What is Monel material?

Monel is a registered trademark of Special Metals Incorporated and is applied to a group of nickel-based alloys primarily alloyed with copper. The two most widely used Monel grades are Monel 400 and Monel K-500.

Nickel and copper readily alloy into each other, allowing a range of different grades to be created. As copper is significantly lower cost than nickel, adding copper to nickel-based alloys copper can reduce their cost with limited impact upon the grade’s mechanical properties.

Monel 400 was invented in 1901 by the International Nickel Company, known as Inco. It provides very good mechanical properties at both low and high temperatures. Given the excellent resistance to corrosion in seawater and most acids, it has been widely used in the chemical processing industry and in marine applications.

Monel K-500 was developed subsequently to improve the strength of Monel 400. Small quantities of titanium and aluminium are added, which result in a precipitation-strengthening effect after heat treatment. With Monel K-500 having around twice the yield strength of Monel 400, it has become more widely used in load-bearing application, as the increased strength can reduce the thickness, size, weight and therefore cost of components made from it.

Langley Alloys has stocked Alloy K-500 for many years and in the past, we melted and cast ingots that could be forged and rolled into bars. These days our stock range consists of round bars from 5/8”-10” diameter (15.87-254mm).

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For more information about our range of alloys, please contact Langley Alloys today.