TK Stainless

high-performance materials
The heaT of the wire is essential for
many household appliances.
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MaGaZine
in light bulbs. Though they have the same shape, they perform different
functions: In light bulbs, the objective is to convert the electrical energy into as
much white light as possible.
Suitable materials for heating conductor wires include nickelchromium
alloys with added silicon and iron-chromium-aluminum alloys.
“Heating conductor alloys like Cronifer II first became available in the 1930s
and have been developed continuously ever since,” explains Jürgen Webelsiep,
head of quality assurance in the wire product unit at ThyssenKrupp VDM.
“With Cronifer 40B we have developed a further heating conductor material
which delivers top performance in terms of lifetime and dimensional stability
but costs less than the previously used Cronifer II as it has a significantly lower
nickel content.”
This is a major triumph for the company’s researchers. Cronifer II
comprises 60 percent nickel. In the new Cronifer generation, the nickel content
has been reduced to only 37.5 percent yet lifetimes are still four-fifths those
of Cronifer II. “This development was made possible by the recognition that
lifetime and shape stability are influenced not only by the nickel content but
also by other elements such as chromium, silicon, carbon and nitrogen. So
while reducing the nickel content of Cronifer 40B, in parallel we fine-tuned
the ratios of various other elements, “ says Dr. Heike Hattendorf.
Cronifer 40B is patent pending. The material has already been
produced in large volumes. Manufacturers of heating elements have been sent
specimens of Cronifer 40B wire and are currently performing their own tests on
the new material. ---
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