2024/06/28
Best Metals for High-Temperature Applications
If you need custom metal parts that can operate at high temperatures, you should know that certain metals are particularly suitable for your needs. These are typically heat-resistant alloys. Such alloys possess strength and creep resistance at high temperatures, meaning they won’t deform under extreme heat and stress. The heat-resistant properties of metal alloys are a direct result of heat treatment, enabling them to withstand temperatures up to 4000°C (7232°F).
Two factors enable high-resistance metal alloys to endure such high heat: the structure of the alloys (components) and the bonds between atoms. Below, we will introduce six of the best high-temperature metals, outlining their compositions, characteristics, and applications. With this information, you'll be able to better decide which of these heat-resistant metals is suitable for your solution.
Titanium
This silver-gray metal is commonly used to manufacture strong, lightweight, heat-resistant, and corrosion-resistant alloys. With a melting point of 1668°C (3034°F), titanium’s melting point may not be the highest among heat-resistant alloys, but it is still quite high. Although considered a rare metal, it is currently used as a standard material for manufacturing and engineering in many industrial and consumer applications. Titanium is typically produced using the Kroll process, where titanium dioxide is exposed to chlorine gas to produce titanium tetrachloride, which is then reacted with magnesium to remove any remaining chlorine. Titanium is often described as "spongy" due to porous holes formed within its structure during its formation. This metal has many beneficial engineering properties, the most common of which are: heat resistance, high strength, corrosion resistance, low density, lightweight, stiffness, and toughness. Another remarkable property is its ability to mix with other alloys, adding an extra layer of tensile strength, heat resistance, and toughness to its pure form. Due to its excellent structural integrity, titanium is used for high-performance applications such as automotive parts (valves, valve springs, retainers, connecting rods), aerospace components (fuselage, fasteners, landing gear), construction (roofing materials, exterior materials), sports equipment (golf clubs, tennis rackets, bicycles), offshore drilling (marine bridges, pile caps), medical devices (artificial bones, pacemakers, surgical instruments), and general industry (refineries, desalination plants). Because titanium can withstand high temperatures and prevent corrosion when exposed to carbon fiber reinforced polymers (CFRP), it has replaced most aluminum components that were primarily used in aircraft before the 1960s.
Tungsten
Like titanium, tungsten is a silver-white metal. The name "tungsten" comes from the Swedish words "tung" and "sten," translating to "heavy stone." This name is fitting because its tough structure and high melting point make tungsten one of the toughest materials on Earth. It also has the highest melting point of any metal or element on Earth (3422°C—6192°F), as well as the highest tensile strength (142,000 psi). Because of this, it is often used to form heavy metal alloys, such as high-speed steel, for various cutting tools. Pure tungsten is difficult to shape due to its tough appearance and high melting point, so it is often turned into powder and mixed with other powdered metals to produce different alloys, which are then used for various applications. Tungsten powder can be mixed with powdered metals like nickel through a sintering process to produce different alloys with improved properties. Key properties of tungsten include: high density (19.3 g/cm³), high melting point, high-temperature strength, high tensile strength, high corrosion resistance (no additional oxidation protection needed during or after manufacturing), the hardest pure metal, low vapor pressure (lowest among all metals), low thermal expansion, and eco-friendliness (does not decompose). Tungsten is challenging to form, so it is primarily used as an additive to help manufacture various special alloys. Applications include aerospace components, automotive parts, filament wires (for lighting), military ballistics, mobile phone headsets, cutting, drilling, and boring equipment, chemical applications, electrical and electrode devices. In its pure form, tungsten is also used for many electronic applications, such as electrodes, contacts, sheets, wires, and rods. Additionally, jewelers often use it to make necklaces and rings due to its density, which is the same as gold, but with less luster and a harder structure.
Stainless Steel
Stainless steel is an alloy composed of three different metals: iron, chromium, and nickel. These three elements are combined using a special heat treatment process to form stainless steel. This process can be summarized as: melting, tuning/stirring, shaping, heat treating, cutting/forming/finishing. Among its many characteristics, the two most popular engineering properties of stainless steel are its corrosion resistance and eco-friendliness. Stainless steel is often referred to as a "green material" because it can be infinitely recycled. As for its heat resistance, the melting point of stainless steel ranges from 1400 to 1530°C (2550 to 2790°F). The reason for this range rather than an exact number is the different amounts of mixed elements, which combine to form different grades of stainless steel. The three elements of stainless steel have different melting points: iron (1535°C—2795°F), chromium (1890°C—3434°F), and nickel (1453°C—2647°F). Depending on the amount of any of the three elements used, the final melting point will be affected to a higher or lower degree. However, the melting point is almost always between the aforementioned average values. Due to its ideal manufacturing and engineering performance, stainless steel is widely used in many applications, including corrosion resistance, high-temperature resistance, low-temperature resistance, high tensile strength, durability (under high temperature and harsh conditions), easy manufacturability and formability, low maintenance, attractive appearance, and eco-friendliness (infinitely recyclable). Once in use, it does not require painting, treatment, or coating, making its low maintenance one of its most popular qualities. Therefore, stainless steel is very popular, especially for the following applications: buildings (exterior walls, countertops, handrails, backsplashes), bridges, steel knives, refrigerator and freezer (finishing materials), dishwashers (finishing materials), food storage units, oil, gas, and chemical components (storage tanks, pipelines, pumps, valves), sewage treatment plants, desalination plants, ship propellers, power components (nuclear, geothermal, solar, hydro, wind), turbines (steam, gas). The high melting point and high tensile strength of stainless steel increase the product's resistance to stress, structural load, and lifecycle.
Molybdenum
This silver-white metal (gray in powder form) is extremely ductile and highly resistant to corrosion. Its melting point and heat resistance are also quite high. Molybdenum has a melting point of 2623°C (4753°F), the fifth highest melting point of all metals. Its high melting point allows components made of molybdenum to operate efficiently at high temperatures, which is useful for products requiring heat-resistant lubrication. Molybdenum disulfide is commonly used as a dry lubricant in bonded coatings, greases, and dispersions to increase heat resistance. Additionally, if needed, molybdenum powder can be converted into hard metal blocks through powder metallurgy or arc casting processes. In other words, solid forms of molybdenum can be used for applications that require them. However, molybdenum is still primarily used in powder form due to its many beneficial properties, including high melting point, heat resistance, ductility, non-magnetic properties, and attractive appearance. Many of these properties also exist in solid form. Molybdenum is also used to produce commercial alloys that are hard, strong, conductive, and highly wear-resistant. These alloys are used in applications such as armaments, engine parts, saw blades, lubricant additives, circuit board inks, electric heater filaments, protective coatings (boilers), and petroleum catalysts. Despite being abundant in nature, molybdenum is not freely found (1.1 ppm). Therefore, its cost is usually slightly higher than other heat-resistant metals, especially when steel production demand is high, as it is often used for steel coatings.
Nickel
Like many other heat-resistant metals on this list, nickel is a silver-white transition metal known for its high melting point (1455°C—2651°F) and corrosion resistance. Nickel's high corrosion resistance makes it useful for electroplating and coating other metals, as well as manufacturing alloys such as stainless steel. Nickel’s high melting point is a direct result of its positive and negative ions (protons and electrons) attracting each other to form strong bonds that remain intact under immense pressure and heat. Since nickel is a naturally occurring metal, found abundantly in Earth's deposits, it is not produced through any process but rather extracted from rock layers (ultramafic magnesium iron and igneous mafic rocks) primarily found in tropical climates. On the other hand, nickel alloys are created by combining nickel with other metals like aluminum, titanium, iron, copper, and chromium through a simple heat treatment process. These alloys are then used to manufacture various products for different industries. Currently, about 3,000 nickel-based alloys are in use. Common properties exhibited by all nickel alloy variants include strength, toughness, soft magnetic properties, corrosion resistance, heat resistance, and easy manufacturability (good weldability). As previously mentioned, nickel-based alloys are used in many applications across different industries, with the list being quite extensive. It can be summarized as follows: electric ovens, toasters, transformers, inductors, armored plates, marine propeller shafts, turbine blades, steel coatings, stainless steel alloys, corrosion-resistant alloys, batteries (nickel-cadmium, nickel-metal hydride), magnetic amplifiers, magnetic shielding, storage devices, spark plugs, automotive electrodes. Nickel has strong oxidation resistance even at extreme
temperatures and can prevent electrochemical corrosion. Therefore, it is an excellent choice for manufacturing heat-resistant and corrosion-resistant alloys, which are essential for applications working in corrosive and high-temperature environments.
Tantalum
This rare blue-gray metal is known for its extremely hard structure, high melting point, and resistance to almost all forms of corrosive acids. Tantalum's melting point (3020°C—5468°F) is the third highest among all elements. Raw tantalum is usually found in deposits called columbite-tantalite (or coltan). Once mined, it is separated from niobium and other metals found in the minerals in one of three ways: electrolytic application, reducing potassium fluoride tantalum with sodium, or reacting carbides with oxides. The thermite reduction process using sodium is probably the most popular method for producing tantalum powder, a material widely used in electrical applications. Compared to other manufacturing materials, tantalum allows for a wider range of grain variations, which helps reduce costs and improve design capabilities and mechanical properties. Tantalum has many properties that have increased its usage in the 21st century, including high stability, high strength, corrosion resistance (no chemical degradation at low temperatures), heat resistance, extremely high melting point, thermal conductivity, electrical conductivity, oxide layer protection (preventing all forms of corrosion, including oxidation and acidic corrosion), easy manufacturability, ductility, density, and hardness. Tantalum is often combined with other elements to produce alloys with higher melting points and tensile strength. In terms of applications, tantalum is primarily used to produce components for the power industry. However, due to its high heat and corrosion resistance, it is also considered a useful manufacturing material in the aircraft, defense, and chemical industries. Tantalum is commonly used in applications such as electrolytic capacitors, vacuum furnace parts, electronic components (circuits, capacitors, resistors), nuclear reactor components, chemical processing equipment, aircraft parts, armaments, surgical tools, camera lenses, steel surface treatment (coatings), and pesticides and herbicides. Among all the listed applications, tantalum is most valued for its use in electrolytic capacitors, capable of storing the highest charge per unit of any capacitor.
Conclusion
The metals mentioned in the guide above are the top six heat-resistant materials available for manufacturing custom high-temperature metal parts. They possess excellent mechanical and engineering properties, including corrosion resistance, tensile strength, fatigue strength, high ductility, easy manufacturability, and toughness. The suitable heat-resistant metal for your project will depend on its requirements. The information above can help you choose the right one. Before making your final decision, remember to consult with a metal manufacturer with expertise and experience to match the appropriate material with your intended application.
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