Because of its exceptional current capacity, annealed copper is the gold standard to which all other conductors are evaluated.
Yet because of cost advantages industrial and domestic users are weighing in the suitability of aluminum as an alternative for wiring.
Aluminum is light, malleable and easy to work with. Despite these advantages, aluminum is several notches below in conductivity properties, making copper or copper alloys still the preferred material.
More specifically nickel copper wire is seeing increasing uses in the industry. Development in nickel coating techniques on copper wire has been the driving factor for use of nickel copper wire for high temperature applications.
Copper wires plated with either silver or nickel is used primarily as stranded conductors in the aerospace, defense, computer and telecommunications industry. Specifically nickel copper wires are used as power resistors, shunts, thermocouples, and precision resistors.
In addition, nickel copper wire is suitable where medium range electrical resistivity and very low temperature coefficient of resistance is required. Copper with 45% alloy is used for resistance wire in high precision resistors.
The three chief advantages of nickel copper wire are:
- High temperature resistance
- Corrosion resistance
- Easy weld ability
History of copper-nickel or Cu-Ni alloy
Even though nickel as an element was discovered relatively late, its use as an alloy with copper goes back to two thousand years as copper coins from antiquity containing 10% nickel were discovered.
At start of the 20th century, the British used the word cupronickel for an alloy containing 80% copper and 20% nickel. With time copper nickel alloys with addition of manganese found extensive use in electrical applications and engineering.
While the advantages of standalone copper wires are well-known, the use of nickel copper wire evolved with the development of electronics industry.
New techniques were needed to develop miniaturization and the pressure on manufacturers to develop devices and components that approach the ideal in performance was great. Copper nickel wire fitted remarkably into this need by making it exceptionally suitable for making of high precision resistors.
Industrial systems look for both price advantage and performance in electronic components. By taking into consideration all factors high quality precision resistors made of copper nickel finds acceptance over other alternatives.
The major uses of copper and copper alloys by far are wire and cable products. Worldwide most of the mined copper goes into the production of wire rod and thereafter into the wire industry.
Designers of equipment and systems continually try to upgrade component performance if possible by making it cheaper. This is essential from both the manufacturer’s and consumer’s viewpoint. Copper wire is no exception and in this regard Nickel Copper wire has gone a long way in expanding the use of copper as an alloy.
With telecommunication and the electronic sectors in India on the upswing, copper as well as nickel copper wire is set to witness sunnier times.
Specifically copper wire with nickel added may see rising production because of higher demand for instruments and application needed in moisture laden areas.