is rather dense.
▪ This is a consequence of a small interatomic distance, arising from the strong
cohesion provided by the outer d electrons
▪ Nickel is ferromagnetic in nature, and so nickel based alloys like Alnico is used to
make permanent magnets
▪ Because of nickel's slow rate of oxidation at room temperature, it is considered
corrosion-resistant
Properties

Young's modulus 200 GPa

Shear modulus 76 GPa
Bulk modulus 180 GPa
Poisson ratio 0.31
Mohs hardness 4.0
Vickers hardness 638 MPa
Brinell hardness 700 MPa
Properties
▪ Atomic Radius (pm): 124
▪ Atomic Volume (cc/mol): 6.6
▪ Specific Heat (@20°C J/g mol): 0.443
▪ Fusion Heat (kJ/mol): 17.61
▪ Evaporation Heat (kJ/mol): 378.6
▪ Lattice Constant (Å): 3.520
Uses
▪ Nickel is primarily used in the preparation of alloys, mostly stainless steel
▪ Nickel is widely used to make superalloys
▪ Other uses include protective coatings, batteries, catalyst, colouring glass,
permanent magnets etc..
References
▪ Roger C. Reed, The Superalloys Fundamentals and Applications, Cambridge
University Press, 2006
▪ http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/materials-science-and-engineering/3-40j-physical-
metallurgy-fall-2009/