Monel

Monel is a group of nickel alloys, primarily composed of nickel (up to 67%) and copper, with small amounts of iron, manganese, carbon, and silicon. Stronger than pure nickel, Monel alloys are resistant to corrosion by many agents, including rapidly flowing seawater. They can be fabricated readily by hot- and cold-working, machining, and welding.

Monel was created by Robert Crooks Stanley, who worked for the International Nickel Company (INCO) in 1901. Monel alloy 400 is a binary alloy of the same proportions of nickel and copper as is found naturally in the nickel ore from the Sudbury (Ontario) mines and is therefore considered a puritan alloy. Monel was named after company president Ambrose Monell, and patented in 1906. One L was dropped, because family names were not allowed as trademarks at that time. The name is now a trademark of Special Metals Corporation.

It is a very expensive alloy, with cost ranging from 5 to 10 times the cost of copper and nickel, hence its use is limited to those applications where it cannot be replaced with cheaper alternatives. Compared to carbon steel, piping in Monel is more than 3 times as expensive.

Monel is a solid-solution binary alloy. As nickel and copper are mutually soluble in all proportions, it is a single-phase alloy. Compared to steel, Monel is very difficult to machine as it work-hardens very quickly. It needs to be turned and worked at slow speeds and low feed rates. It is resistant to corrosion and acids, and some alloys can withstand a fire in pure oxygen. It is commonly used in applications with highly corrosive conditions. Small additions of aluminium and titanium form an alloy (K-500) with the same corrosion resistance but with much greater strength due to gamma prime formation on aging. Monel is typically much more expensive than stainless steel.

Monel alloy 400 has a specific gravity of 8.80, a melting range of 1300-1350 °C, an electrical conductivity of approximately 34% IACS, and (in the annealed state) a hardness of 65 Rockwell B. Monel alloy 400 is notable for its toughness, which is maintained over a considerable range of temperatures.

Monel alloy 400 has excellent mechanical properties at subzero temperatures. Strength and hardness increase with only slight impairment of ductility or impact resistance. The alloy does not undergo a ductile-to-brittle transition even when cooled to the temperature of liquid hydrogen. This is in marked contrast to many ferrous materials which are brittle at low temperatures despite their increased strength.

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