Nichrome

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Nichrome (NiCr, nickel-chrome, chrome-nickel, etc.) are alloys of nickel, chromium, and often iron (and
possibly other elements). The most common usage is as resistance wire, though they are also used in some
dental restorations (fillings) and in a few other applications.

Contents
1 History
2 Uses
3 Properties
3.1 Table 1: Resistance per inch (), closed helix, 80/20 alloy.
3.2 Table 2: Current (A) vs. temperature characteristics, straight wire.
3.3 Table 3: Cold resistance ( at 75F) and wire gauge vs. power output (W) at operating
voltage (V).
4 Resistance of Nichrome Wire
5 Resistance of nichrome flat/strip and weight table
6 Additional properties
7 See also
8 References

History
Patented in 1905, Nichrome is the oldest documented form of resistance heating alloy. A common Nichrome
alloy is 80% nickel and 20% chromium, by mass, but there are many other combinations of metals for various
applications. Nichrome is consistently silvery-grey in colour, is corrosion-resistant, and has a high melting
point of about 1,400 C (2,550 F). Due to its low cost of manufacture, strength, ductility, resistance to
oxidation and stability at high temperatures, as well as its resistance to the flow of electrons, Nichrome is
widely used in electric heating elements such as in hair dryers and heat guns. Typically, nichrome is wound in
coils to a certain electrical resistance, and when current is passed through it the joule heating produces heat.

Uses
Almost any conductive wire can be used for heating, but most metals conduct electricity with great efficiency,
requiring them to be formed into very thin/ delicate wires in order to create enough resistance to generate heat.
Once heated, most metals then oxidize quickly, become brittle, and break when heated in air. When heated to
red hot temperatures, nichrome wire, however, develops an outer layer of chromium oxide,[1]
thermodynamically stable in air, mostly impervious to oxygen, and protects the heating element from further
oxidation.

Nichrome is used in the explosives and fireworks industry as a bridgewire in electric ignition systems, such as
electric matches and model rocket igniters.

Industrial and hobby hot-wire foam cutters use nichrome wire.

Nichrome wire is commonly used in ceramic as an internal support structure to help some elements of clay
sculptures hold their shape while they are still soft. Nichrome wire is used for its ability to withstand the high
temperatures that occur when clay work is fired in a kiln.

Nichrome wire can be used as an alternative to platinum wire for flame testing by colouring the non-luminous
part of a flame to detect cations such as sodium, potassium, copper, calcium etc.

Other areas of usage include motorcycle mufflers, in certain areas in the microbiological lab apparatus, as the
heating element of plastic extruders by the RepRap 3D printing community, in the solar panel deployment
mechanism of spacecraft LightSail-A, as the heating coils of electronic cigarettes.

The alloy price is controlled by the relatively more-expensive nickel content. Distributor pricing is typically
indexed to market prices for nickel.

Properties
The properties of nichrome vary depending on its alloy. Figures given are representative of typical material
and are accurate to expressed significant figures. Any variations are due to different percentages of nickel or
chromium.

Material property Value Unit

Modulus of elasticity 2.2 1011 Pa

Density 8400 kgm3

Melting point 1400 C

Electrical resistivity at room temperature (1.01.5) 106 m

Specific heat 450 Jkg1K1

Thermal conductivity 11.3 Wm1K1

Thermal expansion 14 106 K1

Standard ambient temperature and pressure

used unless otherwise noted.

Table 1: Resistance per inch (), closed helix, 80/20 alloy.

 Wire Gauge Outside Diameter of Helix (inches)[2]
(B&S No. / AWG)
34 58 12 38 14 732 316 532 18 332 116 132

14 0.446 0.365 0.283 0.202 0.121 0.101

15 0.638 0.523 0.408 0.293 0.178 0.148 0.120

16 0.895 0.735 0.575 0.415 0.255 0.215 0.175 0.135

17 1.32 1.08 0.851 0.617 0.383 0.325 0.266 0.208 0.150

18 1.89 1.56 1.22 0.891 0.559 0.475 0.392 0.309 0.226

19 2.60 2.14 1.69 1.23 0.779 0.665 0.551 0.438 0.324

20 3.72 3.07 2.42 1.78 1.13 0.967 0.805 0.644 0.482

21 4.53 3.58 2.63 1.68 1.45 1.21 0.971 0.733 0.496

22 4.98 3.67 2.36 2.03 1.70 1.37 1.05 .719

23 7.02 5.18 3.34 2.88 2.42 1.96 1.51 1.05

23 7.02 5.18 3.34 2.88 2.42 1.96 1.51 1.05

24 4.69 4.05 3.41 2.78 2.14 1.60 0.865

25 6.87 5.94 5.02 4.10 3.17 2.25 1.32

[2]

Table 2: Current (A) vs. temperature characteristics, straight wire.

Showing approximate current (in amperes) necessary to produce a given temperature. Applying only to
straight wires stretched horizontally in free air. Values for diameters from 0.040" through 0.010" are based on
coiling on an arbor 0.12" diameter and stretched to twice the close-wound lengths.[2]
 Wire
Gauge
Diam. 400 F 600 F 800 F 1000 F 1200 F 1400 F 1600 F 1800 F 2000 F
(B&S
(inches/mm) 204 C 316 C 427 C 538 C 649 C 760 C 871 C 982 C 1093 C
No. /
AWG)

12 0.081 2.057 11.34 15.91 20.27 25.53 31.77 39.03 46.73 54.80 63.01

13 0.072 1.829 9.73 13.53 17.21 21.61 26.89 33.06 39.60 46.41 53.31

14 0.064 1.626 8.34 10.50 14.59 18.30 22.76 28.01 33.56 39.31 45.11

15 0.057 1.448 7.15 9.78 12.38 15.50 19.26 23.73 28.44 33.30 38.17

16 0.051 1.296 6.13 8.31 10.50 13.11 16.30 20.10 24.10 28.20 32.30

17 0.045 1.143 5.31 7.18 9.13 11.30 13.90 16.90 20.30 23.60 27.00

18 0.040 1.016 4.66 6.26 7.90 9.75 11.96 14.51 17.37 20.48 23.08

19 0.036 0.914 4.09 5.46 6.84 8.41 10.30 12.45 14.87 17.78 19.73

20 0.032 0.813 3.58 4.77 5.92 7.25 8.86 10.69 12.72 15.43 16.87

21 0.0285 0.724 3.14 4.16 5.13 6.26 7.63 9.17 10.88 13.40 14.40

22 0.0253 0.643 2.76 3.63 4.44 5.40 6.56 7.87 9.31 11.63 12.33

23 0.0226 0.574 2.42 3.16 3.84 4.67 5.65 6.76 7.97 10.09 10.54

24 0.020 0.508 2.12 2.76 3.32 4.01 4.86 5.80 6.82 8.76 9.01

25 0.0179 0.455 1.84 2.42 2.90 3.44 4.15 4.97 5.86 6.96 7.72

26 0.0159 0.404 1.58 2.09 2.52 3.00 3.61 4.31 5.06 5.97 6.63

27 0.0142 0.361 1.34 1.80 2.19 2.62 3.14 3.73 4.37 5.12 5.69

28 0.0126 0.320 1.18 1.55 1.90 2.28 2.73 3.23 3.77 4.39 4.88

29 0.0113 0.287 1.02 1.34 1.65 1.99 2.37 2.80 3.25 3.76 4.39

30 0.010 0.254 0.875 1.16 1.43 1.74 2.06 2.43 2.81 3.22 3.59

Table 3: Cold resistance ( at 75F) and wire gauge vs. power output (W) at operating
voltage (V).

In the following table, the alloy named Nichrome V is specified as: 1921% Cr, 2.5% Mn (max), 1.0% Fe
(max), 0.751.6% Si, 0.15% C (max), balance Ni.[2]
Power Output (W) Resistance (), Nichrome Resistance (), Recommended Wire Gauge (B&S
(Upon reaching operating
V, 75 F. Nichrome, 75 F. No./AWG)
temperature)
110120 V 220240 V 110120 V 220240 V 110120 V 220240 V

100 123.52 494.09 118.10 472.40 Max. 2630 Min. Max. 2933 Min.

150 82.347 329.38 78.732 314.93 2630 2933

200 61.761 247.04 59.050 236.20 2529 2832

250 49.409 197.64 47.240 188.96 2428 2731

300 41.174 164.69 39.366 157.46 2428 2731

350 35.291 141.16 33.742 134.97 2327 2630

400 30.881 123.52 29.525 118.10 2226 2529

450 27.449 109.80 26.244 104.98 2024 2327

500 24.704 98.817 23.620 94.479 2024 2327

550 22.458 89.832 21.472 85.889 1923 2226

600 20.586 83.345 19.683 79.730 1923 2226

650 19.004 76.016 18.170 72.679 1822 2125

700 17.646 70.584 16.871 67.486 1822 2125

750 16.468 65.874 15.745 62.982 1822 2125

800 15.440 61.766 14.762 59.055 1822 2125

850 14.532 58.128 13.894 55.577 1721 2024

900 13.724 54.897 13.122 52.487 1721 2024

950 13.002 52.009 12.431 49.726 1721 2024

1000 12.352 49.409 11.810 47.240 1620 1923

1050 11.764 47.055 11.247 44.989 1620 1923

1100 11.229 44.918 10.737 42.946 1620 1923

1150 10.741 42.964 10.270 41.078 1519 1822

1200 10.294 41.174 9.8418 39.367 1519 1822

1250 9.8817 39.527 9.4479 37.792 1418 1721

1300 9.5016 38.006 9.0845 36.338 1418 1721

1350 9.1497 37.599 8.7480 35.992 1317 1620

1400 8.8229 36.292 8.4356 34.743 1317 1620

1450 8.5188 34.075 8.1449 32.579 1216 1519

1500 8.2347 32.938 7.8732 31.493 1216 1519

2000 6.1761 24.704 5.9050 23.619 1014 1317

2500 4.9409 19.764 4.7240 18.896 913 1216

3000 4.1174 16.469 3.9366 15.746 812 1115

Resistance of Nichrome Wire
 Fe-Cr-Al alloys with the diameters and characteristics

0Cr23Al5

Dia. Cross sectional Resistivity m 1.350.06

(mm) area(mm2)
Resistance per meter (20 C Length per kg Weight per
/m) (m/kg) Meter(kg/m)

0.10 0.0078 173.1 17683 0.0000566

0.12 0.0113 119.5 12206 0.0000819

0.15 0.0177 76.4 7793 0.000128

0.17 0.0227 59.5 6076 0.000165

0.19 0.0284 47.5 4854 0.00206

0.21 0.0346 35.5 3986 0.000276

0.25 0.0491 27.5 2809 0.000356

0.27 0.0573 21.9 2407 0.000447

0.29 0.0661 19.1 2087 0.000513

0.31 0.0755 16.8 1827 0.000583

0.35 0.0962 14.0 1434 0.000697

0.40 0.1257 10.7 1097 0.000911

0.45 0.1590 8.49 867 0.00115

0.50 0.1963 6.88 703 0.00142

0.60 0.283 4.77 496 0.00205

0.70 0.385 3.51 358 0.00279

0.80 0.503 2.69 274 0.00365

0.90 0.636 2.12 217 0.00461

1.00 0.785 1.72 176 0.00569

1.20 1.131 1.194 122 0.00820

1.40 1.539 0.877 89.6 0.01116

1.60 2.01 0.672 68.6 0.01457

1.80 2.54 0.532 54.3 0.01842

2.00 3.14 0.430 43.9 0.02277

2.20 3.80 0.355 36.3 0.02755

2.50 4.91 0.275 28.1 0.03849

3.00 7.07 0.191 19.5 0.05126

3.50 9.62 0.140 14.3 0.06975

4.00 12.57 0.107 11.0 0.09113

4.50 15.90 0.0849 8.67 0.1153

 5.00 19.63 0.0688 7.03 0.1423

5.50 23.80 0.0568 5.80 0.1726

6.00 28.30 0.0477 4.88 0.2052

6.50 33.20 0.0407 4.15 0.2407

7.00 38.50 0.0351 3.58 0.2791

[3]

Resistance of nichrome flat/strip and weight table

 N80CR20 N60CR15

Resistivity (1.09 0.05.m) Resistivity (1.12 0.05.m)

Cross*
Width x
Section Weight
Thickness (mm) Resistance per Length Resistance per Length Weight per
(mm2) per
metre 20 C per kg metre 20 C per kg metre
metre
/m (m/kg) /m (m/kg) (kg/m)
(kg/m)

100.5 4.9 0.222 24.30 0.04116 0.2265 24.89 0.04018

0.8 7.84 0.139 15.18 0.06586 0.1416 15.56 0.06429

1.0 9.8 0.115 12.15 0.08232 0.1163 12.44 0.08036

1.2 11.76 0.0961 10.12 0.09878 0.0969 10.37 0.09643

1.5 14.7 0.0769 8.10 0.1235 0.0776 8.30 0.1205

2.0 19.6 0.0577 6.08 0.1646 0.0582 6.22 0.1607

150.8 11.76 0.0927 10.12 0.09878 0.0944 10.37 0.09643

1.0 14.7 0.0769 8.10 0.1235 0.0776 8.30 0.1205

1.2 17.64 0.0641 6.75 0.1482 0.0646 6.91 0.1446

1.5 22.05 0.0512 5.40 0.1852 0.0517 5.53 0.1808

2.0 29.4 0.0384 4.05 0.2470 0.0388 4.15 0.2411

2.5 36.75 0.0307 3.24 0.3087 0.0310 3.32 0.3014

200.8 15.68 0.0695 7.59 0.1317 0.0708 7.78 0.1286

1.0 19.6 0.0577 6.07 0.1646 0.0582 6.22 0.1607

1.2 23.52 0.0480 5.06 0.1976 0.0485 5.18 0.1929

1.5 29.4 0.0384 4.05 0.2470 0.0388 4.15 0.2411

2.0 39.2 0.0288 3.04 0.3293 0.0291 3.11 0.3214

2.5 49 0.0231 2.43 0.4116 0.0233 2.49 0.4018

3.0 58.8 0.0192 2.02 0.4939 0.0194 2.07 0.4822

251.0 24.5 0.0461 4.86 0.2058 0.0465 4.98 0.2009

1.2 29.4 0.0384 4.05 0.2470 0.0388 4.15 0.2411

1.5 36.75 0.0307 3.24 0.3087 0.0310 3.32 0.3014

2.0 49 0.0231 2.43 0.4116 0.0233 2.49 0.4018

2.5 61.25 0.0184 1.94 0.5145 0.0186 1.99 0.5023

3.0 73.5 0.0154 1.62 0.6174 0.0155 1.66 0.6027

301.0 29.4 0.0384 4.05 0.2470 0.0388 4.15 0.2411

1.5 44.1 0.0256 2.70 0.3704 0.0259 2.77 0.3616

2.0 58.8 0.0192 2.02 0.4939 0.0194 2.07 0.4822

2.5 73.5 0.0154 1.62 0.6174 0.0155 1.66 0.6027

3.0 88.2 0.0128 1.35 0.7409 0.0129 1.38 0.7232

 3.5 102.9 0.0111 1.16 0.8644 0.0112 1.19 0.8238

351.0 34.3 0.0329 3.47 0.2881 0.0332 3.56 0.2813

1.5 51.45 0.0220 2.31 0.4322 0.0222 2.37 0.4219

2.0 68.6 0.0165 1.74 0.5762 0.0166 1.78 0.5625

2.5 85.75 0.0132 1.39 0.7203 0.0133 1.42 0.7032

3.0 102.9 0.0110 1.16 0.8644 0.0111 1.19 0.8438

3.5 120.1 0.0095 0.99 1.0088 0.0096 1.02 0.9848

401.0 39.2 0.0288 3.04 0.3293 0.0291 3.11 0.3214

1.5 58.8 0.0192 2.02 0.4939 0.0194 2.07 0.4822

2.0 78.4 0.0144 1.52 0.6586 0.0145 1.56 0.6429

2.5 98 0.0115 1.21 0.8232 0.0116 1.24 0.8036

3.0 117.6 0.0096 1.01 0.9878 0.0097 1.04 0.9643

3.5 137.2 0.0083 0.87 1.1525 0.0084 0.89 1.1250

4.0 156.8 0.0073 0.76 1.3171 0.0073 0.78 1.2858

The effective cross sectional area = Width Thickness 0.98

[4]

Additional properties
Approximate current (A) to heat a straight oxidized wire to a
given temperature[5]

Diameter 400 F 1000 F 2000 F

AWG
(inches/mm) (204 C) (537 C) (1093 C)

8 0.128 3.251 22.4 52 128

10 0.102 2.591 16.2 37.5 92

12 0.081 2.057 11.6 26.5 65

22 0.0253 0.643 2.9 5.6 12.5

32 0.0080 0.2032 0.68 1.36 2.76

40 0.0031 0.0787 0.24 0.43 0.79

 Resistivity (ohms per foot) at 20 C[5]

Diameter
AWG NiCrA NiCrC
(inches/mm)

10 0.102 2.591 0.06248 0.06488

12 0.081 2.057 0.09907 0.1029

22 0.0253 0.643 1.015 1.055

32 0.0080 0.2032 10.16 10.55

40 0.0031 0.0787 67.64 70.24

Increase in resistance with

temperature[5]

F C NiCrA NiCrC

68 20 0 0

600 315 3.3% 5.2%

1000 538 6.3% 8.6%

2000 1093 6.0% 10.5%

NiCrA
Chemical Composition: 80% Ni, 20% Cr
Approx. Melting Point: 1400C

NiCrC
Chemical Composition: 61% Ni, 15% Cr, 24% Fe
Approx. Melting Point: 1350C

See also
Chromel
Kanthal
Inconel
Hastelloy
Constantan

References
1. "Advanced Topic: Oxidation Resistant Materials" (http://www.sci-ed-ga.org/websites/gasef/images/pdf/
light/section_13.pdf) (PDF). Sciences Education Foundation. General Atomics. 2002.
2. "Wire cable specifications" (https://web.archive.org/web/20120920075813/http://www.pelicanwire.co
m/category/formulas-resistance/). Pelican Wire. Archived from the original (http://www.pelicanwire.co
m/category/formulas-resistance/) on 2012-09-20. Retrieved 2013-11-24.
3. http://www.nichrome-wire.com/resistance-wires.html#nichrome-wire-resistance-wires
4. http://www.nichrome-wire.com/resistance-wires.html#nichrome-strip
5. "Nichrome 80 & Other Resistance Alloys - Technical Data & Properties" (http://www.wiretron.com/nic
rdat.html). wiretron.com, Wiretronic Inc.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nichrome&oldid=795335123"

This page was last edited on 13 August 2017, at 15:48.

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