I N D U S T R I A L A N D ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY
April, 1923
409
The Nickel Industry in 1921-1922' By A. J. Wadhams2 Trie INTERNATIONAL NIcger, Co.,NEWYORK,N, Y.
T
HE PROVISIONS of the Disarmament Conference have
caused the shutdown of the great armor-plate plants of this country and the discontinuance of their consumption, of nickel, which has always been one of the main features of the world's nickel market. Inasmuch as the nickelsteel business has always consumed about 60 per cent of the world's nickel, of which perhaps half went into armor plate and ordnance forgings, the seriousness of this loss can be realized. Hitherto the nickel-producing companies have endeavored t o produce the nickel required for the ever-increasing uses of government and industry. Now they are turning their attention more actively t o the development of new uses for nickel and nickel-bearing alloys and steels. In this effort they are impressed b y the fact that not only are there many industrial fields into which standard nickel-bearing products have never assumed their technically correct position, but there are, as well, several potentially valuable nickel products and steels known, which have never been commercially developed beyond the semi-laboratory stage. Development work in the industry is proceeding actively along both lines. NICKELSTEELS Perhaps the most important recent features in this field have been the development of the nickel-bearing type of stainless steels, the increasing use of the 5 per cent nickel, case-hardening steel, and the development of the nickel-molybdenum steels. The nickel-bearing stainless steels contain from 20 t o 40 per cent nickel, 6 to 12 per cent chromium, and from 0.25 t o 2 per cent silicon, and are produced in the usual Commercial forms under several trade names, by as many different companies. They are characterized by resistance to corrosion by salt water, atmosphere, and many acids, as their name usually indicates, and have unusually good mechanical properties as well. Thus, a 25 per cent nickel, 7 per cent chromium, 0.50 per cent carbon steel will have the following mechanical properties as rolled: Tensile strength Yield point Elongation in 2 in. Reduction of area
100000lbs / s q in. 60:OOO Ibs: / s q : in. 20 per cent
50 per cent
These steels can be machined and fabricated by the usual methods and have a promising commercial future. The 5 per cent, case-hardening, nickel steel is rapidly gaining favor for automobile gears, by reason of the extremely tough core which can be imparted to it, as well as the freedom from warpage during the process of heat treatment. It has replaced, in many cases, the case-hardening steels of lower nickel content. Although the nickel-molybdenum steels are perhaps still in the development stage, they have gained some favor both with users and manufacturers, and have commercial promise, particularly for case-hardening. They contain from 1.5 to 2 per cent nickel and from 0.20 to 0.40 per cent molybdenum, in addition often t o about 1 per cent chromium. . "HEATRESISTING" ALLOYS These alloys-chiefly of the nickel-chromium or nickel-chromium-iron type-are not new, but their use for high-temperature service is rapidly increasing, particularly in the form of castings for annealing boxes, carbonizing boxes, etc. These alloys are sold under a variety of trade names, and are often sold under 1
Received December 16, 1922.
* Manager of Development and Research.
a guarantee to last from ten to twenty times as long as the cast steel or iron for which they are substituted. These alloys contain usually from 60 to 80 per cent nickel, 10 t o 20 per cent chromium, and 0 t o 25 per cent iron.
ELECTROPLATING Within the past two years a great deal of research work has been done on the subject of electrodeposition of nickel, chiefly in connection with commercial plating and the production of copper-nickel electrotypes. Notable among these researches are those of William Blum3 of the Bureau of Standards and his associates. They have studied the factors of control of the electrodeposition of nickel, particularly the control of the hydrogen-ion concentration or acidity, and their work has done much t o lift the art of plating from its hitherto rather empirical environment. An ingenious application of nickel-plating has been developed at the Bureau of Printing and Engraving-namely, the alternate deposition of nickel and copper layers in an electrotype in order to secure greater stiffness. MONELMETAL This alloy has made distinct commercial progress within the past two years. I n fact it was the necessity for increasing both the quality and quantity of production of Monel metal that led The International Nickel Company to build its Huntington Mill of 18,000 tons capacity annually. The recent demand for Monel metal has been chiefly from the power plants, dairy, dyeing, laundry, hotel, and restaurant industries, and for these it is required principally in the form of sheet. The coal-mining industry is also taking up the use of Monel metal. A recent interesting application of this metal is its use as a filler material in welding cast iron, particularly by the arc-welding process. Its use for this purpose reduces or eliminates the cracking which is so commonly an unwelcome feature of cast-iron welding. NICKELSEAMLESS TUBES Within the past year seamless nickel tubes have been produced and made available in pipe sizes for the chemical and allied industries, from which there has come in the past a continual inquiry for nickel in this form. These have been produced by piercing and drawing in the same manner in which seamless steel and copper tubes are produced. NICKELCASTIRON Many foundries are now experimenting with the addition of from 2 t o 4 per cent of nickel t o their iron castings, following the successful practice of a few leading automobile-piston manufacturers and others who have found that its use imparts added hardness, strength, and toughness to the iron. Mayari iron, the natural nickel-chromium bearing product from the Cuban iron mines, is also bein'g developed for iron-foundry use, t o harden and toughen castings in much the same manner. RESEARCH WORK
A survey of the nickel industry would not be complete without reference to some of the interesting researches which have been recently published. IPublished by the American Electrochemical Society in 1920-1922.
IhTDUSTRIAL A N D ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY
410
E. C. Bain4has made some very interesting discoveries regarding the crystal structure of nickel alloys by the use of the X-ray diffraction method, emphasizing the heterogeneity of ironnickel and nickel-chromium alloys. Burgess and Woodward6 and GilettO have studied the properties of (L large number of new compositions of nickel-bearing steels, principally the nickel-silicon steels. They show that steels having a composition of 3 per cent nickel, 1.50 per cent silicon, 0.60 to 0.60 per cent carbon, and 0.60 to 0.80 per cent manganese, have remarkably high tensile properties and hardness, and conclude that they should have quite a field of industrial application. Such steels have shown the following mechanical properties after heat treatment: 4 6 8
Trans Am. Insl. Minzng Eng February, 1912. Bur. Standards, Technologzc Paper 207. Buy. Mines, Bull. 199.
Tensile strength Yield point Elongation in 2 in. Reduction of area Brinell hardness
VOI.
15. NO. 4
300 000 lbs. /sq. in. 250:OOO Ibs. /sq. in. 10 per cent 25 per cent 550 (3000 k:.)
There has been further research work on the properties and constitution of the iron-nickel alloys by GuiHaume,' Chevenard,u G ~ m l i c hHondalO ,~ and others, relating chiefly to their interesting thermal, elastic, and magnetic properties. It appears that these properties are to be commercially utilized to an increasing extent in the near future. Rev. i n d . minlrale, October 15, 1922. C . A . , 16 (1922). 3287. 9 Eiectrotech. Z.,November 18, 1920, p. 919 10 Phil. Mag., 42 (1921), 115. 7
8
Observations of Industrial Conditions in Europe' By W. S. Landis 511 FIFTH Ave., N e w YORK, N. Y .
F-
IVE WEEKS spent in Europe in November and December,
1922, is hardly sufficient foundation for building a story of industrial conditions which would adequately convey the very complex situation existent there; and when within this short period three countries had to be rather thoroughly covered, little time was left for three others traversed. Abler individuals have studied in great detail and written a t great length on this subject, and, therefore, it is questionable if the writer can add very much value to the sum total of the existing information. Leaving out entirely the purely political situation, only some of the more interesting sidelights, and not details of a purely technical nature, will be considered here.
ENGLAND STILLDEPRESSED Industry in England had not recovered from the post-war depression. Nearly two and one-half million men were idle. Prices in England seemed very high. Ordinary necessities were more expensive than similar materials in the United States. The English price index confirms this general impression. The most marked industrial improvement seemed to be in the shipbuilding industry, the yards Having picked up considerable repair work. The spinning industry was suffering from the shortage and high price of cotton, as well as from serious competition of Germany. The chemical industry was showing improvement, but was far from normal. It must be remembered that England is no longer a free-trade country, and in protecting her key industries she has levied some very high duties on imported products. In a measure this accounts for some of the apparent high prices. ITALIAN DEVELOPMENT The most interesting part of the trip was the time spent in Northern Italy. Following the war the extremely weak g w ernment of Italy had permitted the socialistic and communistic factions to gain an almost complete control of industrial Korthern Italy. Corporations lost control of their factories, and cities of their government. Industry came to a standstill. Even agriculture suffered as a consequence of the destructive raids of the two factions, who, unable to operate the factories, were forced into pillage and robbery for subsistence. The rapid organization and the perfect functioning of the Nationalist, or Facisti, party had recovered all of Northern Italy and restored the factories to their proper owners and logI
Received February 17, 1923.
ical directors. They ,established a strong and stable national government, and as fast as elections could be held were driving the Communists and Socialists out of power in the cities. This probably marks one of the greatest political movements in the history of the world, and, while not carried on without bloodshed, nevertheless there was comparatively slight loss of life in what may be truly styled a revolution. Almost over night the factories opened up and were restored to productivity, agriculture again developed, and the whole complexion of the country completely changed. Railway service improved and capitalists again took an interest in the development of industry. What had been a period of the most extreme depression, suddenly turned into a period of activity and extension. Even in the people on the streets a sign of renewed hope and activity was noticed, and the great industrial towns of Northern Italy seemed like American cities in periods of prosperity. Plans were under way for a much larger development of hydroelectric energy. Railroads were being electrified. Electrochemical industries were not only running full but many extensions were planned and much new work was under construction. Several very important combinations in the chemical industry had recently been completed or were under contemplation during my visit, and, while Italy is not a big factor in this field, the outlook for extensive development was very bright.
SWITZERLAND DEPRESSED Switzerland was in a very depressed condition. Swiss money has suffered little or no depreciation, and not only have Swiss manufacturers, merchants, and consumers had to compete with surrounding countries having greatly depreciated currencies, which rekdered export difficult, but Switzerland has also been forced to compete directly with lower paid labor in Italy, and in particular in Germany and Austria. Many of the factories formerly located in Switzerland have been forced to move across the border to survive, and the outlook for some time to come is not cheerful. GERMANY'S VARIABLE: MARK The exchange situation in Germany has been dwelt upon by international commissions, prominent bankers, and world-famous economists. During the week and a half the %Titer was in Germany the official rates of exchange varied between 5500 and 9000 marks to the dollar. It varied irregularly as much as 2000 marks in a single day between ten in the morning and five in the after-
