New member in our product range:
Electrical conductors made of pure nickel

Pure nickel maintains an extreme strength and durability at high temperatures, coupled with a good resistance level, even up to the point of downstream processing. At the same time, it has a comparatively high temperature coefficient of resistance (at 0.00600 1/°C) without losing its good conductivity of von 20% IACS. At room temperature, Nickel endures environmental influences such as air, water, hydrochloric acids and leaches well.

Basic properties of pure nickel

Material

Nickel (LEONI Histral® R20)

Symbol

 Ni

Material number

 2.4060

Standard

 DIN 17740

Composition

%-by-weight

 Nickel 99,6

Density

g/cm³ at 20°C

 8,9

Melting point

°C

 1726

% IACS min.*

 ≥ 20

Electrical conductivity

m/Ωmm² at 20°C

 13,9

Notes on properties and use
  • chemical element (transition metal)
  • corrosion protection due to high resistance to environmental influences from alkalis, salt spray and reducing chemicals
  • high temperature resistance
  • high temperature coefficient of resistance (at 0.00600 1/°C)
  • low hardness and good ductility in annealed condition
  • at room temperature ferromagnetic
  • high fatigue strength

* International Annealed Copper Standard = IACS
The relative electrical conductivity of copper has been set as being 100% IACS, with the following values derived from this for other metals:
silver = 106%, gold = 72%, iron = 17%

Applications

  • heating coils for spark plugs
  • lead wirs for heating conductors
  • control devices in extremely temperature-sensitive environments

General information

Nickel as a mineral in pure condition can hardly be found on our earth. For the most part, it has to be extracted from nickel-bearing ores in a rather cumbersome process. The first one to portray this element was a man named Axel Frederic Cronstedt, no earlier than in the middle of the 18th century. He was also its namesake.

Due to its outstanding resilience towards corrosive chemicals, Nickel or at least nickel-plated products are often used for making devices and tools related to the chemical industry. Nickel is widely used as an alloy material for coins and the refinement of steel. Adding on nickel leads to an improved corrosion resistance, hardness, strength and ductility in these cases.

The corrosion resistance mentioned above, but also its strength and durability even at extreme temperatures make nickel a most suitable coating material for copper wire. At a plating thickness of 27% of the total product weight, a temperature resistance of up to 750°C can be reached.

Wires and strands made of pure nickel and nickel alloys

Electrical conductors out of nickel alloys are mainly used as heating conductors (find out more about this topic in our specialist article on heating applications).

Pure nickel conductors are well-suited for those applications that require an even higher temperature resistance, e.g. in heating coils for spark plugs or lead wires for heating conductors. Moreover, Nickel features a relatively high temperature coefficient of resistance (0.00600 1/°C while maintaining a conductivity of 20% IACS). This coefficient indicates by how much the resistance of a conductor increases when it is exposed to a change in temperature. Consequently, it can be determined whether there has been a change in the temperature at any point in the conductor by gauging its resistance without being forced to carry out a temperature measurement. The higher the temperature coefficient of resistance is, the more accurate the measurement will be. This aspect makes nickel an ideal conductor for control devices in extremely temperature-sensitive environments.

Manufacturing range

Reinnickel

 LEONI Histral® R20

Single wire diameter

 Ø 0,15 mm – Ø 0,51 mm

Stranded conductor

 7-end or 19-end strands

Contact

Please contact us for other diameters or special constructions. If you have not yet purchased any pure-nickel wires or strands from us, just send us your product documentation or approach us about a product qualification.