INCONEL®
The registered trademark name, Inconel, is applied as the prefix name to more than twenty different highly corrosion resistant high temperature strength metal alloys produced by Special Metals Corporation. These Inconel alloys or superalloys are nickel-based alloys that exhibit traits such as high resistance to corrosion, oxidation, carburization, pitting, crevice, corrosion cracking, and high temperature strength. Often, Inconel is referred to as “Inco”.
Alloys of identical chemical and mechanical properties are available from other manufacturers and offer excellent alternatives to the various Inconel® brand alloys.
The corrosion-resistant superalloys are widely used in extreme environments where tremendous heat and corrosion resistance is paramount to the integrity of the end product. Chemical processing, nuclear, petrochemical, aerospace and marine industries widely use these superalloys.
Inconel Availability
What are the Characteristics of Inconel?
- Good resistance to acids, such as sulfuric, phosphoric, nitric, and hydrochloric
- Almost completely free from chloride induced stress corrosion cracking
- Excellent mechanical properties at both extremely low and extremely high temperatures
- Outstanding resistance to pitting, crevice corrosion and intercrystalline corrosion
- High resistance to oxidation at elevated temperatures
In what Applications are Inconel alloys used?
- Chemical and petrochemical processing
- Components where exposure to high mechanical stress and sea water are required
- Flare stacks on offshore oil platforms
- Gas turbines, rocket motors/engines, and space craft
- Pollution control equipment
- Nuclear reactors
Superalloys aka high performance alloys have become the steel of choice for corrosion resistance and versatility.
Inconel Trivia
North American Aviation constructed the skin of the X-15 rocket plane out of an Inconel® alloy known as Inconel HX.
*Inconel® is a registered trademark of Special Metals Corporation group of Companies.