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Concept
Cupronickel
Summary
Cupronickel or copper-nickel (CuNi) is an alloy of copper that contains nickel and strengthening elements, such as iron and manganese. The copper content typically varies from 60 to 90 percent. (Monel is a nickel-copper alloy that contains a minimum of 52 percent nickel.)
Despite its high copper content, cupronickel is silver in colour. Cupronickel is highly resistant to corrosion by salt water, and is therefore used for piping, heat exchangers and condensers in seawater systems, as well as for marine hardware. It is sometimes used for the propellers, propeller shafts, and hulls of high-quality boats. Other uses include military equipment and chemical, petrochemical, and electrical industries.
Another common 20th-century use of cupronickel was silver-coloured coins. For this use, the typical alloy has 3:1 copper to nickel ratio, with very small amounts of manganese.
In the past, true silver coins were debased with cupronickel, such as coins of the pound sterling from 1947 onward having their content replaced.
Aside from cupronickel and copper-nickel, several other terms have been used to describe the material: the tradenames Alpaka or Alpacca, Argentan Minargent, the registered French term cuivre blanc, and the romanized Cantonese term Paktong, 白銅 (the French and Cantonese terms both meaning "white copper"); cupronickel is also occasionally referred to as hotel silver, plata alemana (Spanish for "German silver"), German silver, and Chinese silver.
Cupronickel alloys are used for marine applications due to their resistance to seawater corrosion, good fabricability, and their effectiveness in lowering macrofouling levels. Alloys ranging in composition from 90% Cu–10% Ni to 70% Cu–30% Ni are commonly specified in heat exchanger or condenser tubes in a wide variety of marine applications.
Important marine applications for cupronickel include:
Shipbuilding and repair: hulls of boats and ships, seawater cooling, bilge and ballast, sanitary, fire fighting, inert gas, hydraulic and pneumatic chiller systems.
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