Nichrome

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

History

Patented in 1906 by Albert Marsh (US patent 811,859), 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). Because of its low cost of manufacture, strength, ductility, resistance to oxidation, stability at high temperatures, and resistance to the flow of electrons, nichrome is widely used in electric heating elements in applications such as 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 and delicate wires in order to create enough resistance to generate heat. When heated in air, most metals then oxidize quickly, become brittle, and break. Nichrome wire, however, when heated to red-hot temperatures, develops an outer layer of chromium oxide, which is thermodynamically stable in air, is 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, and as the heating coils of electronic cigarettes.

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

Properties

Nichrome alloys are known for their high mechanical strength and their high creep strength. 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	kg·m−3
Melting point	1400	°C
Electrical resistivity at room temperature	(1.0–1.5) × 10−6	Ω·m
Specific heat	450	J·kg−1·K−1
Thermal conductivity	11.3	W·m−1·K−1
Thermal expansion	14 × 10−6	K−1
Standard ambient temperature and pressure used unless otherwise noted.

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

Wire Gauge (B&S No. / AWG)	Outside Diameter of Helix (inches)
	3⁄4	5⁄8	1⁄2	3⁄8	1⁄4	7⁄32	3⁄16	5⁄32	1⁄8	3⁄32	1⁄16	1⁄32
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

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.

Wire Gauge (B&S No. / AWG)	Diam. (inches/mm)		400 °F 204 °C	600 °F 316 °C	800 °F 427 °C	1000 °F 538 °C	1200 °F 649 °C	1400 °F 760 °C	1600 °F 871 °C	1800 °F 982 °C	2000 °F 1093 °C
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 (Ω at 75°F) and wire gauge vs. power output (W) at operating voltage (V).

In the following table, the alloy named nichrome V is specified as: 19–21% Cr, 2.5% Mn (max), 1.0% Fe (max), 0.75–1.6% Si, 0.15% C (max), balance Ni.

Power output (W) (upon reaching operating temperature)
	Resistance (Ω), nichrome V, 75 °F.		Resistance (Ω), nichrome, 75 °F.		Recommended wire gauge (B&S No./AWG)
	110–120 V	220–240 V	110–120 V	220–240 V	110–120 V	220–240 V
100	123.52	494.09	118.10	472.40	Max. 26–30 min.	Max. 29–33 min.
150	82.347	329.38	78.732	314.93	26–30	29–33
200	61.761	247.04	59.050	236.20	25–29	28–32
250	49.409	197.64	47.240	188.96	24–28	27–31
300	41.174	164.69	39.366	157.46	24–28	27–31
350	35.291	141.16	33.742	134.97	23–27	26–30
400	30.881	123.52	29.525	118.10	22–26	25–29
450	27.449	109.80	26.244	104.98	20–24	23–27
500	24.704	98.817	23.620	94.479	20–24	23–27
550	22.458	89.832	21.472	85.889	19–23	22–26
600	20.586	83.345	19.683	79.730	19–23	22–26
650	19.004	76.016	18.170	72.679	18–22	21–25
700	17.646	70.584	16.871	67.486	18–22	21–25
750	16.468	65.874	15.745	62.982	18–22	21–25
800	15.440	61.766	14.762	59.055	18–22	21–25
850	14.532	58.128	13.894	55.577	17–21	20–24
900	13.724	54.897	13.122	52.487	17–21	20–24
950	13.002	52.009	12.431	49.726	17–21	20–24
1000	12.352	49.409	11.810	47.240	16–20	19–23
1050	11.764	47.055	11.247	44.989	16–20	19–23
1100	11.229	44.918	10.737	42.946	16–20	19–23
1150	10.741	42.964	10.270	41.078	15–19	18–22
1200	10.294	41.174	9.8418	39.367	15–19	18–22
1250	9.8817	39.527	9.4479	37.792	14–18	17–21
1300	9.5016	38.006	9.0845	36.338	14–18	17–21
1350	9.1497	37.599	8.7480	35.992	13–17	16–20
1400	8.8229	36.292	8.4356	34.743	13–17	16–20
1450	8.5188	34.075	8.1449	32.579	12–16	15–19
1500	8.2347	32.938	7.8732	31.493	12–16	15–19
2000	6.1761	24.704	5.9050	23.619	10–14	13–17
2500	4.9409	19.764	4.7240	18.896	9–13	12–16
3000	4.1174	16.469	3.9366	15.746	8–12	11–15

Resistance of nichrome flat/strip and weight table

Width x Thickness (mm)	Cross* Section (mm2)	Ni80CR20			Ni60CR15
		Resistivity (1.09 ± 0.05µΩ.m)			Resistivity (1.12 ± 0.05µΩ.m)
		Resistance per metre 20 °C Ω/m	Length per kg (m/kg)	Weight per metre (kg/m)	Resistance per metre 20 °C Ω/m	Length per kg (m/kg)	Weight per metre (kg/m)
10×0.5	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
15×0.8	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
20×0.8	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
25×1.0	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
30×1.0	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
35×1.0	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
40×1.0	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

Additional properties

Approximate current (A) to heat a straight oxidized wire to a given temperature

AWG	Diameter (inches/mm)		400 °F (204 °C)	1000 °F (537 °C)	2000 °F (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

AWG	Diameter (inches/mm)		NiCrA	NiCrC
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

°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: 1400°C

NiCrC

Chemical Composition: 61% Ni, 15% Cr, 24% Fe

Approx. Melting Point: 1350°C

See also

• Chromel
• Kanthal
• Inconel
• Hastelloy
• Constantan